Gen.G Esports is $500,000 richer. On Saturday night, the top favorite successfully defended its title at the Mid-Season Invitational. T1 and “Faker” came up short twice.
“We made a promise – and we kept it.” With these words, the official X account of Gen.G Esports celebrates the South Koreans’ successful title defense at the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI). In Vancouver, last year’s champions prevailed twice against T1’s Sang-Hyeok ‘Faker’ Lee in an LCK internal duel.
After MVP Jae-Hyuk ‘Ruler’ Park led Gen.G to a narrow 3-2 victory in the upper bracket final, mid laner ‘Chovy’ played a major role in the 3-2 win in the grand final. Time and again, Ji-Hoon Jeong made life more than difficult for T1. He was unstoppable in the decisive fifth match, dealing 32,317 points of damage and delivering two kills and 12 assists without losing a single life.
Thanks to the fun of the game: More than just following in ‘Faker’s’ footsteps
For Jeong, the Grand Final was significant not only because of the $500,000 prize and the MVP award. In a direct comparison with Hall of Famer ‘Faker’ – mid laner at T1 – ‘Chovy’ also made a big statement: After a total of 127 duels, the Gen.G pro now leads 64:63. He also joins ‘Kilin’, ‘Canyon’ and ‘Ruler’ in the elite ranks of two-time MSI champions, drawing level with ‘Faker’.
Chovy was particularly proud of defending his title. He admitted in his victory interview on stage that there had been pressure in the run-up to the final. “But both teams played incredibly well. It went back and forth and I enjoyed it. I had so much fun playing this series that all the pressure fell away.”
Between perfection and Worlds
Even more impressive than the individual performances of the Gen.G pros is the breathtaking winning streak that the new old MSI champion put together on its way to defending its title: Not only did the LCK favorites play an undefeated split, but the quintet also won every close match in Vancouver. “This team has truly achieved what comes closest to perfection in League of Legends,” the casters summed it up.
The defending champions were correspondingly proud. “I can safely say that I am the best player here at MSI,” said ‘Ruler’ with a grin, before ‘Chovy’ set the course for the coming weeks and months: “Of course, we have a few tournaments ahead of us, but above all, I want to win the Worlds.” The quintet can currently be sure of their role as favorites.
But even then, Demon King ‘Faker’ will have a say in the matter. All roads lead to him, he said iconically in 2023 – including, and especially, those of Gen.G. In recent years, the team has not managed to defeat ‘Faker’ at Worlds.