Europe's G2 Esports get on the MSI 2016 board
It took them until Day 3 of the 2016 Mid-Season Invitational, but Europe have finally done it.
With G2 Esports' win over SuperMassive of Turkey, Europe are finally not the only region without a win on the MSI board. Welcome to the club!
Coming into the match, it wasn’t exactly clear who the favorite was. SuperMassive had just defeated North America's Counter Logic Gaming and G2 were showing none of the form that saw them take home the 2016 EU LCS Spring Split.
Against SuperMassive, G2 finally managed to stop holding themselves back on the Rift. It was a scrappy game, with each team trading blow for blow, objective for objective. At times, SuperMassive looked in control. Then G2 would claw it right back. It wasn’t pretty -- but then bottom of the table clashes rarely are.
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It was the team fighting comp that G2 put together that kept them in the game and helped them secure their first win of the tournament. The relief to finally get a win must have been total, and going into their matchup against Royal Never Give Up they were looking better than they had all tournament.
The match was close. Fans in Europe were holding their breath -- maybe, this could be the upset they had been waiting for? Unfortunately for G2, after a few late game misplays, it became apparent that it was not meant to be. G2 loss their 2nd game of Day 3 and their momentum was shot down.
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The road doesn’t get any easier for G2 as they step into the second Round Robin. They still have a long way to go if they want to earn back Europe’s pride and secure a top four seed at Worlds for their region. But right now, Korea's SKTelecom T1 is (surprisingly) hovering right above them and the top 3 are pulling away from the rest of the pack
Though, if MSI 2016 has taught us anything, it’s to expect the unexpected. Just look at SKT. Show me a person who predicted SKT would be 2-4 at this point in the tournament and I’ll show you a liar.
If MSI can be turned on its head as much as it has, then surely there is a possibility that it can turn in the other direction. We'll find out what happens when the tournament continues returns for Day 4 tomorrow!