RESULTS: RNG Claim First League of Legends MSI Title

An exciting series to cap off an exciting tournament saw Royal Never Give Up accomplish what so many teams have failed to do in the past: Defeat a Korean team in a best-of-five series. RNG can now join an extremely small group of teams with this claim to fame, on top of the incredibly illustrious honor of winning the Mid-Season Invitational. Here’s a brief breakdown of the series.

Game One

Both teams opted for a fairly conservative start, with the first major conflict being a skirmish for first blood at around 9 minutes that saw both teams walk away with a kill, but RNG claiming the bonus gold. RNG prioritized objectives, picking up the first tower and the first Dragon while KZ managed to pick up two more kills in yet another skirmish. Both teams traded kills and objectives for a time before a protracted team fight saw KZ pick up a single kill, while RNG scored an ace to gain a significant lead. As the match went on, RNG dominated the trades, picking up more kills and objectives while KZ struggled to try and stabilize. With so many objectives under their belt, it seemed impossible for RNG to do anything but claim victory, as they broke open the base of KZ and ended the game.

Game Two

This match saw both teams play much more aggressively, with KZ picking up first blood in under a minute, while RNG responded with a kill before the match had reach 2 minutes. RNG were again able to secure the first Dragon, but it was KZ who found the first tower as they looked to gain a gold lead. Minor skirmishes led to the deaths of many individual KZ players, but the real war of objectives continued to leave the teams fairly even. RNG managed to break away and crack open the base of KZ, building a reasonable gold lead in the process, however a breaking team fight saw KZ claim three kills for two deaths, and use that momentum to secure the Baron buff. With the added pushing power, KZ managed to claim a swathe of objectives and turn the gold lead to their favor, before breaking open the base of RNG. Back-to-back team fights saw KZ wipe RNG from the map and claim the second match of this series, keeping their hopes alive.

Game Three

A much slower start than the previous match saw the first blood only coming in at around 4 minutes, with RNG again proving to be the more aggressive team. RNG continued to build a minor gold lead with more kills, claiming the first Dragon in the process. Though KZ would eventually respond with a kill and tower of their own, RNG seemed firmly in the driver’s seat as they picked up the Rift Herald and several towers. More skirmishes resulted in more kills for RNG as KZ struggled to find their footing in this match. There would be no explosive team fight or epic comeback for KZ in this match, as they repeatedly lost members for little to no return, while RNG picked up major objectives like the Baron for free before breaking open the base of KZ and ending the game.

Game Four

RNG again claimed first blood in this match, before both teams seemed to settle into a safer farming style of game play. Both teams seemed fully aware that this was match point for RNG, spurring KZ to finally start making plays as they secured the first Dragon. Both teams traded kills and towers, before KZ seemed to hit their stride and collect multiple objectives in a row. RNG seemed to reach a turning point as they picked up their first Dragon and gained a brief gold lead, before KZ shut them down hard in a team fight that saw KZ claim three kills and the Baron buff for just one death. Using the power of the Baron, KZ broke open the base of RNG and threatened to end the game, however they were forced back by a returning RNG squad desperate not to lose the game so soon. The teams continued to farm and gain power while KZ picked up more objectives, before clashing again in the base of RNG. Though KZ was able to again break open the base of RNG, both teams suffered heavy losses of three members each, forcing them to withdraw. RNG seemed to recover first, and after catching out several members of KZ, RNG rushed the base and broke it open themselves. In a very rapid sequence of events, RNG were able to destroy nearly the entire infrastructure of the KZ base and end the game before they could really respond, claiming the match and series win on the back of a single push.

As the dust settled, the crowd and players quickly became aware of the enormity of what had occurred, with RNG claiming their first International title, and the Korean representatives losing MSI for the first time since 2015. Based on the games and results of this year’s Mid-Season Invitational, it’s fair to say that the competition between the top teams in League of Legends is only getting closer. For more on how we got to this point, check out the match preview for the Grand Final, here, and for more information on upcoming League of Legends tournaments, check out the Global Esports Events Announcement, here.