World Champions T1 were favorites going into Wednesday’s fixture against Team Liquid Honda at the 2024 League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational and also expected to join G2 Esports in the lower bracket of the competition.
G2 Esports got past Top Esports 3-0 on Tuesday in a stunning result, and TI did their own job with a contrasting, hard-fought win over Team Liquid Honda in a 3-1 series.
The interesting thing about fixtures was the fact that Tuesday’s game was expected to be a loss for G2 when they faced Top Esports, but only for G2 to sweep the victory cleanly. In Wednesday’s game, T1 was a heavy favorite and expected to win the game as soon as possible against Team Liquid.
However, the reverse was the case as Team Liquid Honda put out a performance and style that was contrary to expectations, as they showed resilience and skill throughout the series.
T1 started the game as expected and won their first game comfortably, but Team Liquid showed up in the second, although they almost didn’t secure the victory with proactive plays and clutch skirmishes.
The team also used a fantastic plan to get onto T1 Junglers and stole a Baron Buff, although T1 still clinched the win in the second game. Game three saw the North American first seed get better and continue to be resilient and more strategic.
TL aggressively fought to gain map control, snuck in a Baron buff past T1, and clinched a victory. However, when it started to look like TL was getting back into action, T1 showed their status as the World Champions in game four as they demolished TL across the Rift. They were totally dominant, amassing over 20 kills in less than 20 minutes, setting the stage for their rematch against G2 Esports in the next round.
