G2 has a chance to qualify for the knockout stage after a shocking comeback over TSM

In one of the most exciting games of MSI so far, G2 Esports mounted an epic comeback against TSM. The win gave them one last chance to move onto the knockout stage of MSI next week.

It was a heartbreaking defeat for North America’s champions, because they had control of G2 for the entirety of the game up until the very end. The game started rolling with a chaotic gank from Dennis “Svenskeren” Johnsen, TSM’s jungler, into the mid lane. He didn’t arrive until Søren “Bjergsen” Bjerg had almost finished off Orianna, so Luka “PerkZ” Perković tried to run away through the other side of the lane to avoid the gank. What followed was a goofy chase through TSM’s jungle all the way back to their base, where Bjergsen was finally able to seal the deal.

The game carried on in similar fashion for TSM as they picked up kills, towers, and dragons from G2 all over the map. It looked as if TSM was going to be able to easily win the game as G2 continued to crumble under their weight as the match progressed. One of the first teamfights appeared to be the final nail in the coffin for G2. TSM simply outclassed them by picking up a double kill and a tower in one clean motion.

The hype didn’t last long, though, because soon, G2 began to show that they weren’t so easily shut down. With a sneaky Baron rush, G2 turned the tide and found all the tools they needed to stall the game out while their carries and tanks built more items to catch up. The longer the game went on, the stronger G2’s late-game team comp became. Soon, TSM couldn’t chip away at the raw tankiness of G2’s massive front line of Nunu, Gragas, and Braum. PerkZ and Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen, G2’s ADC, could safely deal damage from behind the big, meaty tanks standing guard. In one fell swoop, G2 ruthlessly plowed through TSM’s base and took the Nexus.

With that win under their belts, G2 is back in the running for a top four position for the group stage. Since the top four teams are the ones that make it through to the knockout stage, this game was the most important game of G2’s season so far. Unfortunately, though, this means that the standings for MSI just got really confusing.

Now, if the Flash Wolves (FW) win their final match of the day, G2 will be guaranteed the third place seed in the knockout stage, and FW and TSM will have to play a tiebreaker for the final spot. Conversely, if Gigabyte Marines win, there is a three-way tiebreaker for both the third and fourth place spot.