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The professional League of Legends 2024 season is gearing up. The Mid-Season Invitational 2024, the first international tournament in 2024, will be the next round of LoL development this season.
The Mid-Season Invitational 2024 will award $250,000 and the title of champion. And it all starts with the Play-In stage, where 8 teams will play for 4 slots in the main stage.
We will open the Play-In analysis with an analysis of the T1 vs Estral Esports match. We'll see if the LLA residents will be able to put up a fight against the current world champions.
Let's go.
Form T1
We start the match analysis with the analysis of T1's form. In this match, they are playing as the number one.
T1 won at LCK Spring 2022 and then three consecutive top 2s: MSI, LCK Summer and Worlds 2022.
The curse of top-2s carried over to the 2023 season as well. At the Long Run of the Year, Faker and company took 2nd place at LCK Spring 2023, and then finished third at MSI 2023.
- T1 line-up: Zeus, Oner, Faker, Gumayusi, Keria.
LCK Summer 2023 was a real challenge for T1. The team made it to the play-offs, but did it with difficulty, taking 5th place in the group stage with the score 9-9.
There were problems for the main protagonist - Faker. The legendary mid laner injured his hand and it obviously affected the overall playing conditions of T1. But now Faker is kind of back on track.
The Faker factor has played out. T1 defeated a serious opponent in the person of Dplus and made their way to the next round, where their opponent will be KT Rolster. The latter, by the way, chose T1 as their opponent.
Next up was no less capable opponent than Dplus. Faker and company played against KT Rolster and won that match with a score of 3-2.
The opponent in the match for the play-offs for T1 was Gen.G. The first tried, and even started the game with the score 2-1, but it didn't work out: Gen.G camebacked, and Chovy was better than Faker.
In the grand final match T1 almost lost to KT Rolster after an excellent Long Sogpeg 2-0. They were saved by Gumayusi, who pulled it off on the 5th map with his Xayah.
However, it didn't allow them to win the final. T1 faced their nemesis Gen.G, where they crushingly lost 0-3.
T1 opened Worlds 2023 with a game against Liquid. Being the clear favourite of the series they closed the match against Liquid in their favour, but it was not an easy win: Liquid held on for 36 minutes and Ledge only 1 kill. Everything was decided in the final midlane brawl, after which T1 closed the series.
In a 1-0 basket, T1 ran into their own kryptonite - Gen.G. Faker and company started great, but the first LCK team was the first to adjust the pace of the game to their own and eventually win the match.
Next up, T1 faced Cloud9. Perhaps, it was the most defeated match of all that I had the chance to watch on this Worlds. Naturally, it ended in T1's favour.
After trampling Cloud9 T1 started to beat Bilibili Gaming, and they succeeded. T1 easily defeated the vice-champions MSI 2023 with the score 2-0.
In the play-offs, T1 played against LNG. Scout, who was not unreasonably named the best player of Worlds 2023, was like that until the 5th of November: T1 wiped out LNG, closing the series with a score of 3-0.
In the semi-finals of Worlds 2023, T1 faced perhaps the top contender to win the championship, JD Gaming. As formidable as the Chinese were, they were unable to outplay the experienced T1. As a result, Faker and company won the match with a score of 3-1 and T1 for the sixth (!) time made it to the grand finals of the most important League of Legends tournament. And then won it for the 4th time, which is an absolute record in competitive League of Legends and in esports in general.
After an excellent Long Cоrnеg regular season, LCK Spring 2024 T1s slipped a bit in the regular season, finishing 15-3 and in third place. T1 started the championship playoffs with a match against Hanwha Life Esports and surprisingly for me, they blew the game wide open, losing it 0-3. In the lower play-offs T1 played against DPlus KIA and beat them 3-0. Next, they defeated their HLE opponents 3-1, thus becoming the second and last Korean team at MSI 2024.
T1 made it to the Mid-Season Invitational 2024 after finishing in the top 2 at LCK Spring 2024.
Most Popular T1 Champions
Fiora (5 games, 60% wins) was the most frequently sent to the top line. There was also Jax (3 matches, 100% wins), Camile (2 matches, 100% wins), Irelia (2 matches, 100% wins).
In the forest Maokai (7 matches, 85% wins), Sejuani (4 games, 75% wins), Viego (2 matches, 100% wins).
The centre line was occupied by Azir (5 matches, 80% wins), Sylas (3 games, 66% wins), Kassadin (2 matches, 100% wins), Ryze (2 games, 50% wins).
Shooters: Varus (4 games, 50% wins), Lucian (4 games, 100% wins).
Sapports: Nami (3 games, 100% wins), Ashe (3 games, 0 wins), Varus (2 games, 100% wins), Miss Fortune (2 matches, 100% wins).\
Estral Esports uniform
We continue the match analysis with the analysis of Estral Esports form. In this match, they will play as an outsider, without much hope of winning.
Estral Esports is a rather new name for the international LoL scene, but not for the League as a competitive discipline. Estral Esports began their march on the LoL scene in 2019.
Performing in the Latin American region in their debut year won two local tournaments: the Division de Honor Closing 2019 and Supercopa Norte 2019. The LLA began their regional league appearances in 2021: they debuted with a top-5 finish at LLA Opening 2021 and then finished top-2 at LLA Closing 2021.
The 2022 season is remembered for two Top-2s, while 2023 saw two Top-3s and a Top-2. All in all, Estral Esport hung on tight at the top of their domestic league, but there was no way they could finish top. Not until 2024.
- EstralEsports roster: Zothve, Josedeodo, coby, Snaker, Ackerman.
In 2024, Estral Esports took the top 1 spot at LLA Opening 2024 for the first time in the club's history. Thanks to their victory over Rainbow 7 in the grand finals, Estral Esports earned a trip to their first ever international tournament.
Estral Esports' most popular champions
Fiora (5 games, 60% wins) was the most often sent to the top line. There was also Jax (3 games, 100% wins), Camile (2 matches, 100% wins), Irelia (2 matches, 100% wins).
In the forest Maokai (7 matches, 85% wins), Sejuani (4 games, 75% wins), Viego (2 matches, 100% wins).
The centre line was occupied by Azir (5 matches, 80% wins), Sylas (3 games, 66% wins), Kassadin (2 matches, 100% wins), Ryze (2 games, 50% wins).
Shooters set is standard: Varus (4 games, 50% wins), Lucian (4 games, 100% wins).
Sapports are diverse: Nami (3 games, 100% wins), Ashe (3 games, 0 wins), Varus (2 games, 100% wins), Miss Fortune (2 games, 100% wins).
History of head-to-head meetings T1 - Estral Esports
Previously, the teams have not played each other on an official level.
Predicted result of Estral Esports vs T1 at Mid-Season Invitational 2024 (MSI 2024)
This matchup is pretty straightforward. T1 will sweep away their opponents: the Latin American club has no chance of winning. Easy 2-0 for Faker and company.
Bottom line: 2-0 win for T1.
