On June 28, 2026, at the Daejeon Convention Center, T1 played the first set against Team Liquid Alienware (TLAW) during the play leg of the 2026 Mid-Season Invitational (MSI).
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Since this was the first set of the tournament for both teams, the early play was steady without any major surprises. The first kill occurred around the 9th minute. During a brief skirmish in the bot lane, Keria (Ryu Min Seok) on Kamille, finding himself cut off, made a surprise play to secure First Blood on Kaitlyn Yong before being taken down by Akali Kuida.
Minor skirmishes continued as the game reached the 10-minute mark and T1 took over. The T1 bot duo managed to take out Kaitlin Yong twice more when she returned to the lane, and Faker (Lee Sang Hyuk) scored a double kill during a mid-jungle skirmish, tilting the tide in T1โs favor. The game then escalated into a series of violent brawls, belying the calm start.
T1 consistently emerged victorious in these ongoing skirmishes. Phase (Kim Soo Hwan) on Mel grew rapidly after several kills, showing incredible performance, while Keria (Ryu Min Seok) on Camille proved to be exceptionally strong for Supporter, paving the way for Melโs growth. By the 21st minute the gold gap had widened to over 5k. Faker (Lee Sang Hyuk) had a solid 5/1/4 and Faz (Kim Soo Hwan) had a 6/1/3.
The TLAW opportunity came in the 23rd minute. Wukong Hosedeo used an exquisite ultimate, followed by a combination of Yasuo Morganโs ultimate. For a moment, it looked like TLAW had orchestrated the perfect team fight, but T1 used his health advantage to literally turn the tide of a losing battle. They continued to defend the Baron, cementing their complete dominance.
At the 26th minute, building on their previous teamfight victory, T1 stormed into TLAWโs base and easily completed the game, marking a successful start to their MSI 2026 campaign.
ยฉlolesports This article was originally written in Korean and translated by NC AI. It was then edited by an English-speaking editor. All translations using artificial intelligence are checked and clarified by our editorial team. (Read original)