The League of Legends 2026 Mid-Season Invitational is down to its last six BO5 series. On the previous match day, when HLE faced G2 in the upper bracket, Hanwha Life Esports swept their opponents 3-0 with a full-team effort, becoming the first to advance to the winners' bracket finals. Gumayusi's Caitlyn in the third game gave fans a glimpse of a "one-tap" moment in LoL. The "Korea Slayer" couldn't even win a single game. If HLE maintains their current form, they will likely reach the finals.

On that same day, another match was between Top Esports and TSW. This match was truly frustrating to watch. When they lost to G2, fans were still making excuses for TES, saying that dropping to the lower bracket made it easier to reach the semifinals. Everyone believed TES couldn't possibly lose. But then, the "band" struck again. After a grueling four games, TSW defeated TES and advanced to the second round of the lower bracket. The team that the LPL fans had pinned their hopes on fell in the quarterfinals.

In this match, TES set several new "records": It was the first time an LPL team lost a BO5 to a Vietnamese team; it was the first time an LPL team was eliminated from MSI without winning a single major match; and it was also the first time the VCS won a BO5 series at an international event. Adding the previous "first reverse sweep" loss to G2, TES managed to set four new records in just two matches. As a spectator, it's honestly hard not to laugh.

After the loss, the LCP official social media account even taunted them: "You fought until the very end and gave it your all. Thank you for an exciting match. We look forward to facing you again at the World Championship." To top it off, they directly photoshopped the words "Thank You" onto TES's poster. It was a devastating blow. For the LCP to post an official "thank you" shows just how embarrassing this loss was for TES.

The main reason TES was eliminated in the quarterfinals is internal issues within the team. During a post-game apology interview, JackeyLove admitted: "Our training results have been very poor recently. We basically haven't won many scrims. The team has encountered problems that can't be solved in the short term." If they can't even win scrims, it's understandable that they lost in the official matches. It's likely a disagreement between the players and coaches, probably due to the players' shallow champion pools.

In a recent interview, a mid laner from the FUR team stated: "We've been scrimming against many LPL teams recently. The most frustrating part is that these LPL teams often surrender around the 15 or 20-minute mark. FUR never gets to practice Baron fights or late-game scenarios." It's highly probable that this "many teams" includes TES. Could the team's condition really be so poor that they can't even win scrims against Brazilian teams?

If they are getting crushed by Brazilian teams in scrims, then their loss to the Vietnamese team is understandable. When TSW played against HLE, although the final score was 3-0, TSW had advantages in the early-to-mid game in two of those matches. In comparison, TES's strength seems to be a few notches below TSW. The biggest problems for the team this time were undoubtedly the top laner and support. Most of the disadvantages came from their misplays.

The two rookies, Zuian and Fengyue, really didn't have many reliable champions in this Mid-Season Invitational. In the third game, they tried to emulate the T1 bot lane's playstyle. However, once Pyke was picked, it turned into a non-stop death spree. The top laner, Zuian, was constantly feeding the opponent's carry. In games that could have been turned around or stalled out, they found ways to throw away the lead. While we should be lenient with rookies, playing this poorly is enough to make even a saint complain.

Conclusion:

TES never fails to shock their fans whenever they enter an international tournament. It seems the title "King of Domestic" now belongs to TES. After their quarterfinal exit, the comments from the Korean community were the most interesting. Some viewers sharply criticized TES, calling them "the smallest mountain in the LPL, the shallowest river." Some even referred to TES as the "LPL's designated embarrassment team." This is really...

So, who do you think is the biggest problem for TES?

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