The final hope of LCK! Zeus' Aatrox descended like a god, HLE redeemed themselves in a do-or-die match, advancing to the finals 3-2.

Greetings to all LPL viewers and League of Legends summoners, this is the World of Esports.

The loser's bracket final of the MSI Mid-Season Invitational saw its decisive game today. HLE was once pushed to the brink by LYON, then fought back to level the score, ultimately completing their redemption in the final game and defeating their opponents to advance to the finals.

Thus, the MSI will feature a third Sino-Korean showdown, with BLG set to face HLE for the championship.

Zeus descended like a god, HLE gained a huge advantage.

In the crucial fifth game, HLE on the blue side revealed Nidalee and Blitzcrank, while LYON countered with Sylas, but faced some offensive pressure. At the start, Shen managed to secure a decent health advantage. Delight's Blitzcrank kept landing hooks to create opportunities, but in one ward-avoiding engage with Kanavi's initiation, Nidalee missed her spear and failed to secure a kill.

HLE then continued to seek opportunities, successfully setting up a two-man gank in the bot lane to kill Xayah, and even though LYON's Shen used his ultimate, he couldn't turn the tide.

After gaining momentum bot lane, Blitzcrank moved mid to try and kill Sylas with Ahri's help, but Zeka got too aggressive and was killed under tower. Returning to laning phase, Aatrox outmatched Shen in lane and developed well.

LYON opted to dive bot lane forcibly, but both teams' teleport supports arrived. Zeus, like a god descending, helped HLE secure a 1-for-3 trade. LYON's Sylas performed poorly in this fight, having been limited by Nidalee's early pressure and failing to find any openings in the team fight.

After this exchange, LYON fell into a massive disadvantage. Inspired invaded the jungle and forced an engage, killing Nidalee, but Zeus' entry was still unstoppable. HLE won another team fight, widening their lead. Blitzcrank continued to shine, hooking Xin Zhao in the jungle and securing an instant kill with his teammates.

HLE awakened in the final moment, the last hope of LCK.

In the next jungle skirmish, LYON's decision-making became chaotic. Xin Zhao was poked low and then gave away a free kill. The subsequent team fight was also easily crushed by HLE. With the fight completely lost, the game was already decided. HLE secured the Baron buff and began their siege push.

With the Baron buff, HLE gave LYON no chance to retaliate, pushing straight to the nexus and ending the game in one go.

Looking at the entire BO5 performance, the most regrettable point for LYON was in the fourth game. They had a mid-game advantage but lost it in a reckless jungle engage that HLE turned around. After that, HLE regained control and won the game. In the fifth game, HLE secured a favorable draft and executed their strategy well to take the victory.

This match was quite perilous for LCK, as they nearly repeated the mistakes of the previous tournament. If they had lost to the North American team and missed the finals, the backlash in the LCK community would have been unimaginable.

The most dangerous moment for HLE in this series was after a huge mistake in the third game that led to a comeback by their opponents. In the fourth game, the players had mental struggles—they became too cautious when ahead, afraid to take risks. If the opponents hadn't initiated and given them opportunities, HLE could have been eliminated 3-1.

The final Sino-Korean battle—can BLG claim the title?

Thus, LCK will face its last Sino-Korean showdown. The MSI finals will begin at 2 PM tomorrow, with BLG facing HLE once again. Can BLG win the championship? Based on both teams' recent performances, especially their head-to-head matches, BLG undoubtedly holds the advantage and is the more favored side.

However, at times like this, BLG must not let their guard down. Personally, I believe BLG is not a team without weaknesses. Whether they can win tomorrow truly depends on the players' on-the-spot condition and performance, and the draft phase will also be crucial.

HLE went through a do-or-die revival in this series. Although they made many mistakes in the games, winning the match actually puts them in a better mental state. Having experienced such a life-or-death battle, HLE will shift their mindset tomorrow from being the challenger to the underdog, and they will also prepare special strategies tailored against BLG.

Editor

In summary, tomorrow's match will be a tough battle. BLG's advantage is not as big as it seems, and they must be prepared for a prolonged fight. Most importantly, the players need to maintain a stable mindset and strive to win this hard-fought victory, bringing another championship back to the LPL.