LCK’s Gen.G Esports has defeated EMEA underdog G2 Esports in a surprisingly competitive 3-1 series during the opening day of MSI 2025’s Bracket Stage.
Following a mixed performance in the event’s Play-In Stage, G2 now faces early MSI elimination in the lower bracket.
G2 Esports Starts Off Strong
The series kicked off with a dominant display of fundamentals from G2. Meanwhile, Gen.G had a rough draft to play with heading into its opponent’s poke-heavy team composition. The LCK squad, in particular, lacked engagement after picking Braum into an unfavourable support match-up against Rakan.
After a slow early game, it was a team fight for the first dragon that seemingly dictated the pace for the remainder of the game. G2 emerged victorious, securing first blood and setting its path towards the Chemtech Soul and Elder Dragon, which followed later in the game. Although Gen.G fought back valiantly, the team could not challenge G2’s insurmountable lead.
At 32:08, the EMEA team won one last skirmish to take the first game with 22-4 kills.
Gen.G Retaliates With Strong Early Game
The second game began more competitively as both teams traded kills and objectives. However, G2 underestimated the early team fighting potential of its team composition and was punished heavily. This allowed Gen.G to establish an early gold lead which extended towards kills and objectives.
On top of that, Park ‘Ruler’ Jae-hyuk had a deadly 13/2/10 performance on Jhin while Steven ‘Hans Sama’ Liv struggled to accumulate stacks on Senna. In the later stages of the game, Gen.G shut down every comeback window G2 tried to create to even out the match score in just under 32 minutes.
G2 Struggles Against Canyon Dominance
Game three saw Kim ‘Canyon’ Geon-bu teach a masterclass on his comfort pick Lee Sin. The jungler facilitated Gen.G’s early-game strategy by successfully ganking side lanes and denying any possible impact from rival jungler Rudy ‘SkewMond’ Semaan on Jarvan. The LCK squad then proactively yet patiently suffocated G2 Esports across the map.
With G2’s side lanes behind in farm, the team had no chance at fighting for crucial objectives. In minute 26, the team was obliterated during a dragon contest, allowing Gen.G to reach match point at 27:25.
Gen.G Denies Game Five
The final game once again featured trades in the earlier stages, with Gen.G taking first blood and G2 claiming the first drake. Throughout the mid-game, kills continued to be traded back and forth. However, Gen.G defended against G2’s aggression while maintaining diligent macro gameplay.
On the other hand, G2 increasingly conceded objectives and turrets to seek out skirmishes. This eventually caused the LEC team to fall behind, especially on SkewMond’s Mundo and Hans Sama’s Kai’Sa. A solid performance from Rasmus ‘Caps’ Winther on Twisted Fate was not enough to stop Gen.G from fighting its way into the G2’s base and ending the series at 30:36.
MSI 2025 Continues Tomorrow
With MSI’s initial Bracket Stage match concluded, winner Gen.G will continue in the upper bracket. G2’s next series, however, will decide the LEC team’s survival in the tournament.
Until then, League of Legends fans can look forward to three more upper-bracket matches, debuting the top teams across the game’s regions. Tomorrow at 1 am BST, North America’s FlyQuest will face off against LPL Split 2 champion Anyone’s Legend.
The best-of-five (BO5) series will be broadcast on the official Twitch and YouTube channels, as well as by associated co-streamers.
