The 2025 MSI Play-In Stage kicked off yesterday in Vancouver, bringing together G2 Esports, FURIA, GAM, and BLG to claim crucial spots in the main event.
The Play-Ins have always been a proving ground for ambitious teams from smaller regions and a wake-up call for major seeds that can’t afford to slip. Day one delivered both tension and inevitability in two best-of-fives that couldn’t have felt more different.
First, EMEA’s powerhouse G2 Esports took on LTA South’s FURIA in what turned out to be an unexpectedly tight five-game series. Then Bilibili Gaming, last year’s Worlds runner-up, faced Vietnam’s GAM Esports and delivered a result that most expected, a clinical 3–0 sweep.
With eight games played and more than 25 unique champions picked — thanks to Fearless Draft— teams tested each other not just in raw skill but also in drafting depth and mental resilience.
G2 Survives FURIA’s Push
G2 Esports started its MSI campaign with what should have been a routine win, but FURIA turned it into a brawl from the opening draft. The Brazilian side then shocked the audience by taking the first win in just 28 minutes.
FURIA’s top laner, Leonardo ‘Guigo‘ Lima, looked fearless on Aatrox while G2’s Sergen ‘BrokenBlade‘ Çelik struggled with a very out-of-pocket champion — a Warwick, which closed the game with a rough 0/5/1 KDA.
After that misstep, G2’s roster steadied itself. Game two saw BrokenBlade bounce back with an 8/4/8 performance on Jax, while mid laner Rasmus ‘Caps‘ Winther’s Corki cleaned up teamfights. Alongside Martin ‘Hans Sama‘ Hansen’s Varus, which brought reliable damage, the EMEA representative comfortably took the game.
Game three looked in G2’s favour until Guigo pulled off a rare Sion quadra-kill that almost turned the tables of the game before G2 closed it.
Still, FURIA refused to fold. Game four saw the LTA South side level the series, punishing G2’s overconfidence with decisive engages and strong macro calls that exposed gaps in G2’s setups. But when it mattered most, G2’s experience came through.
As if Silver Scrapes unlocked something in the team, G2 dominated the last game of the series against FURIA with the performance EMEA fans stayed up late to wait for.
Caps’s Yone ended at 7/0/8 and Hans Sama’s Senna went 6/1/10 while FURIA barely managed three kills in total. It left some fans feeling almost disappointed — after four tight games, the final one was a stomp.
BLG Outclasses GAM
Meanwhile, Bilibili Gaming’s match against GAM Esports was a reminder that sometimes the favourites are just that strong.
Chen ‘Bin‘ Ze-Bin was exceptional, just as fans had hoped — his Renekton in Game three finished 4/0/4, part of a ruthless performance that left GAM without a single tower or dragon. In the opening game, Bin’s Ambessa pick led him to a standout 7/3/10, setting the pace for the sweep.
With Zhuo ‘Knight’ Ding and Zhao ‘Beichuan’ Zhi-Peng dictating tempo in every lane, BLG suffocated GAM out of objectives entirely. Early jungle ganks from GAM’s Đỗ ‘Levi‘ Duy Khánh looked promising at first, but Beichuan’s smart pathing and objective control erased any hope of even contesting objectives.
A clean 3-0 from BLG warned other Play-Ins teams of its consistent runs in past international events.
With Round One done, G2 moves on to face BLG for a direct ticket to the Bracket Stage in a matchup that should test whether LEC representatives’ shaky start was just a warm-up or a real concern. GAM and FURIA drop to the lower bracket and face each other in a win-or-go-home series.
