MSI 2026 Team Review: LYON Fall Desperately Short of a Grand Final Appearance
G2 Esports would have been many’s choice for the best Western team before MSI started. That was further emboldened after the first round. LYON barely snuck past FURIA, while G2 earned a reverse sweep over Top Esports. When the two teams met, LYON dismantled G2. They followed up that performance by being 2-1 up against Hanwha Life Esports in the Lower Bracket Final. Unfortunately, they could not convert. But the signs are there for LYON, and they should cause havoc at the World Championship.
LYON MSI Results
LYON played five series in total at MSI. Three of those matches were 3-0 wins, while their only losses came against the LCK and LPL first seeds.
- Won 3-0 against FURIA
- Lost 3-0 to Bilibili Gaming
- Won 3-0 against Team Secret Whales
- Won 3-0 against G2 Esports
- Lost 3-2 to Hanwha Life Esports
LYON Player Review
Dhokla
- Total Apex Rating – 5.2 (tied 7th among top laners, tied 34th among players)
- Champions Played
- Gnar (3)
- Jayce (3)
- Ambessa (2)
- Renekton (2)
- Gragas
- Gwen
- K’Sante
- Olaf
- Shen
- Varus
Dhokla had an awful start to his MSI campaign. The series against FURIA was one of his worst international performances of his career. The loss to Bilibili Gaming was not much better. However, he improved from that point. The game two win over Team Secret Whales was his turning point. The Gnar performance was incredible. He took the fight to BrokenBlade. He was prepared for the German’s counterpicks. Once again, he had another dominant Gnar performance. He fell against Hanwha Life Esports, against the best top laner of the tournament, Zeus.
Inspired
- Total Apex Rating – 6.9 (tied 1st among junglers, tied 4th among players)
- Champions Played
- Lee Sin (4)
- Jarvan IV (2)
- Nocturne (2)
- Skarner (2)
- Trundle (2)
- Xin Zhao (2)
- Pantheon
- Qiyana
- Wukong
After SkewMond’s performance at First Stand, questions started circling around Inspired. Was he still the best jungler in the West? At MSI, he reminded everyone that he is. He dominated in the series against G2. He also showed a side to him that we rarely see. He had multiple games where he went for early ganks instead of farming his camps. Every single one was successful and earned his team a lead in some facet. Some also criticised his Lee Sin, saying that he was not aggressive enough to make the pick work. Against both G2 Esports and Hanwha Life Esports, he was one of the best players on the rift. Inspired carried LYON once more on the international stage.
Saint
- Total Apex Rating – 6.1 (7th among mid laners, tied 19th among players)
- Champions Played
- Viktor (5)
- Ryze (2)
- Sylas (2)
- Taliyah (2)
- Ahri
- Akali
- Annie
- Cassiopeia
- Galio
- Syndra
Saint’s initial performances at MSI were not that impressive. He had several bad deaths or nearly died for almost no reason. Fortunately for LYON, most of these deaths did not have a drastic impact on the outcome. At one point, many described him as a jungler’s seventh jungle camp. From the G2 series onwards, he changed. He became a dependable player, even delivering game-winning performances. He was crucial in LYON’s game three comeback against Hanwha Life Esports. That was right after a knockout performance as Akali the game before. Saint showed why LYON took a risk on him playing alongside Inspired this year.
Berserker
- Total Apex Rating – 6.5 (4th among bot laners, tied 13th among players)
- Champions Played
- Ezreal (4)
- Ziggs (3)
- Varus (2)
- Caitlyn
- Jhin
- Kog’maw
- Lucian
- Mel
- Sivir
- Tristana
- Xayah
For most of the tournament, Berserker carried the load alongside Inspired. He held many leads in games. He had a crucial performance on Ezreal to win the game against FURIA. He brought out Tristana against Bilibili Gaming and earned a double kill on their bot lane. However, his one crucial mistake allowed BLG to win that game. That was most of Berserker’s performance throughout the tournament. He played well up until the final teamfights. If he held his own more often, LYON may have won the series against BLG and HLE.
Isles
- Total Apex Rating – 6.0 (tied 4th among supports, tied 23rd among players)
- Champions Played
- Alistar (2)
- Camile (2)
- Pyke (2)
- Bard
- Karma
- Leona
- Lulu
- Milio
- Nautilus
- Neeko
- Poppy
- Rell
- Renata Glasc
- Shen
Part of LYON’s improvement over the course of the MSI was Isles. He started as one of the weak links on the roster. Everyone wants to forget the disastrous Camille and Pyke games at the start. However, he quickly turned that around. He played Camille and Pyke again later on at MSI, and you could see the change. His mechanics were better, and he had more impact. He was the reason why LYON had a lead in game four against HLE. His Pyke was tremendous, and he showed why LYON picked him for the roster.
LYON Team Review
After LYON’s start to MSI, it looked doomed for them. But they turned it around with strong performances. Even though they lost 3-0 to BLG, every game was close. They had a lead in game four against HLE and could have qualified for the Grand Final. However, one errant teamfight in HLE’s jungle turned the game in the LCK team’s favor. They were the best team outside of the finalists. All of their wins came against the first seeds from the other regions. They are a force to be reckoned with and should do damage at the World Championship later this year.
More MSI Content
Below is some of the previous MSI content on Total Apex, for the team reviews.
