MSI 2026 Match Review – T1 Versus Team Liquid: TL Struggles to Convert Advantages

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By:Devin Morris
The MSI 2026 Logo

T1 and Team Liquid kicked off the 2026 MSI. TL took the fight to T1, but always faltered where it mattered most. They had opportunities to win games two and three, but they never pushed their advantage. They allowed T1 to play their mind games and never challenged them on plays they could win. T1 is still ramping up, and TL has missed their opportunity.

MSI 2026: Game One Review

T1 beat Team Liquid in the opening MSI match
Image of T1 beating TL at MSI, courtesy of LoL Esports

Draft

T1 – Blue Side

  • Gnar
  • Xin Zhao
  • Orianna
  • Mel
  • Camille

Team Liquid – Second Pick

  • Yasuo
  • Wukong
  • Akali
  • Caitlyn
  • Bard

Slow Early Game

Josedeodo looks for the split map at level 1 to give his bot lane the advantage. Both Junglers trade camps back and forth. There is some map movement, but no kill until the 10th minute. Keria commits to killing Yeon for the First Blood kill, but dies at the hands of Quid.

T1 Come Alive

With no flash on Yeon, Peyz and Keria dive Yeon multiple times to build a 700 gold lead for Peyz. At the same time, Oner and Faker win the 2v2 against their counterparts, with Faker being a benefactor of two kills. The action continues rolling in the mid-game. Morgan picks up a handful of kills and turret platings for his own lead. However, T1 wins the rest of the map, with Faker up 2k gold at 17 minutes.

TL Fight Back to No Success

With T1 running away with the game, Josedeodo finds the engagement angle. He catches Peyz and Faker for the quick dive. Doran saves the play for T1, and they get the Baron. TL nearly defended on the Baron push, but Oner and Faker survived to end the game.

Player Ratings

T1

  • Doran – 7
  • Oner – 8
  • Faker – 8
  • Peyz – 7
  • Keria – 8

TL

  • Morgan – 5
  • Josedeodo – 6
  • Quid – 4
  • Yeon – 3
  • CoreJJ – 4

Player of the Game – Keria

MSI 2026: Game Two Review

Draft

T1 – Blue Side

  • Ambessa
  • Vi
  • Ryze
  • Kalista
  • Renata Glasc

Team Liquid – Second Pick

  • Rumble
  • Poppy
  • Taliyah
  • Senna
  • Nautilus

T1 Early Dive Awkward

Keria misses the Handshake which makes the dive awkward. They still get the kill on Yeon, but Keria and Oner die. The game gets chaotic early on. Peyz gets two more kills, while Oner and Keria die again. Doran also dies solo to Morgan. The action does not stop, with Faker opening up the top lane, while Quid gets the shut-down kill on Peyz.

TL Clutch Fights

T1 walks into a fight for the second Drake, but they do not get the first kill, and Oner dies. Quid cleans up the fight. T1 keeps going forward in fights, but they lack the damage to get kills. The gold lead for Peyz starts to disappear. T1 keeps forcing but drops further behind.

T1 Claw Back

T1 finds a kill on Quid to slow down TL’s lead with Faker picking up the shut-down. T1 outsmarts TL around the Baron and overstays to take the Void objective. A pick on Faker slows down the Baron push for T1, and the gold stays the same with the LCS second seed 4k ahead. Oner wins the smite battle to deny the Infernal Soul with Faker and Peyz cutting through the frontline. The lead drops to 1k.

One More Fight to Win

T1 setup through the bot lane for a second straight Infernal Soul fight. Josedeodo knocks Keria out of the fight, and they pull the trigger on Faker and Peyz. Both live long enough, and T1 crushes the fight. Oner even wins the Smite battle with Josedeodo, and the game ends.

Player Ratings

T1

  • Doran – 6
  • Oner – 6
  • Faker – 9
  • Peyz – 6
  • Keria – 7

Team Liquid

  • Morgan – 6
  • Josedeodo – 7
  • Quid – 5
  • Yeon – 4
  • CoreJJ – 6

Player of the Game – Faker

MSI 2026: Game Three Review

Draft

T1 – Blue Side

  • Renekton
  • Lee Sin
  • Annie
  • Zeri
  • Yuumi

TL – Second Pick

  • Zaahen
  • Nocturne
  • Galio
  • Varus
  • Neeko

Early Fight Goes Wrong

Josedeodo goes for an early invade on Oner’s Raptors. Oner lands the Smite, and Faker arrives. They get two kills early. Oner uses the early lead to keep Josedeodo behind. Yeon fights back to get a trade kill on Peyz to keep their only gold lead.

TL Trying to Advance the Game

TL tries their best to advance the game with Morgan’s teleport towards Doran in the bot lane. He survives, while the Bot-jungle trade Summoner spells in the mid lane. TL ace T1 on the Drake fight with a clean ultimate combination. However, Oner wins the Smite battle to earn the Soul point. The Soul fight is a mess with skirmishes going on all over the place. Peyz picks up three kills, and Oner returns to get the Soul.

T1 Play With TL’s Minds

T1 force Baron with the Cloud Soul on their backs. They do not finish the objective and wait for TL to commit. After Josedeodo’s Paranoia falls off, Peyz pulls the trigger, and moments later, TL’s team falls apart.

Player Ratings

T1

  • Doran – 5
  • Oner – 9
  • Faker – 7
  • Peyz – 7
  • Keria – 7

Team Liquid

  • Morgan – 7
  • Josedeodo – 3
  • Quid – 4
  • Yeon – 4
  • CoreJJ – 6

Player of the Game – Oner

MSI 2026: Player Summary

Faker earned his 100th MSI win
Image of Faker winning 100 MSI games, courtesy of LoL Esports

T1

Doran – 6.0

Doran had a weak laning phase, as expected, against Morgan. He showed up in teamfights, but often did not need to do much. His one GNAR! was clutch in game one.

Oner – 7.7

Oner was the king of the Smite battles in the series. Every time there was a hint of a 50/50 on objectives and Jungle Camps. His Vi was a little suspect, but he showed off the three champions he has a skin for.

Faker – 8.0 (Total Apex Player of the Series)

Faker earned his 100th MSI win in the series. He was the only player who stood tall throughout game two. His remaining stable allowed them to get back into it.

Peyz – 6.7

Peyz had moments of brilliance and mistakes throughout the series. He was uncharacteristically weak on Kalista for most of the game until the teamfights got going.

Keria – 7.3

Keria styled on TL in-game with Camille and then had a solid series. He was often the victim of T1’s overaggression in game two, having to follow Oner and Peyz. He was a passenger in game three, having to play Yuumi.

Team Liquid

Morgan – 6.0

Morgan was the most consistent member on the TL roster. He had the upper hand over Doran in the laning phase and used his leads to help the team.

Josedeodo – 5.3

Overall, he had a series to forget. From the Smite losses to getting his Keeper’s Verdict cancelled, he could have had a better performance. His mid-game on Poppy was solid.

Quid – 4.3

He will look back on that game two with regret. The unforced Stopwatch will haunt him. He had a great game on Taliyah up until that moment. There were multiple moments in the series where he got caught.

Yeon – 3.7

Yeon never really got himself into the series. Even when he picked up kills on Senna, he never felt like a threat. He was better on Varus, but he lacks the impact of teamfights that the team needs.

CoreJJ – 5.3

CoreJJ had an okay series. He did not have the worst series, but barely had an impact. There was a handful of Pop Blossoms that caught T1, but it was not consistent enough to win.

More LoL Esports Content

Below is all the previous MSI content on the Total Apex. You can expect more MSI articles in the following weeks.

Devin Morris is a Gaming Writer and Esports Editor for Total Apex Media. Devin is a gaming fanatic from little old South Africa. Devin has had a passion for gaming and writing from a young age. Devin's early favorites were Age of Empires, FIFA and Need for Speed games. As Devin grew older he moved into more competitive gaming, focusing on Overwatch, League of Legends and Teamfight Tactics. Devin also sinks way too many hours into Destiny 2!

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