MSI 2026 Match Review – G2 Esports Versus LYON: North American Stand Tall And Defeat the European Hope

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By:Devin Morris
The MSI 2026 Logo

For the second EU Versus NA series of MSI, G2 Esports faced LYON. Bragging rights and a top-three finish in the tournament were on the line for both teams. LYON emerged victorious with a dominant performance. They won 3-0 with control in the series from start to finish. G2 struggled to find their footing. LYON will now face Hanwha Life Esports in the Lower Bracket Final.

MSI 2026: Game One Review

LYON dominated the series against G2 to win 3-0
Image of LYON beating G2, courtesy of LoL Esports

Draft

G2 Esports – Blue Side

  • Anivia
  • Jarvan IV
  • Orianna
  • Ashe
  • Seraphine

LYON – Second Pick

  • Renekton
  • Xin Zhao
  • Sylas
  • Ezreal
  • Karma

A Slow Early Game

There is very little action in the early game. A couple of flashes are burned, but the first blood only happens at 9 minutes. Hans Sama dies for first blood, followed shortly by Dhokla dying. With both teams even in the mid-game, neither pulls the trigger for a while. The first fight of the game occurs because of Rift Herald. LYON wins the fight and earns a small lead.

SkewMond’s Steal Prevents the Soul

The team meets on the Hextech Soul. With Dhokla behind G2, it looked dire for G2. Labrov landed the Encore, which allowed G2 to kite. SkewMond returned to the Drake to steal it and deny the Hextech Soul momentarily. LYON caught BrokenBlade without Flash. They turn towards the Baron, but they do not have the damage to take the objective. A fight ensues, and both teams lose their AD carry.

A Scrappy Soul Fight

Inspired has to go in on the second Soul fight. He dies, but the solo laners pick up the slack and kill both G2 bot laners. The fight resets, and LYON have the positional advantage. Saint’s stolen Encore buys LYON the space to secure the Drake. LYON chase G2 down and now have a significant advantage with Baron and Hextech Soul. Saint’s flank on the Elder Drake finds both G2 carries, and the game ends.

Player Ratings

G2 Esports

  • BrokenBlade – 6
  • SkewMond – 6
  • Caps – 7
  • Hans Sama – 4
  • Labrov – 5

LYON

  • Dhokla – 7
  • Inspired – 6
  • Saint – 8
  • Berserker – 6
  • Isles – 6

Player of the Game – Saint

MSI 2026: Game Two Review

Draft

LYON – Blue Side

  • Gnar
  • Lee Sin
  • Viktor
  • Varus
  • Leona

G2 Esports – Red Side

  • Yasuo
  • Pantheon
  • Cassiopeia
  • Ziggs
  • Nautilus

A Faster-Paced Early Game

SkewMond ganks the LYON bot lane at level three. Berserker dies for the first blood. He returns with teleport alongside Inspired. Isles dies, but so does Labrov. The action goes to the top lane. SkewMond and BrokenBlade try to punish Dhokla’s teleport. He arrives with Mega Gnar, and Inspired joins him. Both Junglers die, along with BrokenBlade. LYON begins to snowball the game. BrokenBlade dies solo to Dhokla. Shortly after, Caps and Labrov die after looking for a kill on Saint.

G2 Battle Back

With LYON looking to push their advantage, Inspired dies after trying to crash the Rift Herald. Hans Sama picks up the shutdown gold. The game slows down as G2 clear waves and pick up a top tower. G2 punish LYON’s positioning on the Fourth Drake. They kill Isles and secure the Soul point.

An Errant Baron Call

After killing Dhokla in the bot lane, G2 call a Baron start. LYON contest them, and they destroy the LEC first seed. They push the top lane for the game two victory.

Player Ratings

G2 Esports

  • BrokenBlade – 2
  • SkewMond – 4
  • Caps – 6
  • Hans Sama – 6
  • Labrov – 3

LYON

  • Dhokla – 7
  • Inspired – 8
  • Saint – 7
  • Berserker – 7
  • Isles – 8

Player of the Game – Inspired

MSI 2026: Game Three Review

Draft

G2 Esports – Blue Side

  • Jayce
  • Wukong
  • Syndra
  • Yunara
  • Lulu

LYON – Second Pick

  • Olaf
  • Trundle
  • Ryze
  • Caitlyn
  • Bard

A Level Two Gank from Inspired

Inspired clears Blue and Gromp and then paths to the bot lane. Labrov dies to Isles for first blood. Inspired repeat ganks on the bot lane, and this time Hans Sama dies to Isles. More action takes place in the bot lane. Inspired ganks again, but SkewMond counter ganks. He picks up the shutdown gold on Isles. However, he dies, and Dhokla rotates towards the mid lane. He kills Caps with Saints’ help. BrokenBlade also dies as Berserker and Isles swap to the top lane.

Another LYON Lead

G2 looks for an invade in LYON’s jungle. Isles turns the play around with a Flash stun on SkewMond and HansSma. LYON’s lead crests 2k at 13 minutes. The teams trade kills at the third Drake, but LYON gets the Drake with positional advantage. They target Caps without Flash and kill him. With Labrov trying to ward, LYON engages, forcing SkewMond to retaliate. The G2 Jungler dies.

A Pick Into Baron

Labrov dies in his team’s jungle, and LYON turn towards the Baron. LYON play slow and wait for the perfect time to fight. Beserker kills Caps, and only then does Inspired turn on SkewMond. LYON cursh the fight and break open G2’s base. G2 hold strong against LYON’s attempts to end the game. They claw back some of the gold lead, but still face Infernal Soul.

Stalling with Baron

After Saint Realm Warps too far in G2’s base, G2 takes the Baron. G2 looks to take the mid lane tower bounty. Caps steps up but dies to LYON’s engage, and all G2 members die. They end the series.

Player Ratings

G2 Esports

  • BrokenBlade – 4
  • SkewMond – 3
  • Caps – 4
  • Hans Sama – 4
  • Labrov – 2

LYON

  • Dhokla – 7
  • Inspired – 9
  • Saint – 6
  • Berserker – 7
  • Isles – 8

Player of the Game – Inspired

MSI 2026: Series Ratings

Dhokla at MSI
Image of Dhokla at MSI, courtesy of LoL Esports

G2 Esports

BrokenBlade – 4.0

BrokenBlade did not have the same impact on the series as he did against T1. He lost out to Dhokla in the laning phase, and his counter picks did not achieve their goals.

SkewMond – 4.3

SkewMond could not keep up with Inspired throughout the series. The early pathing from the LYON Jungler left SkewMond perplexed. He looked frustrated throughout most of the series.

Caps – 5.7

Caps did everything he could to keep G2 afloat in the series. He was the reason they had a chance in the first game. He had multiple good shockwaves, but it was not enough to get over the line.

Hans Sama – 4.7

Hans Sama never really got into the series. His Ziggs performance was decent in Game 2, but not enough to swing the tides. He rarely had a chance to put his stamp on proceedings.

Labrov – 3.3

Another series to forget for Labrov. After taking down Keria, Labrov struggled against Isles. He and SkewMond lacked coordination. The final game was the worst for him as he died numerous times for no reason on Lulu.

LYON

Dhokla – 7.0

Dhokla stepped up in the series to take down BrokenBlade. For the second series in a row, Dhokla has kept his lane opponent quiet. He never wavered and was ready for BrokenBlade’s counter picks.

Inspired – 7.7 (Total Apex Player of the Series)

Inspired ran everything in this series. His pathing in the early game to look for ganks, shook G2. They were not ready for his aggression. He showed once again that he is the best Jungler in the West.

Saint – 7.0

Saint was a potential weakness for LYON up against Caps. However, he not only held his own, but delivered dominant performances. His Sylas was key to the game one victory.

Berserker – 6.7

Berserker’s only errant performance was in game one. The shift forward near the Drake pit nearly cost LYON. He had some crucial ultimates as Varus to earn LYON picks.

Isles – 7.3

Isles thrived in this series. It was by far and away the best performance he has had at MSI. He took control of the final game as Bard after securing two kills. It showed signs of what is to come for him.

More MSI Content

Below is all the previous MSI content on 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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