The first day of MSI 2017’s group stage wrapped up with two easy wins from SKT T1. GIGABYTE Marines surprised the world once again by defeating TSM, and Flash Wolves lost both games contrary to the relatively high expectations surrounding the team prior to today’s games.

SKT T1 and G2 faced against each other in the first match. G2 had a good start and maintained early dominance with more focus on bot lane, but SKT soon reversed the game with successful macro that destroyed the second turrets of both top and bot lanes. SKT led the game in their favor after establishing dominance, and won the match as they showed higher level of understanding the game in general.

The second matchup was the China vs. Taiwan showdown. WE claimed early dominance against FW in lanes, especially in the top lane where 957 was fed quite a lot. FW tried to make comebacks with Karsa and Maple, but was not able to bring the game back in their favor largely due to 957’s solid presence throughout the Rift. WE won the game and kept the pride of LPL.

The third matchup was in between GAM and TSM. GAM played the game in their favor from the very beginning. We did see some fierce fights as the game progressed further, but GAM stayed stronger in most of the fights. GAM won the round to surprise the world once again.

FW and G2 met in the fourth match, where G2 utilized the team composition to turn the game around in the end. Ivern and Caitlyn stood strong to prevent G2 from falling, and the team successfully won the teamfight later on to secure their victory. FW also fought hard with aggressive macro, but they were unable to take it one step further to fully penetrate G2’s defense.

Game 5 saw SKT going against GAM, in which SKT taught a lesson to the new team from Vietnam. SKT fought head on against GAM’s aggressive plays, and did not forget to extract profit every time the players traded skillshots with each other. SKT secured solid dominance by the time the game time reached 20 minutes, and destroyed the Nexus when the clock hit around 27.

The last matchup today saw TSM defeating WE to grab their first victory. Hauntzer’s Kennen came especially strong, providing solid ground on which the rest of the team could establish dominance in different parts of the map. Kennen even got the Baron buff to wreak havoc on WE, and WE did not find a chance against TSM in the yet fiercely fought match.

2017 MSI group stage day 1 result

Game 1 G2 Esports vs SKT T1
Game 2 Team WE vs Flash Wolves
Game 3 GIGABYTE Marines vs TSM
Game 4 Flash Wolves vs G2 Esports
Game 5 SKT T1 vs GIGABYTE Marines
Game 6 TSM vs Team WE

2017 MSI group stage standings

1. SKT T1 [2 wins, 0 losses]
   2. GIGABYTE Marines [1 win, 1 losses]
   2. TSM [1 win, 1 losses]
   2. WE [1 win, 1 losses]
   2. G2 [1 win, 1 losses]
   6. Flash Wolves [0 win, 2 losses]

Next Matchup

※ All tournament schedules are PDT based.

[Thursday, May 11, 2017]
11:00 - SK telecom T1 vs TSM
12:00 - GIGABYTE Marines vs Flash Wolves
13:00 - G2 Esports vs Team WE
14:00 - Flash Wolves vs TSM
15:00 - GIGABYTE Marines vs G2 Esports
16:00 - Team WE vs SK telecom T1