T1 completed the eight-team field for the MSI 2026 main event, sweeping Team Liquid 3-0 to win the Play-In stage. The draw show that followed locked the opening best-of-fives of the Bracket Stage, which runs at the Daejeon Convention Center II from 3 July to the grand final on 12 July.

The Draw

HLE vs Team Secret Whales — 3 July, 05:00 CEST / 12:00 KST

Hanwha Life Esports open against the LCP champions. HLE clinched the LCK's first seed and reach MSI for the first time as an organisation. Team Secret Whales were the earliest side to qualify for the tournament. Two sides with no shared history, and the first real test of where the best team from LCP stands against a top LCK seed.

G2 Esports vs Top Esports — 3 July, 10:00 CEST / 17:00 KST

The draw's regional rules made this one unavoidable — G2 and TES were always going to meet. G2 swept TES 3-0 in the lower bracket at MSI 2024. Since then the LPL side have turned it around, and G2 have taken just a single game off them across their meetings — that one coming in a 3-1 defeat in the Worlds 2025 quarter-finals last year.

caps against TES
Photo Credit: Yicun Liu/Riot Games

LYON vs FURIA — 4 July, 05:00 CEST / 12:00 KST

An all-Americas tie, and a first-ever meeting between the two. LYON, the Mexican-owned LCS side, won the 2026 LCS Lock-In and carry a revamped roster around Kacper "Inspired" Słoma. FURIA arrive as the CBLOL representative. At First Stand, Inspired said he was surprised not to see FURIA at the event, rating them above LOUD, who took the slot. Daejeon is finally where that read gets tested.

BLG vs T1 — 4 July, 10:00 CEST / 17:00 KST

The headline draw. Bilibili Gaming come in as the LPL Split 2 champions, seeded straight into the Bracket Stage, while T1 arrive out of the Play-In gauntlet. The two have a heavy shared history — they met three times in Bo5 across 2024, twice in the MSI 2024 bracket stage, both to BLG, and again in the Worlds 2024 grand final, which T1 won 3-2.

The toplane has already turned personal. Chen "Bin" Zebin took aim at his opposite number's Play-In form first:

I knew he [Doran] wasn't playing well this MSI, but I didn't expect him to play this badly.
gigabin
Photo Credit: Bruno Alvares/Riot Games

Choi "Doran" Hyeon-joon answered in kind:

I saw some of the comments Bin made about me. I think it's time to teach him a lesson.

BLG looked the stronger side going into the Play-Ins, but that edge is now an open question. T1 have rolled through in 3-0s and land here fully warmed up, while BLG have to match that level cold after their bye.

Wanna go further ?

Our MSI Bracket Stage prediction feature is now live — pick your winners across the bracket before the games begin on Friday. And to back your calls, the Teams & Players Head-to-Head feature is on the site too, with full records and prior meetings for every side !