Team Liquid are going back to MSI. A 3-0 sweep of Cloud9 in the LCS Spring 2026 lower bracket final hands TL the region's last spot for MSI 2026 in Daejeon (June 28 – July 12), their first appearance at the event since 2024 after sitting out last year.

The standout was Lim "Quid" Hyun-seung — the man Liquid signed to replace Eain "APA" Stearns, and who then took APA apart now that the American wears Cloud9 colours. His Yone was simply too strong, never more so than in Game 2.

For Cloud9, it's a familiar wall: a flawless 7-0 regular season, a loss to LYON in the upper bracket final, then a collapse the moment an international spot was on the line. Support Philippe "Vulcan" Laflamme had even been named MVP days earlier, echoing Naak Nako in the LEC, who never won again after picking up the same honor.

Liquid now face LYON in the grand final, with plenty still on the line: the regional title, the top seed — the one that skips Play-Ins and drops straight into the MSI bracket stage — and the LCS's final ticket to the Esports World Cup.