It was a long journey for the South Korean powerhouse, but that made the victory all the sweeter.
It’s been a long road for Gen.G Esports but after years of struggling, they are now the MSI 2024 Champions.
The South Korean first seed raised the Mid Season Invitational trophy yesterday at the Chengdu Financial City Performing Arts Center, China, after beating hometown heroes Bilibili Gaming 3-1.
This is a momentous feat for the org as they’ve long been known to be domestically dominant but internationally disappointing. The team’s strength within the Korean league is undeniable as they’ve won four splits in a row and have never placed lower than third in the last four years. Yet, they somehow choke when it matters most, leading to some lackluster international showings.
That narrative is different this time.
Not only is this Gen.G’s first international title, but they also broke China’s three-year MSI winning streak. The MSI trophy is also returning to South Korea after seven years, with the previous Korean winners being T1.
Breaking New Ground at MSI
Those weren’t the only records broken and firsts achieved in MSI. Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon, after seven years of trying, can now shed the moniker of “best Mid Laner in the world to never win an international tournament” with this MSI win.
The 18-year-old hotshot Kim “Peyz” Su-hwan also stamped his name in professional League of Legends history by breaking the record of a single player having the most kills in an international tournament. And Top Laner Kim “Kiin” Gi-in has a particularly unique stat to go with his first international victory.
Along with becoming the MSI 2024 champions, Gen.G has also secured a spot in the 2024 World Championship. As long as they make it to the playoffs in their domestic summer split, they’re guaranteed a ticket to Europe.
A fitting reward for proving themselves to be the best League of Legends team of 2024 so far.
Banner photo by Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games.
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