After a long offseason, League of Legends fans finally saw the MSI kick off. The first day's matches attracted a lot of attention and discussion due to the presence of T1. And T1 lived up to expectations, easily defeating TLAW 3-0 in the opening game. Going forward, T1 only needs to win two more BO5 series to advance to the MSI main event. According to MSI rules, T1 is guaranteed to face BLG in the main event.

Aside from T1's clean sweep, KC, the second seed from the LEC, also swept DCG in the Play-In stage to advance to the second round of the winners' bracket. Many fans acknowledge KC's strength, as they were able to push G2 to a full BO5 in the LEC finals. Given that G2 defeated BFX and GEN in the First Stand tournament, many LPL viewers even hope KC can create an upset by eliminating T1 in the Play-In stage. (Note: There is only one qualification spot in this MSI Play-In, so either KC or T1 will be eliminated.)

Some viewers believe KC might beat T1 simply because T1's top laner Doran performed terribly in the MSI opener. Doran was solo-killed twice by Morgan, who is considered a "reject" by both the LCK and LPL. Doran's post-match rating dropped to an embarrassing 4.2, while Morgan's rating soared to an impressive 9.2. Even many LCK netizens criticized Doran's performance, claiming that any stable top laner from the LCK would outperform him.

Despite his poor performance during the match, Doran created some "content" in the post-game interview. When asked by the host about his ranking of MSI top laners, Doran stated that if he could be included in the list, he would rank himself first, HLE's Zeus second, LPL's Bin third, TES's Zuan (probably a typo for "369" or "Zuian" — likely referring to 369) fourth, and TL's Morgan fifth. Many viewers joked that Doran was imitating Bin — playing badly but still claiming to be the world's best top laner.

Of course, Doran also explained his reasoning in the interview, saying that "as a professional player, you must have confidence in your own ability." Many fans hope Doran will continue to stay confident, since he is currently T1's only weak point. They want Doran to "draw his sword" when facing Bin, rather than playing safe champions like Sion or K'Sante. Do you think Bin will dominate Doran in their future matches?

After the first day of MSI concluded, some LPL viewers criticized the tournament schedule as flawed. Even well-known LPL caster Crystal disagreed with MSI's decision to use a double-elimination format in the Play-In stage. Given that there is only one qualification spot in the Play-In, a double-elimination system would make sense if there were two spots, but with only one, it could lead to T1 playing KC twice in a row. If T1 were to choke in the Play-In final, some might argue the schedule was unfair to T1.

Conclusion

Tomorrow, T1 will face KC in a BO5. Personally, I think the MSI Play-In qualification will be decided between these two teams. How likely do you think KC is to beat T1? I've seen many comments joking that sending TES to the Play-In would make for better entertainment. What do you think — if TES were playing BO5 in the Play-In, could they dominate like T1 and advance to the main event? (After all, TES is known as the "king of stomping weaker teams.")