From Faker’s escape to incredible and close teamfights, here are the five best plays and highlights at the MSI 2023.

Image Credits | Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games

MSI 2023 – Best Plays of the tournament

League of Legends fans got the chance to see some of the best action this season at the 2023 Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) in London. Once again, it was an LPL team reigning at the top, with JD Gaming prevailing over their rivals BiliBili Gaming in a one-sided series. Nonetheless, BLG showed their worth by clinching the finalist spot, as they took down the two Korean teams Gen.G and T1.

Even though MSI is over now, it’s still important to look back and see what peak League of Legends looks like. Here are the best plays from the tournament.

7. Gen.G Chovy’s stopwatch play

T1 and Gen.G found themselves in the same bracket at the MSI Knockout stage, reliving the LCK Spring Finals rematch. On that occasion, Gen.G took down T1 to claim their back-to-back trophy. At MSI, however, Gen.G couldn’t make it work, as they dropped to T1.

That being said, Gen.G still made the long-time rivals sweat during the series, and Chovy tried his best to carry the team. After going 0-2, T1 was about to sweep Gen.G, until Chovy made the incredible turn around of punishing the opponent’s greedy play. By buying a stopwatch in a fraction of a second, he managed to bait both Oner and Zeus, killing both of them, and turning the game around.

6. Golden Guardians beat JDG in a teamfight

It was a rough tournament for the NA teams since they were unable to take one game from the Eastern teams. Even though the result might not have looked great, Golden Guardians still put up a fight against the MSI champions in their clash at the bracket stage. In Game 2, the LCS team found themselves at an advantage and beat the Chinese team in a 5v5 teamfight. Thanks to some great crowd control chains, GG managed to come out of the fight victorious. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to take the game: JDG were able to crawl their way back with superior macro and thanks to a scaling Zeri, take down GG’s nexus.

5. Knight showing why he was the FMVP

1v2 plays are rare in the modern era of League of Legends, where all players look to fight in coordination to get the upper hand. For Knight and his Jayce, however, that is not necessary. In the final game between JDG and BLG, the Chinese mid laner demolished Xun and Yagao, proving to everyone he’s one of, if not, the best mid laner in the world.

Read more: LPL 2023 Summer Split - All confirmed & rumored roster moves

4. Faker’s incredible escape

League pros are always able to pull the unthinkable and Faker did it in one of the most crucial moments at MSI. T1 and Gen.G were 2-2 in the upper bracket, and it all came down to the last decisive game. The GOAT mid laner picked K’Sante, against Chovy’s Ahri.

Everything went smooth until the 10th-minute mark, when Peanut and Chovy tried to punish an overextending Faker. Despite tanking turret damage and fighting 1v2, Faker managed to get away with one of the coolest escapes of the season.

3. T1 only need one fight to win the game

T1 found themselves on the backfoot against JDG, after losing Game 1 and barely managing to stay even in Game 2. Despite having the worse scaling composition on paper and facing a fed Cassiopeia and Jinx, T1 found the perfect fight to ace the entire JDG lineup and take down the enemy’s nexus in the blink of an eye. From what was supposed to be a long game, T1 tied their score in 24 minutes, making it one of the best plays ever seen at MSI.

2. JDG claim the victory over T1 at Silver Scrapes

While the play itself is not that exceptional, it’s the moment and the adrenaline that makes up for it. T1 and JDG faced off in the upper bracket finals, in what was considered the entrée of the finals. Both teams showed great fights and once again, it all came down to the last game. With JDG in a commanding position, T1 tried one last desperate play to turn the game around. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out, as Ruler had perfect positioning throughout the fight and was untouched.

All the cheers and support from both teams exploded at this exact moment, in one of the most incredible and sensational series in esports history.

1. T1’s comeback against MAD

Comebacks are not that uncommon in League but winning after dropping 7k gold in the first part of the game is unheard of. Yet, T1 managed to pull it off against the first LEC seed MAD Lions. Thanks to an immaculate teamfight and an outstanding carry performance by Gumayusi on Aphelios, T1 won the fight and started their comeback, taking down the enemy’s base in 33 minutes and closing with a 5k gold lead. It’s one of the rarest plays in League esports and one of the best comebacks at MSI.

Read more: LCK 2023 Summer Split - Schedule, Teams, and more