Royal Never Give Up advance to MSI finals

Royal Never Give Up secured a spot in the Mid-Season Invitational finals with a 3-1 win over PSG Talon on Friday.

This series kicked off with RNG taking Game 1 in 44 minutes, the longest game of the series. Both teams fared well in the early going, but RNG were able to pull away a bit by building a 2,000 gold lead by 16 minutes through taking objectives and superior farming.

While PSG would fight throughout the mid game to even up the gold lead, RNG's Dragon control would prove insurmountable. RNG took two Baron Nashors, got the Cloud Soul and an Elder Dragon Soul, and that was enough to secure the win.

PSG Talon was quick to respond in Game 2, pummeling RNG early en route to a 29-minute win. PSG Talon's carries were the main highlight of this game, with mid laner and international veteran Huang "Maple" Yi-Tang playing well as Sylas dictated mid-late game teamfights with his Hijack ultimate onto key targets. Meanwhile, bot laner Chiu "Doggo" Tzu-Chuan impressed as Tristana, posting a 9/0/9 KDA (Kills/Deaths/Assists) and impressing despite being an emergency substitute for PSG.

After Game 2, RNG seemingly figured out how to stop PSG Talon, which they did with aplomb in Game 3. Bottom lane of bottom laner Chen "GALA" Wei and support Shi "Ming" Sen-Ming were the driving force for RNG. Ming's Braum roamed constantly and made sure PSG couldn't get ahead early, while GALA's Kai'Sa shredded through PSG's frontline and dealt tons of damage en route to a fast 22-minute win.

The final game of the series saw PSG have a decent early-mid game, except that they once again let RNG control the early objectives like the elemental drakes. Empowered by an Infernal Soul, RNG eventually became too powerful for PSG to stand up and fight in 5v5 teamfights, leading to RNG punching their ticket to the MSI Grand Finals after a 36-minute win.

The 11-team Mid-Season Invitational, which runs through May 23, is being