BLG botlaner Elk deathless in MSI 2023 debut
BLG vs R7 League match begins the second day of MSI 2023
- Who was the favorite in the BLG vs R7 League match?
- How dominant was BLG in the MSI 2023 opener?
- Who BLG and R7 play next at MSI 2023?
- What is the MSI 2023 schedule?
Heading into the BLG vs R7 League match, Bilibili Gaming was the clear favorite over Movistar R7 going into the series. While BLG came into the series as the second seed representative from the LPL, they were still viewed as one of the MSI 2023 favorites. For Movistar R7, expectations were heavily geared toward this series being an opportunity to make a lower bracket run to the MSI 2023 Bracket Stage.
BLG Elk dominate and was deathless on MSI 2023 stage
While many were hoping for a miracle from the side of R7, that storyline was not meant to be as BLG showcased their true potential as a dark horse at MSI 2023.
Bilibili Gaming’s Zhao “Elk” Jia-hao was dominant throughout the entire two-game series as he was constantly in the face of R7 during major team fights on the rift. Throughout the entire series, Elk was deathless on both Jinx and Lucian as he served as the team’s primary carry against the forces of R7.
His team fight positioning was flawlessly executed as R7 had incredible difficulty picking off the BLG botlaner as he led the team to a clean 2-0 victory
Who do BLG play next at MSI 2023?
With this victory, BLG has advanced to the qualification match where they will face the winner of the match between Golden Guardians and GAM Esports. That match will take place tomorrow May 4 at 5am PT.
As for R7, they have officially dropped into Group A’s Loser Bracket against the loser of Golden Guardians and GAM Esports. That match will take place on May 5 at 5am PT.
What is the MSI 2023 schedule?
MSI 2023 Play-In Stages will take place from May 2-7, where three Play-In teams will round out an eight-team MSI 2023 Bracket Stage. That portion of MSI 2023 will begin on May 9, 2023.
Those interested in tuning into MSI 2023 can check out Riot Games’ live broadcast through their Twitch and YouTube channels.
Additionally, those looking to understand what League of Legends patch teams will be competing on can check out our article on League of Legends Patch 13.8 for the MSI update.
Sage got his start in esports as a volunteer writer in 2016 for esports organization, Dignitas. Since then, he has continued to work on his craft as a journalist and reporter for a number of established esports publications, such as esports.gg, Unikrn, Akshon Esports, Howla, The Player’s Lobby, Nerd Street Gamers, and most recently Dot Esports. Now, as a member of Esports Illustrated’s content team, Sage’s primary duties are centered around creating groundbreaking written and video content about the esports industry that impacts the community in a meaningful way. Sage graduated from Rutgers University with a Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology and Informatics. There, he was a member of the Rutgers Esports Executive Board, both as the head of the fighting game community and a videographer/photographer for the Content team.