T1 and Karmine Corp each earned 3-0 sweeps early Sunday to advance through the first round of the play-in stage of the League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational in Daejeon, South Korea.
T1 dispatched Team Liquid in 26 minutes, 36 minutes and 30 minutes. Meanwhile, Karmine took down Deep Cross Gaming in 32 minutes, 26 minutes and 34 minutes.
The current play-in stage runs through July 1, with four teams competing in a double elimination bracket. Teams are seeded according to results from the First Stand Tournament and compete in best of five matches throughout. The eventual winner advances to the bracket stage, an eight-team tournament that provides a $2 million prize pool including a $500,000 check for the first-place finisher.
Kim “Peyz” Soo-hwan paced T1 with 32 kills, while Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok had a 6.3 kills-deaths-assists ratio. Lim “Quid” Hyeon-seung had 17 kills for Liquid.
For Karmine, Kang “Kyeahoo” Yea-hoo scored a 12.5 KDA ratio, while Caliste “Caliste” Henry-Hennebert (25) and Martin “Yike” Sundelin (21) each exceeded 20 kills.
Liquid and Deep Cross are now left to face off in an elimination game, while T1 and Karmine will square off to determine which side will take its first loss.
Late Sunday matchups:
Round 2:
T1 vs. Karmine Corp
Team Liquid vs. Deep Cross Gaming (elimination)
–Field Level Media