JD Gaming survived a tense battle with T1 to post a 3-2 win on Thursday and advance to the grand final of the League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational.
JDG took the first round in 29 minutes on blue, but T1 bounced back to take a 2-1 lead with victories in 24 minutes on blue and 23 minutes on red. JD Gaming tied the match with a 32-minute triumph on blue before grabbing the final contest in 35 minutes on red.
A disappointed T1 fell to the lower bracket and can qualify for a rematch in the grand final with JDG by defeating the winner of Friday’s lower-bracket semifinal between Bilibili Gaming and Gen.G Esports.
On Twitter, T1 told their fans they have work to do.
“We’ll find ways to improve our teamwork,” read T1’s message. “Thank you for cheering us on today.”
The lower-bracket final is set for Saturday, with the grand final to be contested on Sunday.
All matches in the $250,000 Mid-Season Invitational are best-of-five.
Mid-Season Invitational prize pool:
1st: $50,000
2nd: $37,500
3rd: $30,000
4th: $25,000
5th-6th: $20,000 — G2 Esports, Cloud9
7th-8th: $15,000 — Mad Lions, Golden Guardians
9th: $12,500 — PSG Talon
10th-11th: $7,500 — Rainbow7, LOUD
12th-13th: $5,000 — GAM Esports, DetonatioN FocusMe
–Field Level Media