LoL: MSI 2021 Rumble Stage – Day Four Recap

With two sides all but qualified, the battle for the final two spots is hotting up.

Heading into Day Four, DK and RNG had a 99% chance of qualifying for the knockout stage, with PSG (95%) and MAD (80%). That left C9 (5%) and PGG (0.5%) left to battle for the remaining two spots. Victory in Game Two for MAD could see them qualify before facing PGG later in the day Meanwhile, C9 needed to bring their A-game ahead of the series against RNG and a must-win final game of the day against PGG. PSG came into the day in third, but tough games against DK and RNG could sully their march up the standings, giving C9 hope.

4096 remaining scenarios remaining in the #MSI2021 Rumble stage.

Check out all the remaining scenarios where a team makes it to knockouts and follow along with the foldy sheet here: https://t.co/FOU0LLNvXK pic.twitter.com/FFjBYX4lO4

— LoLEsports Stats (@LoLEsportsStats) May 17, 2021

PSG.Talon vs Royal Never Give Up

PSG needed a big start, and it’s exactly what they got. RNG moved to 3v2 gank the PSG bottom lane but was unaware River was waiting for him. PSG was able to get another kill on the bot side, but they dropped two in the top side river when Hannabi got caught out. PSG did manage to get one back after chasing down members of RNG, with RNG leading by1k in gold.

With RNG in the PSG jungle looking for a kill, PSG counter-attacked and was able to take down Wei. With RNG fleeing, PSG was able to chase them down and knock down yet another member as PSG now moved to 1k ahead. Mid lane hosted the next skirmish and it’s PSG yet again that came out on top, trading two-for-one in kills. Eventually, we got our first team fight, and while RNG had the upper hand early, PSG clawed back. In the end, they took down four members, losing just two in return. They just about had the health bars to attempt the Baron but they got forced off, giving RNG a chance.

The game slips away

A 5v5 broke out around the PSG tier-two mid turret and RNG brought out the big plays when they needed it most, knocking down four members of PSG losing just three of their own. With that, they took a Baron as RNG came right back into the game. And it’s the same outcome in the next fight. PSG lost two early but this time PSG cannot counter with any kills of their own.  This meant that RNG moved to 5k ahead and looked to close out the game.

In a desperate attempt, PSG pulled the trigger on Ming when they found him caught out. Unfortunately. they couldn't take him down. As PSG retreated with no ultimates left, RNG destroyed their health bars and took home the win. With a 6-1 record at this point, RNG secured a spot in the Knockout Stage, while PSG still needed another victory to lock in their spot.

Quick Stats:

• Time: 36:51
• Kills: 15-16
• Turrets: 4-10
• Gold: 60.8k – 70.4k
• Dragons: 3-3
• Barons: 0-1

MAD Lions vs DAMWON KIA

Both MAD and DK were eager to find a win here to catch up to RNG. It took until the 7th minute for the real action to begin and it was DK that ended up with the early game lead after they picked up two kills on invading members of the MAD team. From here, things continued to go badly for MAD, as Elyoya was again caught out. Though he managed to skirt away before, this time he died and DK accelerated to 2k ahead. DK continued to expand their lead and continued to catch out members of MAD. The gold lead grew to 4k, where DK looked comfortably in control.

Signs of life from MAD

The game's first big team fight was when we finally saw some life out of MAD. In it, DK killed off one MAD member, but MAD took two in return. Afterward, MAD looked to force a fight in the mid lane in an attempt to take down the mid lane tier-one tower. A fight ensued where MAD got a big early kill, but that was all they were able to do. DK chased them down and it was an easy Ace for DK as they continued to take control of this match. DK’s control on the match saw them take down the MAD mid-lane and bottom-lane Inhibitors without losing anything for their trouble. They walked out of the base and reset as their 10k created a winnable gap.

Without Baron, DK moved to take down the MAD base. In a desperate attempt to stay in the game, MAD took a fight and miraculously killed three members of DK to keep themselves alive in this match, despite an 8k deficit. DK, with a new Baron buff, sought to finish what they’d started earlier, taking down the two Inhibitors that had respawned. Responding to this, MAD made an engagement but lost Kaiser early. They traded back two-for-two as DK continued to push in their base. At the end of the road, MAD made a desperate attempt to stay in the match but DK was finally able to take them down. With that win, DK booked their spot in the Knockout Stage.

Quick Stats:

• Time: 31:27
• Kills: 9-17
• Turrets: 3-11
• Gold: 52k – 63.3k
• Dragons: 1-3
• Barons: 0-2

Cloud9 vs Royal Never Give Up

Cloud9 wanted a win in this match to keep their Knockout Stage hopes in their own hands and that’s exactly what they got. An early kill in the top lane, followed by one in the mid lane, meant C9 grabbed two fast kills. C9 kept up the aggressive play, picking up the first drake. However, they lost Vulcan as a result of it, though it looked like the lesser of two evils.

The first team fight went almost perfectly for C9. They took down four members of RNG and lost just one member in return to take down their second drake. Things calmed into the 19th minute, but C9’s lead was close to 3k at this point, with three drakes secured. With Soul drake spawning, C9 pulled the trigger and engaged onto RNG. RNG was able to pull away and it looked like C9 had wasted their engagement. Chasing RNG into their own jungle, Fudge was able to find a huge Lee Sin kick and RNG lost two as C9 secured the Soul drake.

A short bit afterward, C9 secured a Baron then chased down RNG. They found the engagement they wanted as they took down three members of RNG and pushed them back into their base. They took down the mid Inhibitor but decided against going for the Nexus just yet. Eventually, though, C9 found a way into the RNG base. Here, the NA hopefuls found a fight and took down one Nexus tower but no one died. RNG chased but C9 turned it around to pick up a massive win in their quest for a play in the Knockout Stage.

Quick Stats:

• Time: 30:00
• Kills: 20-7
• Turrets: 9-2
• Gold: 59.5k – 50k
• Dragons: 4-0
• Barons:1-0

Pentanet.GG vs MAD Lions

First Blood went to MAD after a 4v4 on the bottom side of the map, where Teleports were used by both sides. MAD then picked up another kill in the bottom side 2v2, taking down the PGG ADC. With Elyoya hitting level six, MAD four-man dove the PGG duo. They fell in seconds as MAD moved to 4k ahead. Not too long after that, MAD picked up four more kills in the top side as they grew their lead to 5k. Honestly, it looked like the game was over by the 10-minute mark.

After picking up the drake, PGG was able to follow it up by getting a big solo kill in the mid lane. But already 7k behind, it might have been too little, too late for PGG. Not content with falling over just yet, PGG was the team to pick up the next four kills, as MAD started to get just a little too comfortable across the map. The spawning of the second Rift Herald would see MAD focus up, taking down two members of PGG and two kills for their trouble.

With every play a hail mary from PGG, it’s not a surprise when things don’t go their way. PGG managed to pick up one kill but three went the way of MAD with the lead stretching to 11k. MAD moved to secure the Baron next before engaging onto PGG. It’s a good start for PGG, but MAD just has too much damage as four members of PGG fall.

MAD took down all the PGG inhibitors before moving onto the PGG base. Despite their best efforts, they cannot do anything bar take down two members of MAD. The victory moved MAD to 4-4 giving them the breathing space over the chasing C9.

Quick Stats:

• Time: 24:21
• Kills: 9-25
• Turrets: 0-11
• Gold: 37.1k – 54.5k
• Dragons: 1-1
• Barons: 0-1

DAMWON KIA vs PSG.Talon

It’s a First Blood double kill for DK, after a slightly nervy start. Here, a Teleport into the bot lane saw them take a massive early lead. PSG got onto the board after a fight broke out at the Rift Herald, taking down two members of DK. The kills were traded back, however, as DK went 4k gold ahead and ShowMaker's Zoe moved to four kills. With the gold lead climbing to 5k, DK went passive and just soaked up gold across the map as they looked to starve out PSG.

A fight broke out at the drake, and while PSG got a great engagement, DK just had too much damage, with ShowMaker able to one-shot Lee Sin. It’s an Ace for DK, moving them to 6k ahead. That’s quickly followed by a one-for-one trade in the mid lane as PSG desperately tried to stay in the match. Then, to rub salt in the wound, DK was able to steal the 50/50 drake. PSG fled into their own jungle but DK chased them down and slew four members. Hanabi's Lee Sin fled top side but DK chased him down before claiming Baron.

DK, with the Baron buff, took down the bottom and middle Inhibitors before moving to the top side and taking that down. PSG was unable to defend themselves as DK knocked them down, securing a top-two spot in the Knockout Stage for themselves.

Quick Stats:

• Time: 29:00
• Kills: 21-6
• Turrets: 11-1
• Gold: 60.3k – 44k
• Dragons: 4-0
• Barons:1-0

Pentanet.GG vs Cloud9

C9, after taking down a tournament favorite, had the relatively easy task of taking on winless PGG. But surprisingly, it was a big First Blood for PGG at the nine-minute mark. The side might be out of MSI, but they were looking to make C9’s life as hard as possible. In probably the slowest game of the day, PGG’s 1k lead was all the game had, until the 17th minute, when a Rift Herald in the mid lane saw the game ramp up. A fight broke out, but C9 didn't react quickly enough to the PGG engagement and they lost two members. Shortly after, C9 got their first kill bot side, bouncing on a caught-out BioPanther.

With the C9 tier two mid turret dropping, C9 looked for a fight but seemed unprepared. While the fight went one-for-one, PGG took another tower and kept a stable 3k gold lead. C9 again engaged a fight and it just all went wrong again. At the end of it, PGG picked up three kills and a free Baron. When the next Baron spawned, PGG started it up to force something out of C9. However, C9 fled the field as PGG tried to take the fight. Everyone was chunked to less than 40% HP but no one died as both sides reset. With Soul Drake and Baron up, C9 forced a Baron play, and they actually claimed it. The fight just about went C9’s way as they took down two members of PGG, losing just one themselves. But critically, with C9 fleeing the fight, PGG was able to take down the Infernal Soul.

Cloud9 falls back to earth

Though soon C9 made a huge mistake. Their roster split across the map and PGG pounced on the split-up members, taking down three members of C9. With the man advantage, PGG pushed into the C9 base. They started in the bottom side, and C9 simply couldn't stop them, so PGG pushed straight into the Nexus. PGG finally picked up a win in the Rumble Stage as C9 gave themselves a huge mountain to climb to make Knockouts on Day Five.

Quick Stats:

• Time: 37:30
• Kills:  16-5
• Turrets: 9-3
• Gold: 69.2k – 62.9k
• Dragons: 4-2
• Barons: 1-1