Underdog tales aren’t constructed on random happenstance. Fairly, they’re fostered via the unseen moments that fly beneath the radar.
League of Legends isn’t any totally different from another type of competitors. Groups are bracketed into their particular roles, much like different sports activities.
China’s LPL is making a run on the dominant LCK, Korea’s high league. North America’s LCS and Europe’s LEC have a long-standing rivalry for who can declare to be the perfect within the Western Hemisphere.
On the backside are Brazil’s CBLOL and the wide-ranging, five-country area generally known as the LCP.
Naturally, when the areas converge at worldwide occasions, the LCP and CBLOL are broadly considered because the groups that will have the happy-to-be-stints.
However ask the area’s gamers about their aspirations throughout these tournaments, and so they’ll reveal one thing extra nuanced.
There isn’t any false bravado within the groups. As a substitute, they view every alternative to play exterior of their areas as an opportunity to study one thing priceless.
“I imply, positively win most likely towards something that’s not Asian can be like an excellent expectation,” FURIA midlaner Arthur “Tutsz” Machado mentioned to Esports Insider. “Asian, I imply LCK or LPL. I feel we, if we lose to [LCP], it’s sort of a bit bit upsetting for us. So I feel we’re positively wanting ahead to beating G2 or Staff Secret Whales. … I feel we have now lots of strengths, and I feel if we get good drafts and perceive what we have to do, I feel we’re going to be wonderful.”
For LCP champion Staff Secret Whales and CBLOL champion FURIA, the Mid-Season Invitational 2026 served as a reminder of how far every area has come, but in addition provided a stern reminder that development isn’t going to be linear.
CBLOL: A reward nonetheless ready to be earned
The CBLOL Cup was the occasion that will ship a group from Brazil to First Stand for the primary worldwide in South America.
FURIA didn’t make it to First Stand, ending third. They did, nevertheless, handle to earn a spot within the Americas Cup – a cross-region battle between the second- and third-place groups within the LCS and CBLOL.
Whereas CBLOL had grown in the course of the short-lived LTA experiment, a lot of the narrative was locked into the concept that, regardless of CBLOL’s strides towards competing, successful would stay troublesome.
FURIA blew this expectation out of the water, going undefeated within the Americas Cup to safe a trophy for the area. They rode this momentum via the CBLOL Spring Cut up to ebook a visit to Korea for MSI.
“Tremendous excited,” FURIA jungler Pedro “Tatu” Seixas mentioned. “The subsequent struggle is about getting six spots for MSI, too. As a result of now we’re the one area with no second MSI spot. Let’s struggle for it. Dude, let’s get some wins, enter some tournaments.”
Getting into the event, expectations have been excessive. Successful had already occurred, however now it was a matter of doing it persistently towards the West’s high groups like LYON and G2.
“I feel LEC is one step forward,” Tatu mentioned.
FURIA received its want – a matchup with LYON, the LCS’s champion, within the opening spherical of the bracket stage of MSI. FURIA matched up nicely, standing toe-to-toe with LYON in lots of areas. The one space they lacked: self-discipline.
The dearth of self-discipline reared its head in key spots towards LYON. As a substitute of taking part in with a lead and slowing down, the group maintained an aggressive strategy, permitting LYON to search out the appropriate moments to show the sport round because of FURIA’s hurried play.
“We have been forward,” FURIA coach Erick “furyz” Susin informed me. “So I really feel it’s… studying learn how to play our personal recreation and slowly doing the issues we wish and never simply responding to the enemies.”
With the LYON recreation misplaced, issues weren’t going to get simpler for FURIA. They drew the legendary group, T1, and its stacked roster that begins with the midlane icon Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok.
So, whereas LYON was a missed alternative to safe a sequence win, T1 marked a unique realization – a sense that whereas rungs have been climbed, the highest continues to be a noticeable distance away.
T1 swept FURIA, marking the tip of their event with out successful a single recreation.
“We knew it wasn’t going to be a straightforward recreation, a straightforward BO5. We got here with the mentality that, ‘Yeah, possibly if we play our greatest, we will beat them,’” FURIA help Gabriel “JoJo” Dzelme de Oliveira mentioned. “We sort of needed to point out those that we will additionally play towards them. However we didn’t win a single recreation. I feel they’re simply method higher than us proper now.”
Regardless of failure to safe a recreation, Furyz managed to see the massive image and what was achieved, even with no win.
“Generally when Brazil performs towards Korea, for instance, you may see some video games have been unimaginable to play after 10 minutes,” furyz mentioned. “It’s a bit bit nearer. It’s extra in regards to the consistency and the macro self-discipline, and I feel these issues are higher than us. Immediately was fairly clear, however I’ve some hope as a result of I really feel like lots of occasions our group is preventing, like we have been taking part in stuff collectively, and we may beat them in group fights.
“There’s a lot we will study from these video games.”
CBLOL didn’t get to ship one other group to MSI, the one area to not obtain a second bid to the occasion. They did, nevertheless, personal an additional Worlds spot, that means there might be extra alternatives for groups from the area to expertise worldwide play.
With the main target turning to Worlds in america in mid-October, you will be positive FURIA might be entrance and heart, attempting to maneuver the area ahead.
“We’re enhancing loads,” Tutsz mentioned. “I’m undecided if we’re probably the greatest within the West or not. … [Playing against LYON was a] fairly good option to see how nicely we’re faring, as a result of they’re a very good group. [It’s] a fairly good thermometer for us.”
LCP: Down, however by no means out
Brazil was established as a League of Legends area in 2014, giving it a robust head begin in constructing a participant base and growing an ecosystem able to supporting a area of its personal.
The identical can’t be mentioned for Vietnam. Vietnam has a robust curiosity in League of Legends, however the nation lacks a deep participant pool.
“When evaluating VCS with one other area, I really feel like our VCS area doesn’t have a big participant base, so making a comparability is sort of troublesome,” TSW jungler Lê “Hizto” Văn Hoàng Hải mentioned. “As a result of their areas are very robust in each side, from media to the folks themselves, they’re very robust.”
The Vietnam Championship Collection (VCS) is the home league, that includes 5 groups.
Staff Secret Whales are usually not a kind of groups. They’re one in every of three Vietnamese groups within the LCP – a hodgepodge of 5 sub-regions (Vietnam, Taiwan, Australia, Japan, and Hong Kong) based in 2025.
Staff Secret Whales have appeared in three consecutive worldwide occasions, beginning with the World Championships in 2025. The group managed to earn one win at Worlds, defeating Brazilian facet Vivo Keyd Stars, earlier than failing to win one other sequence for the occasion.
They went winless at First Stand in Brazil however dominated the LCP to earn a berth at MSI.
However issues weren’t going to begin off simple for them, drawing LCK facet and hometown internet hosting Hanwha Life Esports. The sport wasn’t shut, as HLE cruised to a straightforward 3-0 sweep.
“I feel the third time I’m attending MSI, I feel I’ll show to everybody that I’ll present a unique face on the worldwide stage,” Hizto mentioned. “However as a result of we met group HLE, the LCK first seed, and they’re too robust, I haven’t been capable of present a lot.”
Many pundits predicted TSW can be the primary group to be despatched residence. Sure, they have been the LCP’s finest, however they’re miles behind Asian squads and lack the legacy or expertise to correctly compete towards established groups.
However within the moments after TSW shocked China’s Prime Esports with a 3-1 victory, social media exploded in help. TSW wasn’t simply an underdog story. They have been a group that performed the sport in a refreshing method with picks like Volibear and Sett towards meta champions.
The group turned prompt favorites of the League of Legends fandom.
LCP caster Jim Pike had known as it months earlier, earlier than anybody exterior Vietnam was watching carefully.
“They’re down, however by no means out,” Pike mentioned.
The magic ended with a loss to LYON, however TSW coach Chen “Warhorse” Ju-Chih is balancing the act of setting extremely formidable objectives with time to correctly develop into undertaking them.
“I’ve been in LPL and LCK for fairly a very long time,” Warhorse mentioned. “So I feel this time coming to LCP, the secret’s I set a really excessive aim for my gamers and hope they’ll obtain it. I feel what I realized from my earlier expertise is that though I set excessive objectives, I additionally give myself sufficient time to progressively obtain them. Allow them to develop step-by-step.”
The query now turns into: Can Staff Secret Whales proceed their development into the Summer time Cut up and an all however inevitable (they lead the LCP in rating factors by a substantial margin) look on the World Championships?
“Going to the world stage helps us enhance loads for the longer term,” TSW bot-laner Hoàng “Eddie” Công Nghĩa mentioned to ESI. “It offers us extra expertise to compete in even greater tournaments. I feel on the upcoming EWC, we’ll break via rather more.”
Like FURIA, TSW are in search of consistency as they strategy the subsequent set of enhancements.
The defeat of TES marked a milestone for the group and area. Whereas it was sandwiched between two 3-0 defeats, the indicators are there for a group and area able to put one other foot ahead.
The decision: Win or study
Whereas the distinction between Staff Secret Whales and FURIA’s MSI experiences is an enormous one, the 2 areas nonetheless managed to go away with what they wanted greater than they needed.
For FURIA, they left with out taking a single recreation, however can look forward to the educating factors and concentrate on what to enhance on to take that subsequent step. Their development might really feel stunted by an absence of wins, however successful isn’t the one option to actually see development.
TSW managed to get their first sequence win towards a Chinese language facet. They managed to get the very best final result – a win and studying factors. Their development might look like it’s transferring in the appropriate path, however solely future sequence and matches will in the end resolve that.
FURIA will seemingly have a extra secure highway. The West is significantly rising collectively, and CBLOL will reap the good thing about a hemisphere seeking to elevate its tides to raise all ships.
In the meantime, TSW may see an accelerated however risky development curve. Their proximity to the facility areas makes it simpler for gamers to get high-quality video games with much less friction than within the West. With that, nevertheless, comes the potential of shedding gamers to different leagues, primarily the LPL.
“It’s so laborious to construct a story on a participant when the participant performs one break up, one yr, after which buggers off someplace else,” Pike mentioned. “Now that narrative’s moved to them being in a totally totally different area. It’s laborious to develop the gamers in that occasion, particularly for an English-speaking viewers.”
Whether or not or not LPL groups attempt to purchase gamers like Hizto or Eddie to their league is past TSW’s management and even the LCP’s. The vital factor is for the LCP to proceed making strides to assist the groups within the area develop.
For now, TSW and FURIA will enter most occasions as underdogs. The hope, nevertheless, is that in the future they gained’t be in that place, however reasonably in the identical breath because the LEC or LCS, with hopes of going larger.
However no matter how TSW or FURIA do transferring ahead, their performances at MSI show one factor: you win, otherwise you study.
Progress won’t ever be a straight line.
