G2 Esports reverse sweeps Top Esports at MSI 2026

Wasif Ahmed Published 05/07/2026

It starts with success, and Fnatic is now avenged. G2 Esports started the 2026 Mid-Season Invitational by beating Top Esports 3-2. After starting the series 0-2, they managed to pull off the first reverse sweep in main stage MSI history.

The first reverse sweep of any main stage MSI match

The 2026 Mid-Season Invitational started with seven back-to-back 3-0 series. G2 finally broke that streak by beating TES in five games. In doing so, they also broke a much longer-standing streak by accomplishing the very first reverse sweep in a main stage MSI match.

Across a total of 66 series in Mid-Season Invitational history, 18 of them have gone to five games. Until now, though, not one of them had been a reverse sweep.

Some additional stats:

Only twice has a team failed a reverse sweep. At the MSI bracket stage, this is the third time a team has gone 2-0 into 2-2.
There has been one reverse sweep in a play-in. In 2017, Team Solo Mid reached the main stage by going 0-2 into 3-2 against GIGABYTE Marines.
EU is now 3-4 against China in MSI Bo5s. This is their highest win rate, as they’re 1-10 against Korea and 1-3 against North America, both wins being in 2019.

G2 Esports reverse sweeps Top Esports at MSI 2026. Image credit: Colin Young-Wolff / Riot Games

G2 reverse sweeps TES and avenges Fnatic

Top Esports is the first team to go from 2-0 to 2-3 at MSI’s main stage. Ironically, this same team was also the first one to achieve a reverse sweep at a World Championship in 2020.

Despite 12 five-game matches taking place between 2011 and 2019, none of them went that way until Fnatic went up against Top Esports in 2020.

At the time, Worlds was going great for Europe. Even though MAD Lions didn’t reach the group stage, FNC and G2 both managed to perform there. Both teams went 4-2 to claim the second place in their respective groups.

Fnatic reached the grand final in 2018, with historically good performances against the LPL. G2 followed suit in 2019 as Europe’s only threat to the LCK. Now in 2020, Fnatic found themselves in the side of the bracket with three LPL teams, while the three LCK representatives were in G2’s half.

The picture was perfect, and the hopium was flowing: what if both European teams reached the final in 2020? Fnatic started as well as they could, going up 2-0 against TES.

Then, everything shifted as Sjokz said her infamous monologue. “It starts with success”, and three hours later, FNC is sent flying home. G2 lost to DAMWON Gaming after stomping Gen.G, and it was back to reality and the end of Europe’s golden era. Since then, the LEC hasn’t reached a Worlds semifinal.

Six years ago, TES was the first team to do a reverse sweep at Worlds. Now, they’re the first team to receive one at an MSI main stage.

G2 gets their revenge against Gao “Tian” Tian-Liang for the 2019 Worlds final. Image credit: Colin Young-Wolff / Riot Games

G2 moves up against Hanwha Life Esports

With this victory, G2’s hardships are only beginning. The LEC‘s first seed will face HLE on Sunday. Should they win, they’ll face Bilibili Gaming in the upper final. However, losing should put them against the loser of that match in the lower bracket as their final chance.

On the other hand, TES will go up against Team Secret Whales. Afterwards, their next opponent should be the winner of LYON vs FURIA.

Featured image credit: Colin Young-Wolff / Riot Games

Wasif Ahmed

About Wasif Ahmed

Wasif Ahmed is the Lead Esports Editor for WIN.gg. He has been covering esports for nearly eight years, although his gaming journey started much earlier, when he was just four years old and was introduced to Road Rash on a dusty PC. Hit him up on X to talk about esports, why partnership models are the best fit for esports games, or if Halo 7 has finally been announced.

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