Minor region teams that can cause upsets in the 2022 MSI stage

PSG Talon

• Su “Hanabi” Chia-Hsiang
• Lee “Juhan” Ju-han
• Park “Bay” Jun-byeong
• Wong “Unified” Chun Kit
• Ling “Kaiwing” Kai Wing

The League of Legends team from Hong Kong is widely known for having exceptional performances on the international stage. In last year’s world championship they were placed in the same group as Royal Never Give up and Hanwha Life Esports, two of the strongest teams in the tournament. PSG Talon managed to take down HLE once and came really close to taking down RNG but ultimately couldn’t do it, ending their run in group stage.

In the 2021 MSI, PSG Talon managed to get out of the groups. They advanced into the playoffs stage where they would meet Royal Never Give up, the team that went on to win the title. The PSG Talon was able to take one game off from RNG, giving a lot of hope to their fans, but in the end, RNG’s raw skill was too much for PSG Talon to overcome.

Now PSG Talon comes into the 2022 MSI after championing their regional league in a very convincing fashion. They got drawn into group B where they’ll play against TCL’s Istanbul Wildcats, LPL’s Royal Never Give Up, and CBLOL’s RED Kalunga. Most people can agree that PSG Talon can take 2nd place and make it out of the group stage. But I believe that there is a big chance that PSG Talon can snatch one victory away from Royal Never Give up.

Team Aze

• Han “Lonely” Gyu-joon
• Juan Dimitry “Dimitry” Hernández González
• Tomás “Aloned” Díaz Valiente
• Park “5kid” Jeong-hyeon
• Roberto “Straight” Guallichico

Team Aze’s case might be a bit different as they were placed in a group with 2 wildcard teams. What I find strange is that a lot of people are talking about Saigon Buffalo like they have 2nd place secured. I think that the chances that Team Aze and DetonatioN FocusMe finish 2nd in their group are just as high as Saigon Buffalo’s. The thing is that DetoniatioN FocusMe managed to get out of the group stage in last year’s worlds, so I wouldn’t consider it to be a huge upset if they manage to take down AZE or SGB.

I think Team Aze is going undetected on many people’s radar for some reason. Team Aze had a shaky start in the LLA spring split, but they managed to get through the winners’ bracket into the finals. and took down Estral Esports 3-2. Team Aze has one of the most interesting rosters in this year’s MSI. Their support, Straight, was almost forced to role swap from top lane to support after he got kicked on last-second notice from his last team. Dimitry is one of the youngest players to have ever won the LLA and he’s received many positive comments from other pro players that have met him in North America’s Champions Queue.

Overall, this year’s MSI will be very exciting to watch as many minor region teams will have a good opportunity to upset some of the biggest League of Legends teams in the world. Be sure to stay tuned in as we’ll be covering the 2022 MSI matches as the tournament progresses! Check out Mr Play, one of our partners with details on how you can bet on these great upcoming tournaments.