The grand final of MSI 2024 took place with Gen.G emerging victorious – a result many had predicted even before the match began. Since LCK Spring 2024, Gen.G has displayed an incredibly perfect and comprehensive performance. With new contracts filling positions previously considered weaknesses, Gen.G is currently a very hard team to defeat. Only KT Rolster has managed to beat Gen.G in a BO3 match during the domestic league group stage, while T1 and Top Esports could only push Gen.G to the fifth game.
BLG has also shown that they are a strong team, but in reality, the performance of each member is hard to compare with Chovy. Knight needed as many as 6 bans (5 bans and 1 pick) on Faker’s favored champions to win against T1. When BLG let one of these champions slip through, Knight immediately became ineffective compared to T1’s mid-laner. Meanwhile, at times, BLG had to rely heavily on Bin, who was the most impressive player for BLG throughout the lower bracket finals to the grand finals.
However, Bin is also seen as a “harbinger” of BLG’s defeat in the MSI 2024 grand final. Specifically, Bin has had a good track record against LCK teams when facing representatives from this region in BO5 matches, almost always winning, whether playing for Royal Never Give Up or as a member of BLG. However, these were LCK teams without Canyon on their roster. The jungler from Gen.G can be considered a “hard counter” to Bin, as every time they clashed in a BO5, Bin has been defeated by Canyon.
This rivalry began at the 2020 World Championship finals when Bin’s Suning lost to Canyon’s Damwon Gaming with a score of 3-1. In that match, Bin achieved a pentakill, but it was not enough as all five members of DWG were significantly stronger, and Canyon, at his peak performance, completely outplayed SofM. When they faced again in the winner’s finals, Bin’s BLG also lost due to Canyon’s outstanding performance, culminating in the MSI 2024 grand finals. And notably, all three of Bin’s losses to Canyon, including the MSI 2024 grand finals, have been by a score of 1-3.
It can be said that Bin is showcasing himself as one of the best top laners in the world currently, but every time he faces Canyon, it tells a different story. Perhaps the historical matchups between the two players have somewhat predicted the outcome of the MSI 2024 grand finals, especially when Canyon has demonstrated that he has been in peak form since donning the Gen.G jersey up to their championship in Chengdu.