Chinese e-sports club RNG beats DWG KIA to become MSI 2021 champion

Not many expected that a Chinese e-sports club would stand on the highest podium of this year's League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational, but the prodigies of Chinese e-sports club Royal Never Give Up proved all the doubters wrong to once again claim the world title.

After a tense 3-2 victory over South Korean club DWG KIA, RNG was crowned the winner of the 2021 MSI on Sunday in Reykjavik, Iceland. It's the second time for RNG to lift the MSI trophy since its maiden MSI title in 2018.

Through the 2021 season, few would have expected RNG, which had struggled for years to return to its peak condition since the 2018 season, to win this year's MSI trophy. So its victory over the pre-tournament favorite DWG KIA instantly became an internet sensation on Chinese social media.

Among the top 10 trending topics on Weibo on Monday morning, three were related to RNG's victory in Reykjavik. And the news related to RNG's second MSI title was viewed over 1.4 billion times on Weibo within six hours after the victory.

"To be honest, all the four teams in the semifinal were very competitive. So it's hard to even earn a ticket in the final," said RNG player Li Yuanhao, aka Xiaohu, after winning.

"But in the China's League of Legends Pro League (which is China's top-tier League of Legends professional league), there are many more strong teams that are equally competitive like us."