Team Secret Whales Stun Top Esports at Mid-Season Invitational

Team Secret Whales made history on Sunday, July 5, by becoming the first LoL Championship Pacific team to defeat a Chinese squad in a best-of-five series.

Team Secret Whales accomplished the unthinkable and produced one of the biggest upsets in League of Legends esports history on Sunday, when they eliminated the LoL Pro League second seed from MSI 2026.

🐳🐳🐳@TEAMSECRET TAKE DOWN @TOP_ESPORTS_! #MSI2026 pic.twitter.com/i8wYpE4i89

— LoL Esports (@lolesports) July 5, 2026

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  Winrz Luv @888Starz

While many expected TSW to suffer an early elimination from the tournament, they stepped up to the plate and defeated Top Esports 3-1, securing a top-six finish at the second international tournament of the season.

Not only did Team Secret Whales achieve a historic feat, but the manner in which they pulled off the upset sent shockwaves through the LoL community.

The series, which many expected to end in a quick 3-0 sweep for Top Esports, started well for the underdogs, who found openings early in game one with first blood in the bottom lane.

With that small advantage, Team Secret Whales managed to pressure the map and found themselves over 2,000 gold ahead by the 15-minute mark.

While the Vietnamese team needed time to close out the map, they never let go of their lead and eventually came out on top with a 29-6 kill score and a gold lead of just under 12,000.

Top Esports struck back on the second map, running over TSW in just 28:19 with a 15-3 kill score and an advantage of over 16,000 gold.

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  eSports Specialist

However, the time for celebration was short, as the underdogs responded with another blowout victory on map three, needing just under 31 minutes to close it out while allowing Top Esports to accumulate just five kills to 19.

With their backs against the wall, Top Esports looked more stable on the fourth map. While they found themselves trailing by 2,000 gold around the 15-minute mark, TES found openings and slowly ground down Team Secret Whales’ lead.

Unlike the first three maps, the fourth was a back-and-forth affair. However, despite their best efforts, Top Esports could not get over the hump, lost a key skirmish in the 39th minute, and bowed out of the tournament.

With the 1-3 loss against Team Secret Whales, Top Esports exited MSI 2026 with a 0-2 record, having previously lost to G2 Esports in a reverse-sweep.

While Top Esports are left licking their wounds, Team Secret Whales are now through to the second round of the lower bracket, where they will face the loser of the Bilibili Gaming vs LYON clash.