T1's MSI sweep over TL drew nearly $1M in crypto bets on Polymarket

T1 swept Team Liquid 3-0 in the MSI 2026 Play-In stage on June 27-28. The series was lopsided on the scoreboard. It drew massive attention from two audiences: esports fans and crypto bettors.

Roughly $945,000 was wagered on the matchup through Polymarket. The prediction-market platform has become a go-to venue for real-money sentiment in competitive gaming. Day 1 of the Play-In stage hit a peak of 1,390,926 concurrent viewers, a new record for the phase.

T1 entered as six-time World Champions. Team Liquid, competing under the TLAW banner, came in as North America's representative. T1’s Faker notched his 100th career MSI win during the series.

Nearly a million dollars on a single Play-In series is a data point. It signals that esports prediction markets are moving from niche to a meaningful liquidity pool. Polymarket has seen growing volumes around esports events, and the T1-TL matchup produced the deepest non-final stage pool to date.

Team Liquid’s connection to crypto extends beyond this match. The organization announced a multiyear partnership with the Sui blockchain in February 2024, one of the more prominent esports-crypto collaborations. The SUI token has drawn attention from traders around esports milestones. A record-setting MSI viewership day of nearly 1.4 million concurrent viewers provides tangible marketing value for the blockchain whose logo appeared on Team Liquid’s jersey during the broadcast.