MSI Preview: FlyQuest closes the region gap

FlyQuest will be the LTA North’s representative at MSI, and things are looking bright for the roster heading into the second international tournament of the season.

FlyQuest proved themselves the better team on the day in their Finals appearance against Cloud9, with a double TP backdoor stunner of an ending. With that series, they’re off to the bright lights of Vancouver, British Columbia, to compete in the Mid-Season Invitational. Here’s our evaluation of FlyQuest heading to MSI 2025.

FlyQuest – it’s all about the mid-jungle

There’s no place to begin discussions of FlyQuest, in my opinion, without talking about the mid-jungle duo that is so pivotal to the team’s surge to the strongest team in NA. Kacper “Inspired” Sloma, and Song “Quad” Su-hyeon. There is no doubt in my mind that C9 would have won the finals if any mid laner from NA had been put in Quad’s place. The Korean import has proven to be one of the standout talents of the region, and combined with the creativity and aggression of Inspired, has proven to be a central aspect of how, why, and when FlyQuest take their leads. Both Inspired and Quad proved their ability to compete at the international level, alongside the rest of this roster, at Worlds 2024. However, when running down FlyQuest’s prospects, it seems impossible not to acknowledge the champion oceans displayed by this team during the two splits preceding MSI.

We’ll stay on the top side of the map to briefly talk about Gabriel “Bwipo” Rau, who has shown his usual flair and panache in the top lane this year. While the strategy of letting enemy top laners pick what they like, and giving Bwipo counterpick, may have worked well in NA, I worry that LPL and LCK top laners will be able to more readily exploit Bwipo’s moments of weakness. This may be as simple as draft adaptation for the team, but Bwipo will have his work cut out for him against this year’s MSI top lane pool. This is not to say Bwipo doesn’t look like an excellent talent at some moments, but he still has his moments of inconsistency that can become one of FLY’s biggest potential pain points at MSI.

Oh hey there, bud! Just out for a rip? Massu’s home turf advantage

Finally, there’s the bottom lane, Fahad “Massu” Abdulmalek and Alan “Busio” Cwalina. LoL Esports is finally coming back to Canada, so allow this Canuck a moment of potential bias. I believe that Massu has had the single best beginning to his career of any NA native talent, and continues to prove himself as a generational marksman player. And, once he’s back tending to house hippos, staying in an igloo, and riding a moose to Pacific Coliseum, the home-field advantage will be too much.

Busio, likewise, continues to be a fundamental part of how the team works and seems to be a key part of FlyQuest’s comms. He was the first to call out FlyQuest’s backdoor angle in the finals’ game 5, and he’s right next to Massu in nearly every highlight play that his ADC racks up. This is a world-class bottom lane, and I’m more than ready to see them at MSI.

So, where do they sit? Candidly, I believe LTA North can squarely favour FlyQuest as EU representatives. After all, a first-place NA mid laner has to be better than a fourth-place one, right? Jokes aside, this team is fair competition for LCK and LPL rosters in my eyes, despite some inconsistencies. I’m not saying they’re favoured, but I do believe they’re at a level where it finally feels like this one roster stands toe-to-toe with the eastern juggernauts, on opposite sides of the proverbial region gap.

Rejoice, NA fans, LoL Esports is making a pilgrimage back to the home of the 2017 LCS Spring Finals and the Jensen Chronobreak, and with it comes the most promising roster we’ve ever had represent our region in recent years.