Mid-Season Invitational
The Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) is an annual international League of Legends tournament held by Riot Games. Since its debut in 2015, it has established itself as the second most prestigious global event in the game, following the World Championship. The tournament brings together the top teams from regional spring splits to compete for a major title and valuable seeding advantages for the World Championship.
| First held | 2015 |
|---|---|
| Organizer | Riot Games |
| Game | League of Legends |
| Most successful team | Royal Never Give Up (3 titles) |
| 2025 host | Vancouver, Canada |
| 2026 host | Daejeon, South Korea |
| Format | Double elimination bracket, best-of-five series |
| Notable feature | Awards Worlds seeding advantages to top regions |
Origins and Early Format
The Mid-Season Invitational was created in 2015 as a new global competition to bridge the gap between the annual World Championships. The inaugural event was held in Tallahassee, Florida, at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center. It featured the spring split champions from the five major regional leagues: Europe's LEC, North America's LCS, South Korea's LCK, Taiwan's LMS, and China's LPL. A sixth team was added from the International Wildcard Invitational, a separate tournament for smaller regions held a few weeks prior.
This first MSI saw a dramatic final where China's Edward Gaming defeated the South Korean leading team SK Telecom T1 in a full five-game series. The 2016 event in Shanghai followed a similar format, hosted at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center. SK Telecom T1 returned to dominance, sweeping North America's Counter Logic Gaming 3-0 in the final. Player Lee 'Faker' Sang-hyeok was named the MVP of that final.
Expansion and the Play-In Stage
A significant format change arrived in 2017. The tournament expanded to include spring champions from all competitive regions, not just the major ones, bringing the total to thirteen teams. To accommodate more teams, Riot Games introduced a play-in stage. The champions from Europe, South Korea, and China received automatic berths into the main group stage, while other regional winners had to fight through the play-in for the remaining spots. This edition was held across two Brazilian cities, with the play-in in São Paulo and the main event in Rio de Janeiro's Jeunesse Arena.
SK Telecom T1 defended their title by beating Europe's G2 Esports 3-1, becoming the first team to win back-to-back MSI championships. Lee 'Wolf' Jae-wan was the finals MVP. The 2018 event in Berlin and Paris marked a turning point. Fourteen teams qualified, with South Korea, North America, and China auto-seeded into groups. Royal Never Give Up defeated South Korea's King-Zone DragonX 3-1 in the final at the Zénith Paris, with star player Jian 'Uzi' Zihao earning finals MVP. This final was watched by over 127 million viewers, a record at the time.
A New Champion and a Canceled Year
In 2019, Europe finally claimed the MSI trophy. The event was hosted across three locations: Ho Chi Minh City for the play-in, Hanoi for groups, and Taipei for the knockout stage. G2 Esports, representing the newly rebranded LEC, swept North America's Team Liquid 3-0 in the final at the Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium. This victory made G2 the first European team to win the event, with Rasmus 'Caps' Winther named MVP. The tournament's format was refined, with seeding for the play-in and group stages based on regional performances at the 2017 and 2018 international events.
The planned 2020 MSI was canceled due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Riot Games replaced it with the Mid-Season Streamathon, a series of online exhibition matches. The event returned in 2021 under unusual circumstances in Reykjavík, Iceland's Laugardalshöll, with no live audience. All twelve qualified teams began in the same stage, a departure from the play-in system. Royal Never Give Up won a tense five-game final against the reigning world champions, DWG KIA, to claim their second title. Chen 'GALA' Wei was the finals MVP.
Chinese Dominance and Unique Challenges
The 2022 MSI in Busan, South Korea, was historic for Royal Never Give Up. They defeated T1 in another five-game thriller at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center to secure their third MSI championship, a tournament record. This also made them the second team, after T1, to successfully defend their title, with Yan 'Wei' Yangwei named MVP. The event was notable for its own competitive conditions. Due to COVID-19 travel restrictions from Shanghai, Royal Never Give Up competed remotely from China, while all other teams played on an artificially standardized ping to ensure fairness. Eleven teams participated, as the CIS league could not send a representative.
Chinese teams continued their hold on the trophy in 2023 in London. The event featured a new double-elimination format and, for the first time, allowed the top regions to send two teams each. This led to an all-Chinese final at the Copper Box Arena where JD Gaming defeated Bilibili Gaming 3-1, with Zhuo 'knight' Ding as MVP. This change meant spring champions from Turkey and Oceania no longer participated directly due to league mergers.
Format Evolution and New Rules
The MSI format has seen constant adjustments. A major shift came in 2023 with the full adoption of a double-elimination bracket for the entire main event. The 2024 edition in Chengdu further refined this, with twelve teams from eight regions. The 2025 edition in Vancouver introduced the Fearless Draft format, where teams cannot pick a champion they have already played in a series. This tournament also set a record with nine of its nineteen best-of-five series going to a decisive fifth game.
Regions themselves have also evolved. The tournament has absorbed leagues from Turkey and Oceania into larger structures like the European Regional Leagues and the Pacific Championship Series. Japan's LJL also merged under the PCS by 2024. These mergers have changed the qualifying paths for teams from those areas. The results at MSI directly impact World Championship seeding, with the top four regions historically receiving a pool one spot in the Worlds group stage.
Breaking Streaks and Recent Champions
The streak of Chinese winners was finally broken in 2024. Hosted at the Chengdu Financial City Performing Arts Center, South Korea's Gen.G defeated Bilibili Gaming 3-1 to claim the title, marking the first non-Chinese winner in five years. Son 'Lehends' Si-woo was finals MVP, and during the series, Kim 'Peyz' Soo-hwan set a record with 28 kills in a single international game. The victory earned the LCK region an additional spot at that year's World Championship.
Gen.G then made history in 2025 by winning back-to-back titles, defeating rivals T1 3-2 in Vancouver's Pacific Coliseum to join SK Telecom T1 and Royal Never Give Up as repeat champions. With this win, Gen.G qualified for the 2025 World Championship. The 2026 MSI is scheduled for Daejeon, South Korea. From 2025 onwards, the winning region of the new First Stand Tournament gives its two MSI teams a bye to the Bracket Stage, a reward first granted to the LCK.
Significance and Legacy
The Mid-Season Invitational has grown from a six-team event to a major tournament that shapes the second half of the competitive season. Its results have significant implications. The best performing wildcard region at MSI has historically received a direct spot in the World Championship's Group Stage for their summer champion. More recently, winning MSI can grant an entire region an additional slot at the World Championship, as seen in 2024 for the LCK and LPL.
The tournament has crowned major teams and players, from SK Telecom T1's early dominance to Royal Never Give Up's record three titles and Gen.G's recent back-to-back wins. It has been hosted across the world, from the Americas and Europe to Asia, bringing global attention to the game. As the centerpiece of the mid-year schedule, MSI remains a critical proving ground for the best teams in League of Legends.
FAQ
What is the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI)?
The Mid-Season Invitational is an annual international League of Legends tournament organized by Riot Games. First held in 2015, it is considered the second most important global event after the World Championship. It features the champions from each region's spring split competing in the middle of the competitive season.
Which team has won the most MSI titles?
The Chinese team Royal Never Give Up is the most successful in MSI history, having won the tournament three times. Their victories came in 2018, 2021, and 2022. They are the only team to have won three MSI championships.
Why was there no MSI in 2020?
The 2020 Mid-Season Invitational was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of the traditional tournament, Riot Games organized the Mid-Season Streamathon, a series of online international competitions and exhibition matches featuring teams from multiple regions.
What is the format of the MSI tournament?
The MSI format has evolved but typically involves a play-in stage for teams from smaller regions and a main bracket stage for the top seeds. Since 2023, the main event has used a double-elimination bracket, and all knockout matches are played as best-of-five series. The exact number of teams and qualification paths changes slightly most years.
What do teams win besides the MSI trophy?
Winning MSI provides more than just the championship title. The top-performing regions at the tournament earn additional slots for their teams at that year's World Championship. The winning team's region also receives a valuable bye for one of its qualified teams in the following year's MSI bracket stage.
Source: English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), rewritten by the Redington Cybersport desk.
