Mid-Season Invitational

The Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) is an annual League of Legends tournament hosted by Riot Games since 2015. It is the second most important international League of Legends tournament aside from the World Championship.[1][2]

Mid-Season Invitational
GameLeague of Legends
Founded2015 (2015)
FounderRiot Games
No. of teams
Venue(s)Rotating locations
Most recent
champion(s)		 Royal Never Give Up
(2nd title)
Most titles T1
Royal Never Give Up
(2 titles each)
QualificationWinners of regional leagues in Spring split
TV partner(s)Twitch, YouTube
Related
competitions		World Championship

In 2015 and 2016, the event featured the Spring Split champions of the five major competitive League of Legends regional leagues (LEC, LCS, LCK, LMS, LPL), as well as a wildcard team from a less region determined by the International Wildcard Invitational, held a few weeks beforehand.[3] In its inaugural tournament, Chinese team Edward Gaming emerged victorious by defeating South Korean team SK Telecom T1 3–2 in the final.[4]

Since 2017, Spring Split champions from all regions have been participating in the event. The International Wildcard Invitational was replaced by the Play-in Stage. The best Wildcard region receives a direct spot in the World Championship's Group Stage for that year for their Summer Split champion. The top four regions gets the pool 1 spot in the World Championship's Group Stage.

Royal Never Give Up from China and T1 from South Korea are the most successful teams with two MSI titles each.

Overview

Results
Year Location Final Semifinalists
Champion Score Runner-up
2015 Tallahassee Edward Gaming 3 2 SK Telecom T1 ahq e-Sports Club Fnatic
2016 Shanghai SK Telecom T1 3 0 Counter Logic Gaming Royal Never Give Up Flash Wolves
2017 São Paulo
Rio de Janeiro		 SK Telecom T1 3 1 G2 Esports Flash Wolves Team WE
2018 Berlin
Paris		 Royal Never Give Up 3 1 King-Zone DragonX Fnatic Flash Wolves
2019 Ho Chi Minh City
Hanoi
Taipei		 G2 Esports 3 0 Team Liquid SK Telecom T1 Invictus Gaming
2020 Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[5] and replaced with the Mid-Season Streamathon
2021 Reykjavík Royal Never Give Up 3 2 DWG KIA PSG Talon MAD Lions
2022 Busan TBD

Teams reaching top four
Team Titles Runner-up Semifinalists
T1[lower-alpha 2] 2 (2016, 2017) 1 (2015) 1 (2019)
Royal Never Give Up 2 (2018, 2021) 1 (2016)
G2 Esports 1 (2019) 1 (2017)
Edward Gaming 1 (2015)
Counter Logic Gaming 1 (2016)
DRX[lower-alpha 3] 1 (2018)
Team Liquid 1 (2019)
DWG KIA 1 (2021)
Flash Wolves 3 (2016, 2017, 2018)
Fnatic 2 (2015, 2018)
ahq e-Sports Club 1 (2015)
Team WE 1 (2017)
Invictus Gaming 1 (2019)
MAD Lions 1 (2021)
PSG Talon 1 (2021)

Note: Italics indicate that the team no longer exists.

Regions reaching top four
Region Titles Runner-up Semifinalists
China (LPL) 3 (2015, 2018, 2021) 3 (2016, 2017, 2019)
South Korea (LCK) 2 (2016, 2017) 3 (2015, 2018, 2021) 1 (2019)
Europe (LEC) 1 (2019) 1 (2017) 3 (2015, 2018, 2021)
North America (LCS) 2 (2016, 2019)
TW/HK/MO/SEA (PCS) 5 (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021)

2015
Main article: 2015 Mid-Season Invitational

The 2015 Mid-Season Invitational was held from 7–10 May 2015 in Tallahassee, Florida. Five teams qualified to participate at the Mid-Season Invitational after winning the Spring Split within their own regional leagues, while a team from the Wildcard regions qualified by winning the Mid-Season International Wildcard Invitational (IWCI).[6]

All games of the tournament were hosted in the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center. The final was played on 10 May 2015 between Edward Gaming, from China's League of Legends Pro League, and SK Telecom T1, from League of Legends Champions Korea, with Edward Gaming winning the inaugural championship 3–2.[7][8][9]

Top four

The name and player ID in bold letters refer to the player who received the final MVP award. This is same in the tournaments below.

Place Team Players Prize money
Top Jungle Mid Bot Support
1st Edward Gaming Koro1
(Tong Yang)		 Clearlove
(Ming Kai)		 PawN
(Heo Won-seok)		 Deft
(Kim Hyuk-kyu)		 Meiko
(Tian Ye)		 $100,000
2nd SK Telecom T1 MaRin
(Jang Gyeong-hwan)		 Bengi
(Bae Seong-woong)		 Faker
(Lee Sang-hyeok)		 Bang
(Bae Jun-sik)		 Wolf
(Lee Jae-wan)		 $50,000
Easyhoon
(Lee Ji-hoon)
3rd–4th Fnatic Huni
(Heo Seung-hoon)		 Reignover
(Kim Yeu-jin)		 Febiven
(Fabian Diepstraten)		 Steeelback
(Pierre Medjaldi)		 YellOwStaR
(Bora Kim)		 $25,000
ahq e-Sports Club Ziv
(Chen Yi)		 Mountain
(Xue Zhao-Hong)		 westdoor
(Liu Shu-Wei)		 AN
(Chou Chun-An)		 Albis
(Kang Chia-Wei)

2016
Main article: 2016 Mid-Season Invitational

The 2016 Mid-Season Invitational was held from 4–15 May 2016 in Shanghai, China. In line with last years iteration, 5 teams qualified to participate at the Mid-Season Invitational after winning the Spring Split within their own regional leagues, while a team from the Wildcard regions qualified by winning the Mid-Season International Wildcard Invitational (IWCI).[10]

All games of the tournament were hosted in the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center. The final was played on 10 May 2015 between Counter Logic Gaming, from the North American League of Legends Championship Series, and SK Telecom T1, from League of Legends Champions Korea, with SK Telecom T1 winning the championship 3–0.[11][12] Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok was awarded the MVP in the final.

Top four
Place Team Players Prize money
Top Jungle Mid Bot Support
1st SK Telecom T1 Duke
(Lee Ho-seong)		 Blank
(Kang Sun-gu)		 Faker
(Lee Sang-hyeok)		 Bang
(Bae Jun-sik)		 Wolf
(Lee Jae-wan)		 $250,000
2nd Counter Logic Gaming Darshan
(Darshan Upadhyaha)		 Xmithie
(Jake Puchero)		 Huhi
(Choi Jae-hyun)		 Stixxay
(Trevor Hayes)		 Aphromoo
(Zaqueri Black)		 $100,000
3rd–4th Royal Never Give Up Looper
(Jang Hyeong-seok)		 mlxg
(Liu Shiyu)		 Xiaohu
(Li Yuanhao)		 Wuxx
(Wang Cheng)		 Mata
(Cho Se-hyeong)		 $50,000
Flash Wolves MMD
(Yu Li-Hong)		 Karsa
(Hung Hao-Hsuan)		 Maple
(Huang Yi-Tang)		 NL
(Hsiung Wen-An)		 SwordArt
(Hu Shuo-Chieh)

2017
Main article: 2017 Mid-Season Invitational

The 2017 Mid-Season Invitation was held from 28 April to 21 May 2017, in 2 cities across Brazil: São Paulo (play in) and Rio de Janeiro (groups and knockout stage). Departing from the previous years, thirteen teams qualified for the event by winning their respective Spring Splits, with the representatives from Europe (EU LCS), South Korea (LCK), and China (LPL) had their teams automatically admitted into the main event, while the other teams were admitted into the "play-in stage", where the top three teams in that stage qualified for the group stage.[13]

The final was played on 21 May 2017, hosted in the Jeunesse Arena, between defending champions SK Telecom T1, from South Korea's League of Legends Champions Korea, and G2 Esports, from the European League of Legends Championship Series, with SK Telecom T1 retaining the championship 3–1, becoming the first team to win back-to-back Mid-Season Invitationals.[14] Lee "Wolf" Jae-wan was awarded the MVP in the finals.

Top four
Place Team Players Prize money
Top Jungle Mid Bot Support
1st SK Telecom T1 Huni
(Heo Seung-hoon)		 Peanut
(Han Wang-ho)		 Faker
(Lee Sang-hyeok)		 Bang
(Bae Jun-sik)		 Wolf
(Lee Jae-wan)		 $676,000
2nd G2 Esports Expect
(Ki Dae-han)		 Trick
(Kim Gang-yun)		 Perkz
(Luka Perković)		 Zven
(Jesper Svenningsen)		 Mithy
(Alfonso Aguirre Rodríguez)		 $338,000
3rd–4th Team WE 957
(Ke Changyu)		 Condi
(Xiang Renjie)		 xiye
(Su Hanwei)		 Mystic
(Jin Seong-jun)		 Ben
(Nam Dong-hyun)		 $169,000
Flash Wolves MMD
(Yu Li-Hong)		 Karsa
(Hung Hao-Hsuan)		 Maple
(Huang Yi-Tang)		 Betty
(Lu Yu-Hung)		 SwordArt
(Hu Shuo-Chieh)

2018
Main article: 2018 Mid-Season Invitational

The 2018 Mid-Season Invitational was held between 3–20 May 2018 in Germany and France. The two cities that hosted this event were Berlin (play-in & groups), and Paris (knockout stage).[15] Fourteen teams qualified after winning their respective Spring Splits, with the teams from South Korea (LCK), North America (NA LCS) and China (LPL) automatically seeded into the group stage, whereas the other 10 leagues will compete among each other in a "play-in" with the top 2 teams advancing to join the main event.[16]

The final was played on 20 May 2018, hosted in the Zénith Paris, between King-Zone DragonX, from South Korea's League of Legends Champions Korea, and Royal Never Give Up, from China's League of Legends Pro League, with Royal Never Give Up winning the championship 3–1, with Jian "Uzi" Zihao being awarded the MVP of the finals.[17]

The finals, became one of the most watched esports matches in history, being watched by over 127 million unique viewers (mostly attributed to China's viewership), while the entire event boasted a total viewing time of over 2 billion hours.[18][19][20][21]

Top four
Place Team Players Prize money
Top Jungle Mid Bot Support
1st Royal Never Give Up Letme
(Yan Junze)		 Mlxg
(Liu Shiyu)		 Xiaohu
(Li Yuanhao)		 Uzi
(Jian Zihao)		 Ming
(Shi Senming)		 $527,650
Karsa
(Hung Hao-Hsuan)
2nd King-Zone DragonX Khan
(Kim Dong-ha)		 Peanut
(Han Wang-ho)		 Bdd
(Gwak Bo-seong)		 PraY
(Kim Jong-in)		 GorillA
(Kang Beom-hyun)		 $267,251
Cuzz
(Moon Woo-chan)
3rd–4th Fnatic Bwipo
(Gabriël Rau)		 Broxah
(Mads Brock-Pedersen)		 Caps
(Rasmus Winther)		 Rekkles
(Martin Larsson)		 Hylissang
(Zdravets Iliev Galabov)		 $133,626
sOAZ
(Paul Boyer)
Flash Wolves Hanabi
(Su Chia-Hsiang)		 Moojin
(Kim Moo-jin)		 Maple
(Huang Yi-Tang)		 Betty
(Lu Yu-Hung)		 SwordArt
(Hu Shuo-Chieh)

2019
Main article: 2019 Mid-Season Invitational

The 2019 Mid-Season Invitational was held between 1–19 May 2018 in Vietnam and Taiwan. Three cities that hosted this event were Ho Chi Minh City (play-in), Hanoi (groups), and Taipei (knockout stage). Similar to the 2017 Mid-Season Invitational, thirteen teams qualified for the event, as based on the regional results of the MSI and the World Championship in the two years prior (2017 and 2018), three teams from Europe (LEC), South Korea (LCK), and China (LPL) began in the main group stage; two teams from North America (LCS) and Taiwan/Hong Kong/Macau (LMS) begin in the second round of the play-in stage; and the eight remaining teams begin in the first round of the play-in stage.[22]

The final was played on 19 May 2019, hosted in the Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium, between G2 Esports, from Europe's League of Legends European Championship, and Team Liquid, from North America's League of Legends Championship Series, with G2 Esports winning the championship 3–0, becoming the first European team to win the Mid-Season Invitational.[23][24] Rasmus "Caps" Winther was given the MVP award for his performance in the final.[25]

Top four
Place Team Players Prize money
Top Jungle Mid Bot Support
1st G2 Esports Wunder
(Martin Hansen)		 Jankos
(Marcin Jankowski)		 Caps
(Rasmus Winther)		 Perkz
(Luka Perković)		 Mikyx
(Mihael Mehle)		 $400,000
2nd Team Liquid Impact
(Jeong Eon-young)		 Xmithie
(Jake Puchero)		 Jensen
(Nicolaj Jensen)		 Doublelift
(Yiliang Peng)		 CoreJJ
(Jo Yong-in)		 $200,000
3rd–4th Invictus Gaming TheShy
(Kang Seung-lok)		 Ning
(Gao Zhenning)		 Rookie
(Song Eui-jin)		 JackeyLove
(Yu Wenbo)		 Baolan
(Wang Liuyi)		 $100,000
SK Telecom T1 Khan
(Kim Dong-ha)		 Clid
(Kim Tae-min)		 Faker
(Lee Sang-hyeok)		 Teddy
(Park Jin-seong)		 Mata
(Cho Se-hyeong)

2020
Main article: 2020 Mid-Season Streamathon

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Riot Games cancelled the event, replacing it with the Mid-Season Streamathon, a series of international competitions and exhibition matches from multiple regions.[26][27]

2021
Main article: 2021 Mid-Season Invitational

The 2021 Mid-Season Invitational was held from 6–23 May 2021 in Reykjavík, Iceland. Twelve teams qualified for the event, where all teams began in the same stage of the tournament, unlike previous years where the winners of the minor leagues had to win play-in matches to face teams from the larger regions.[28] GAM Esports, from the Vietnam Championship Series, was unable to attend the event due to travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.[29]

All games of the tournament were hosted in the Laugardalshöll, with no fans in attendance due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Iceland. The final was played on 23 May 2021 between the 2018 Mid-Season Invitational champions Royal Never Give Up, from China's League of Legends Pro League, and the previous World champions DWG KIA (formerly Damwon Gaming), from League of Legends Champions Korea. Royal Never Give Up won the championship 3–2, becoming the second team after T1 (formerly SK Telecom T1) to win two Mid-Season Invitationals.[30][31] Chen "GALA" Wei was awarded the MVP in the final.[32]

Top four
Place Team Players Prize money
Top Jungle Mid Bot Support
1st Royal Never Give Up Xiaohu
(Li Yuanhao)		 Wei
(Yan Yangwei)		 Cryin
(Yuan Chengwei)		 GALA
(Chen Wei)		 Ming
(Shi Senming)		 $75,000
Xiaobai
(Yang Zhonghe)
2nd DWG KIA Khan
(Kim Dong-ha)		 Canyon
(Kim Geon-bu)		 ShowMaker
(Heo Su)		 Ghost
(Jang Yong-jun)		 BeryL
(Cho Geon-hee)		 $50,000
3rd–4th MAD Lions Armut
(İrfan Berk Tükek)		 Elyoya
(Javier Prades Batalla)		 Humanoid
(Marek Brázda)		 Carzzy
(Matyáš Orság)		 Kaiser
(Norman Kaiser)		 $25,000
PSG Talon Hanabi
(Su Chia-Hsiang)		 River
(Kim Dong-woo)		 Maple
(Huang Yi-Tang)		 Doggo
(Chiu Tzu-Chuan)		 Kaiwing
(Ling Kai Wing)

2022
Main article: 2022 Mid-Season Invitational

The 2022 Mid-Season Invitational will be held from 10–29 May 2022 in Busan, South Korea. Similar to the previous event, eleven teams qualified for the event, where all teams began in the same stage of the tournament, unlike previous years where the winners of the minor leagues had to win play-in matches to face teams from the larger regions.[33][34] The CIS's League of Legends Continental League will not send a representative to the event due to the cancellation of their Spring Split, in response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[35]

Due to travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic in Shanghai, where most of China's LPL teams are based, the LPL representative, Royal Never Give Up, will compete in the tournament remotely from the team's training facility or the LPL Arena in Shanghai. All other representatives will also compete with artificially standardized ping to ensure competitive integrity.[36]

All games of the tournament will be hosted in the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center (BEXCO), with the final taking place on 29 May 2022.[37]

Notes
  1. A team from the Vietnam Championship Series was unable to compete in 2021 due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, while a team from the CIS's League of Legends Continental League was unable to compete in 2022 due to the cancellation of their Spring Split in response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
  2. Rebranded from SK Telecom T1 in 2019.
  3. Rebranded from King-Zone DragonX to DragonX in 2019, and then to DRX in 2020.

References
  1. Erzberger, Tyler (2 May 2016). "The Mid-Season Invitational Power Rankings". ESPN. ESPN Inc. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  2. Lingle, Samuel (4 May 2016). "League Midseason Invitational day one recap". The Daily Dot. Archived from the original on 10 October 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  3. Johnson, Michael (3 May 2016). "League Of Legends Mid-Season Invitational – What You Need To Know!". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  4. Scott, Jake (1 May 2015). "MSI recap: Edward Gaming defeat SKT 3–2, become MSI 2015 champions". theScore eSports. Score Media Ventures. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  5. Stavropoulos, Andreas (23 April 2020). "Riot officially cancels 2020 Mid-Season Invitational". Dot Esports. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  6. Miller, Brian (8 May 2015). "League of Legends gamers occupy Civic Center". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  7. Zacny, Rob (11 May 2015). "SK Telecom yield League of Legends MSI title to China's EDG as Faker falls short". PCGamesN. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  8. Bishop, Rollin (11 May 2015). "EDward Gaming Wins the 2015 League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational". Paste Magazine. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  9. Deesing, Jonathan. "Edward Gaming Beats SKT in Mid-Season Invitational". Red Bull. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  10. Miller, Brian (8 May 2015). "League of Legends gamers occupy Civic Center". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  11. Marshall, Paul (15 May 2016). "Korea's SK Telecom T1 wins the 2016 Mid-Season Invitational". League of Legends. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  12. Marshall, Cassandra (17 May 2016). "Looking back at LoL's dramatic Mid-Season Invitational". PC Gamer. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  13. "What is the 2017 Mid-Season Invitational?". 24 April 2017. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  14. Salazar, Andrew (22 May 2017). "SK Telecom T1 Wins Mid-Season Invitational". Esports Source. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  15. "League of Legends Gives Baron a Conqueror Skin". WWG. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  16. "2018 Mid-Season Invitational: Schedule released – RealSport". RealSport. 30 April 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  17. "Uzi finally meets his destiny by claiming the MSI crown with RNG". Dot Esports.
  18. "The MSI Final for League of Legends becomes the most watched esports match ever". destructoid.
  19. "Over 127 million people watched the MSI Final, making it the most watched esports match in history".
  20. "Which LCS team will survive and advance at MSI?". Dot Esports.
  21. "RNG and KINGZONE have always been desperately close to greatness". Dot Esports.
  22. "2019 MID-SEASON INVITATIONAL EVENT OVERVIEW". lolesports.
  23. Amos, Andrew (19 May 2019). "G2 smash Team Liquid to become the MSI 2019 champions". Dot Esports. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  24. Stubbs, Mike. "G2 Esports Win 'League of Legends' MSI 2019 Tournament". Forbes. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  25. Esguerra, Tyler (19 May 2019). "Caps wins Finals MVP award for his performance against Team Liquid at MSI 2019". Dot Esports. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  26. "Update on MSI from John Needham". lolesports.com. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  27. Stavropoulos, Andreas (23 April 2020). "Riot officially cancels 2020 Mid-Season Invitational". DotEsports. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  28. "MSI 2021 is Heading to Reykjavik, Iceland". lolesports.com. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  29. Lim, Jang-won (20 April 2021). "MSI preview: 11 teams heading to Iceland; VCS unable to attend once again". Korea Herald. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  30. "Royal Never Give Up win Mid-Season Invitational". reuters.com. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  31. Jeon, Young-Jae (24 May 2021). "DWG KIA lose Mid-Season Invitational final to China's RNG". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  32. Esguerra, Tyler (23 May 2021). "GALA ends MSI 2021 with the most kills in the tournament and the Finals MVP award". DotEsports. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  33. "Riot Games to Host Mid-Season Invitational in South Korea". lolesportsmedia.com. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  34. "Riot announces MSI 2022 to take place in South Korean city Busan". invenglobal.com. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  35. "Riot confirms MSI 2022 will take place in Busan, South Korea, and feature a live audience". Dot Esports. 30 March 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  36. Aletaha, Naz (21 April 2022). "Mid-Season Invitational 2022 Update". LoL Esports. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  37. Stubbs, Mike (1 April 2022). "'League Of Legends' Mid Season Invitational 2022 To Be Held In South Korea". Forbes. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
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