The Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) is an annual ''

League of Legends ''League of Legends'' (''LoL''), commonly referred to as ''League'', is a 2009 multiplayer online battle arena video game developed and published by Riot Games. Inspired by ''Defense of the Ancients'', a custom map for ''Warcraft III'', Ri ...

'' tournament hosted by

Riot Games Riot Games, Inc. is an American video game developer, publisher and esports tournament organizer based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in September 2006 by Brandon Beck and Marc Merrill to develop ''League of Legends'' and went on ...

since 2015. It is the second most important international ''League of Legends'' tournament aside from the

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

. In 2015 and 2016, the event featured the Spring Split champions of the five major competitive ''League of Legends'' regional leagues (

LEC Lec or LEC may refer to: Organisations * Lake Erie College, a college in Painesville, Ohio * Lancaster Environment Centre, an interdisciplinary centre at Lancaster University, England * Lao Evangelical Church, a religious body in Laos * Laredo En ...

LCS LCS may refer to: Schools and organizations * Laboratory for Computer Science, research institute at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology * Lake County Schools school district of Lake County, Florida * Lakefield College School an indepe ...

, LCK,

LMS LMS may refer to: Science and technology * Labeled magnitude scale, a scaling technique * Learning management system, education software * Least mean squares filter, producing least mean square error * Leiomyosarcoma, a rare form of cancer * Lenz ...

, LPL), as well as a wildcard team from a region determined by the International Wildcard Invitational, held a few weeks beforehand. In its inaugural tournament, Chinese team Edward Gaming emerged victorious by defeating South Korean team

SK Telecom T1 T1 (previously known as SK Telecom T1 or SKT T1) is a South Korean esports organization operated by the T1 Entertainment & Sports, a joint venture between SK Telecom and Comcast Spectacor. At the end of 2003, SK Telecom took the StarCraft Team ...

3–2 in the final. 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 is the most successful team with three MSI titles.

History

2015

The 2015 Mid-Season Invitational was held from 7–10 May 2015 in

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the populatio ...

. 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). All games of the tournament were hosted in the

Donald L. Tucker Civic Center The Donald L. Tucker Civic Center is a multi-purpose indoor arena located on the Florida State University campus in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. The arena has the biggest capacity of any arena in the Florida Panhandle. The arena opened in ...

. The final was played on 10 May 2015 between Edward Gaming, from China's

League of Legends Pro League The ''League of Legends'' Pro League (LPL) is the top-level professional league for ''League of Legends'' in China. The first season of the LPL was the 2013 Spring season. The top three finishers of the playoff tournament receive automatic bid ...

, and

, from

League of Legends Champions Korea ''League of Legends'' Champions Korea (LCK) is the primary competition for ''League of Legends'' esports in South Korea. Contested by ten teams, the league runs two seasons per year and serves as a direct route to qualification for the annual ...

, with Edward Gaming winning the inaugural championship 3–2.

2016

The 2016 Mid-Season Invitational was held from 4–15 May 2016 in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

, 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). 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 Counter Logic Gaming (CLG) is an American esports organization headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in April 2010 by George "HotshotGG" Georgallidis and Alexander "Vodoo" Beutel as a ''League of Legends'' team, and has si ...

, from the North American League of Legends Championship Series, and

, from

, with SK Telecom T1 winning the championship 3–0. Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok was awarded the MVP in the final.

2017

The 2017 Mid-Season Invitation was held from 28 April to 21 May 2017, in 2 cities across

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

(play in) and

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of the same name, Brazil's List of Brazilian states by population, third-most populous state, and the List of largest citi ...

(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. The final was played on 21 May 2017, hosted in the Jeunesse Arena, between defending champions

, from South Korea's

, and

G2 Esports G2 Esports (G2) is a European esports organization headquartered in Berlin, Germany, with players competing in ''League of Legends'', '' Valorant'', '' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'', '' Hearthstone'', ''Rocket League'', '' Rainbow Six Si ...

, from the

European League of Legends Championship Series The ''League of Legends'' EMEA Championship (LEC) is the professional ''League of Legends'' esports league run by Riot Games in the EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) region, in which ten teams compete. Each annual season of play is div ...

, with SK Telecom T1 retaining the championship 3–1, becoming the first team to win back-to-back Mid-Season Invitationals. Lee "Wolf" Jae-wan was awarded the MVP in the finals.

2018

The 2018 Mid-Season Invitational was held between 3–20 May 2018 in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

. The two cities that hosted this event were

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

(play-in & groups), and

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

(knockout stage). 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. The final was played on 20 May 2018, hosted in the

Zénith Paris Zénith Paris (originally known as Zénith de Paris, ; and commonly referred to as Le Zénith, ) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Paris, France. It is located in the Parc de la Villette in the 19th arrondissement on the edge of the Canal de ...

, between King-Zone DragonX, from South Korea's

, and Royal Never Give Up, from China's

, with Royal Never Give Up winning the championship 3–1, with Jian "Uzi" Zihao being awarded the MVP of the finals. 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.

2019

The 2019 Mid-Season Invitational was held between 1–19 May 2018 in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...

and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northe ...

. Three cities that hosted this event were

Ho Chi Minh City , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

(play-in),

Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi i ...

(groups), and

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

(knockout stage). Similar to the

2017 Mid-Season Invitational The 2017 Mid-Season Invitational was the third annual Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) - a tournament for the MOBA video game ''League of Legends'' was hosted by Riot Games. The tournament was held from April 28 to May 21, 2017, in Brazil. This was t ...

, 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. The final was played on 19 May 2019, hosted in the Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium, between

, from Europe's League of Legends European Championship, and

Team Liquid Team Liquid is a multi-regional professional esports organization based in the Netherlands that was founded in 2000. With the release of '' StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty'', Team Liquid signed their first professional players. In 2012, Team Li ...

, from North America's

League of Legends Championship Series The League Championship Series (LCS) is the top level of professional ''League of Legends'' in the United States and Canada. The esports league is run by Riot Games and has ten franchise teams. Each annual season of competition is divided in ...

, with G2 Esports winning the championship 3–0, becoming the first European team to win the Mid-Season Invitational. Rasmus "Caps" Winther was given the MVP award for his performance in the final.

2020

Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

, Riot Games cancelled the event, replacing it with the Mid-Season Streamathon, a series of international competitions and exhibition matches from multiple regions.

2021

The 2021 Mid-Season Invitational was held from 6–23 May 2021 in

Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a pop ...

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...

. 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. GAM Esports, from the Vietnam Championship Series, was unable to attend the event due to travel restrictions related to the

. All games of the tournament were hosted in the

Laugardalshöll Laugardalshöll (; also known as Laugardalshöllin and Laugardalsholl Sport Center) is a multi-purpose sports and exhibition venue located in the Laugardalur district of Iceland's capital Reykjavík. The complex consists of two main venues, a sp ...

, 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

, and the previous World champions DWG KIA (formerly Damwon Gaming), from

. 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. Chen "GALA" Wei was awarded the MVP in the final.

2022

The 2022 Mid-Season Invitational was held from 10–29 May 2022 in

Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. 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. The CIS's League of Legends Continental League was unable to send a representative to the event due to the cancellation of their Spring Split, in response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Due to travel restrictions related to the

COVID-19 pandemic in Shanghai The COVID-19 pandemic in Shanghai is a part of the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The disease was first confirmed in Shangh ...

, where most of China's LPL teams are based, the LPL representative, Royal Never Give Up had competed in the tournament remotely from the team's training facility or the LPL Arena in Shanghai. All other representatives competed with artificially standardized ping to ensure competitive integrity. The final was played on 29 May 2022, hosted in the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center (BEXCO). The series was played between the two most successful teams in the competition's history at the time, the defending champions Royal Never Give Up, from China's

, and T1, from

. In the final, Royal Never Give Up won the championship 3–2, becoming the first team to win three MSI titles, and the second team to successfully defend their title (after T1 in

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

). Yan "Wei" Yangwei was awarded the MVP for his performance in the final.

Results

Year-by-year

Regions reaching top four

Teams reaching top four

Background shading indicates a team/organization has been disbanded, acquired or no longer participates in the regional league.

Notes

References

{{Professional League of Legends competition League of Legends competitions Recurring sporting events established in 2015