The return of LoL Mid-Season Invitational tournament offers the best of competitive gaming ahead of World Championship

I know that I won’t be the only one looking forward to the return of the League of Legends (LoL) annual Mid-Season Invitational tournament (MSI).

After an absence from the esports calendar last year due to Covid-19, the multiplayer battle game competition will be returning on May 6 2021 in Reykjavik, Iceland. 

Fans of esports missed it terribly, because it always gave an idea of who the strongest players were – and who could be the favourites heading into the World Championship.

Since its creation in 2015, MSI has marked the midway point on the LoL calendar, which is split into two parts: spring and summer, during which players face off against other teams from their own region. These allow fans to see how their region and teams stand up in international competition.

The format is pretty simple: the winner of each LoL league is selected as a representative into MSI, so you have to finish first in the spring to make it to MSI and favourites for summer.

Teams in each region must win enough games in a double-round robin format to be ranked high enough for a playoff spot. For example, Europe has 10 teams, and the top six go through.

Then, teams play best of fives (Bo5) and this allows you to advance further in the tournament until you reach the final. All this lets the frontrunners in the region show why they are the best and why they should be taken seriously on the international stage. 

Then, in summer, teams fight for spots in the Worlds in September-October, where the true winners are decided: the best of the best.

This year, like everything else, things are a little different. The format of MSI has changed slightly: previously we had two group stages, a preliminary knock-out round and then the proper knock-out rounds.

The first group stage would feature the minor leagues (Turkey, Vietnam, LATAM) in two groups with the winners going into the first knock-out stage to face regions ranked fourth and fifth in the world in a best of five. 

The losers would then face off against each other for the last chance to make it to the next group stage. The winners of the three qualifying matches would then join the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd ranked regions in the main group stage.

The top four in this group would then go on to face each other in the final knock-out rounds until a winner is declared. 

This year, however, all regions will face three separate groups and be seeded – drawn into groups depending on your region’s ranking from a previous international tournament, not unlike tennis or the Champions League in football.

The top two of each group will then go into the second group stage with two dropping out, and the final four facing off against each other again in the knock-out stages. 

For fans of minor league teams, this format change could be a huge improvement, as it will give each region’s representative a chance to show themselves against greater opponents.

This also allows for more upsets to happen, which makes for great viewing and shows that the competition is closing the gap.

For new viewers especially, this could be really exciting.

As Worlds and MSI are the only two international tournaments, these are paramount for professional players. To be considered a great team, you need to perform well on the international stage.

Winning the MSI gives you a showcase as well as a big trophy – it shows your fans that you are the favourites heading into Worlds for that year.

This year’s MSI will also feel different thanks to Covid-19 restrictions. Worlds 2020 was played Between September and October in Shanghai last year, behind closed doors until the final, but this tournament will not have a live audience at all. Fans will be able to watch it all via Twitch, YouTube or the dedicated website, however.

Of course, a live crowd can bring a different energy, as it reacts to every play, which can encourage players’ performance – or put them off. Live events are great for the fans, just like traditional sports, and every esport viewer should try and enjoy the atmosphere if they get the chance.

Winning the MSI gives you a showcase as well as a big trophy – it shows your fans that you are the favourites heading into Worlds for that year.

But considering that MSI 2020 was cancelled as the pandemic swept the globe, we are lucky to get two international tournaments again so soon. And with Riot Games (the developers of LoL) looking to bring in the fans for Worlds later this year, having players and staff at an in-person event will allow the organisers to gauge whether more can be brought in for the Worlds this autumn. 

As far as the teams that’ll appear at 2021’s MSI, representatives are yet to be decided with leagues either in their playoffs or in their final week. 

For now, I’m keeping an eye on the main four regions: China, Korea, Europe and North America.

Korea’s favourites to go to MSI is DWG KIA (formerly DAMWON Gaming), the reigning world champions who would love to build a dynasty similar to that of SKT (now T1), their fellow Korean giants.  

From China, you have former titans Royal Never Give Up (RNG) and Edward Gaming (EDG) leading the league, but after the Top Esports and JD Gaming’s showing at Worlds last year, it could be close.

Any of these teams would love to bring the MSI trophy back to China but they all have to get there first. 

Europe is the reigning MSI champion (due to last year’s cancellation) and G2 will want to go back and defend their title properly. Europe has grown into a challenger for the eastern teams and wants to show that they deserve to be favourites.

North America has been on a slump internationally, and will want to prove they can hang with the best in the world.  

The League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) will want their best to go, and their best is looking to be one of Cloud 9, Team Liquid, and Team Solo Mid. These three teams have been staples on the world stage before and will want to show the world NA is a genuine contender after two horrible Worlds showing. 

It has been a joy watching the League of Legends go from strength to strength over the last 10 years of inclusion in the world of esports. 

The teams behind it are creating an exciting ecosystem that could be around for many more years, and with the level of investment from fans and sponsors, the scene will only grow.

If you’re coming to the esport scene new, watching the LoL games could seem overwhelming, but they let you see the best in the world, which allows you to better understand the games, and the analysts and commentators make it really simple to follow.

This is a fantastic time to immerse yourself in the culture of competitive gaming, and MSI is a great chance to learn more about the world of LoL esports.

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk

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