Mid-Season Invitational is one of the most important tournaments of every LoL season. This event brings together the best teams from each major league (one per region) and lasts for 2 – 3 weeks.
The Previous Edition of MSI
Last year’s Mid-Season Invitational was held in Reykjavik, Iceland, between May 6th -23rd, and had a prize pool of $250,000. Both the participants as well as millions of LoL fans around the globe had the chance to enjoy a high-level competition that made them all forget for a few weeks about the ongoing global crisis. The winner, rather surprisingly, was Royal Never Give Up. This Chinese competitor managed to beat DAMWON Gaming after 5 games in which they used Udyr and Kai’Sa every single time.
MSI 2022 Details
At the moment, we do not yet know when the Mid-Season Invitational will take place this year but the location will be South Korea. This country is one of the most prestigious on the map of esports and with T1 more dominant than ever in the LCK, it makes perfect sense to hold the competition in front of his biggest fans.
As usual, MSI 2022 will feature 12 teams and will probably have a prize pool of $250,000 – $300,000. These 12 teams will be the winners of the following 12 regions:
- South Korea
- China
- North America
- Europe
- PCS
- Vietnam
- CIS
- Latin America
- Turkey
- Brazil
- Japan
- Oceania
Potential Participants
The Spring Split is still far from over so nothing has been decided yet regarding the participants’ list. However, we can make some fairly accurate predictions based on what has happened so far.
In South Korea (LCK), T1 doesn’t have a rival at this point. Faker’s team won its first 10 matches and shows no sign of stopping. It’s doubtful that Gen.G, DAMWON, or DragonX will manage to stop them in the Playoffs.
In China (LPL), there are 4 teams that could realistically win the race: EDward Gaming, Weibo Gaming, LNG Esports, and Victory Five. Of these 4 teams, the strongest is EDward Gaming. This team also happens to be the winner of Worlds 2021, which is why it’s safe to assume that it will qualify for MSI 2022.
In North America (LCS), there are 4 teams that seem strong enough to win the Playoffs: FlyQuest, Team Liquid, 100 Thieves, and Cloud9. The strongest of these 4 is Liquid.
In Europe (LEC), Rogue seems to be one class above everyone else at this point. However, opponents like Fnatic, Misfits, or G2 could cause an upset in the Playoffs. Keep in mind that LEC has a much tougher Playoffs Stage than the other major leagues. In other words, winning the Group Stage here doesn’t automatically mean that you’re just 2 victories away from winning the entire race. You need to prove yourself in at least 2 matches before reaching the Grand Final and those 2 matches are enough for an upset to occur.
The other regions are a lot more volatile, so it’s impossible to predict who will win the chance to play at MSI 2022.
