Cover-Credits:
At the end of March, Riot Games confirmed that the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) 2022 will take place in Busan, South Korea. This will be the first international event of this year for League of Legends Esports (LoL Esports) and MSI 2022 will take place between 10th - 29th May at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center (BEXCO). Riot also confirmed that the tournament’s format would remain unchanged and that the competing teams would be split into three groups. Additionally, the teams will face off against each other in front of a live audience throughout the tournament for the first time since Worlds 2019.
MSI 2022 Format
The top team from each of the 11 regions will compete in the Group Stage, the Rumble Stage, and the Knockout Stage. There won’t be 12 teams this year since the League of Legends Continental League (LCL) will not be sending a representative to the event because of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and due to the LCL (Commonwealth of Independent States) Spring Split being canceled.
The regions participating in MSI 2022 are as follows:
League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK)
League of Legends European Championship (LEC)
League of Legends Pro League (LPL)
League of Legends Championship Series (LCS)
Pacific Championship Series (PCS)
Vietnam Championship Series (VCS)
League of Legends Japan League (LJL)
The Liga Latinoamérica (LLA)
Turkish Championship League (TCL)
Campeonato Brasileiro de League of Legends (CBLoL)
League of Legends Circuit Oceania (LCO)
Teams that have secured a spot in MSI 2022
Since some of the leagues are still waiting for their Spring Split to end, not all teams have been decided. Currently, only five teams have punched in their tickets for MSI 2022 and will soon be joined by six other teams.
The LCK and the LEC were the first of the top leagues to complete their Spring Split and crown their champions. As a result, the winners of the respective regions – T1 and G2 Esports – will be representing Korea and Europe at MSI 2022.
While T1 had an undefeated split by going 18-0 during regular play, G2 achieved a feat of its own by surging through the lower bracket of the LEC playoffs and picking up the trophy with a back-to-back 3-0 series. G2 ended its Spring Split with a 12-0 record at the end.
In the LCO, ORDER emerged victorious and claimed its first championship ever. The team had a miracle run in the playoffs and defeated the region’s heavyweights including Chiefs Esports Club, Peace, and Pentanet.GG.
DetonatioN FocusMe from the LJL will also be participating in the MSI this year after its near-flawless split. The team defeated Sengoku Gaming with a scoreline of 3-2 in the finals. This will be the third MSI appearance for the team.
Meanwhile, fastPay Wildcats also qualified for MSI as the representatives of the TCL after picking up a victory against Galatasaray Esports in the TCL Winter Finals.
