Cover-Credits:
League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) is scheduled to begin on 10th May in Busan, Korea, and all the regions have finally locked in their representatives for the first international event of 2022. The MSI sets the tone for the rest of the year and gives the audience a glimpse of what can be expected in the World Championship later in the year. This year a total of 11 teams from around the world will battle it out for the MSI 2022 champion title and the glory along with the prize money. Additionally, MSI 2022 will also feature a live audience at the venue.
Here’s everything that you need to know about MSI 2022.
The participants of MSI 2022
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’s (Commonwealth of Independent States) Spring Split being canceled.
The teams participating in MSI 2022 are as follows:
MSI 2022: Format and group stage draws
The teams will compete in three stages: Group Stage, Rumble Stage, and the Knockout Stage.
In the Group Stage of the MSI 2022, the teams will be drawn into three groups, with two groups of four teams and one with three teams. This stage will feature best-of-one double round-robin matches. Following this, two teams from each group will move on to the Rumble Stage, where the participants will play a best-of-one in a double round-robin setup to determine the top four teams. In the knockout stage, the top four teams will compete in best-of-five series and the two remaining teams will face off in the finals to become the best League of Legends team at the halfway mark of the competitive season.
For the Group Stage, the teams were chosen through a random draw by former pro player William “Meteos” Hartman, Youtuber and content creator Lily “LilyPichu” Ki, and YouTuber Michael Reeves.
As per the draw, the following are the groups:
Group A: DetonatioN FocusMe, Saigon Buffalo, T1, and Team Aze
Group B: Istanbul Wildcats, PSG Talon, RED Canids, and Royal Never Give Up
Group C: G2 Esports, Evil Geniuses, and ORDER
Schedule for MSI 2022
Riot Games announced that the Group Stage will take place in the Busan Esports Arena instead of the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center (BEXCO) and that the Rumble and Knockout stages will continue to be held at BEXCO. Additionally, Riot has adjusted the gameplay dates for the Rumble Stage of the MSI 2022.
Group Stage: 10 - 15th May
Rumble Stage: 20 - 24th May
Knockout Stage: 27 - 29th May
Remote play for LPL’s RNG
On 21st April, Riot Games announced that China’s League of Legends Pro League (LPL) representative will be unable to travel to Busan, Korea due to the COVID-19 crisis. Instead, the LPL team, Royal Never Give Up (RNG), will participate in the MSI 2022 remotely, said Riot’s Global Head of LoL Esports, Naz Aletaha, in an official release.
In order to keep the competition fair, Riot will be using a network latency tool to maintain a ping as close to 35 ms as possible for all teams throughout the competition. This means that all the teams will be playing on an inflated ping at the tournament.
Where to watch
Fans can watch the games live on LoLEsports and on the Twitch and Youtube channels of Riot Games once the tournament kicks off. More details about the schedule and other information about the tournament will be announced soon.
