MSI 2022 Group Draw Show: Fans Are Upset Over Riot's Choice Of Special Guests

Riot Games announced that the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) 2022 Group Draw Show would be hosted after the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) Finals Qualifier between Evil Geniuses and Team Liquid on 23rd April (Saturday). However, not everyone in the community appreciated this announcement since Riot has been receiving flak for its choice of special guests for the MSI 2022 Group Draw Show.

On 22nd April, Riot Games wrote on Twitter, “Tune in to the #MSI2022 Group Draw Show following the LCS Finals Qualifier this Saturday on http://lolesports.com, featuring special guests @MeteosLoL, @LilyPichu and @michaelreeves!”

Who are the special guests for the MSI 2022 Group Draw Show?

Firstly, the MSI tournament features 11 top teams from different regions who shall battle it out for the glory of MSI 2022 and the prize money. Usually, 12 teams participate but Riot Games announced that the 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. Hence, the 11 teams will be split into three groups, with two groups of four teams and one with three teams. This is where the special guests come into play. They will pull balls with a team inside of it and then split them into groups during the draw show.

For the MSI 2022 Group Draw Show, former pro-player William “Meteos” Hartman, Youtuber, and content creator Lily “LilyPichu” Ki, and her boyfriend YouTuber Michael Reeves have been announced as special guests.

Fans react to LilyPichu and Michael Reeves being invited

Riot’s announcement was met with immense criticism on social media and many people in the community pointed out how its choice of special guests was out of place. A few of the comments on the original Twitter post by LoLEsports stated that Lily and Michael Reeves were not pro players nor are they full-time League of Legends streamers.

Fans also opined that Riot could have brought in actual pros or analysts for the show.

Esports personality Christopher "MonteCristo" Mykles lashed out at Riot Games and wrote, “Can’t pay casters better rates! Can pay YouTubers a boatload of money to promote esports content! Just Riot things.”

Responding to this, Lily wrote, “We aren't getting paid for this. They just asked me and I said sure can I bring Michael, that's it. Honestly regretting my decision from the backlash tbh. I didn't realize it was this serious.”

Following this, MonteCristo reiterated his opinion of getting compensated fairly for the work one puts in. He replied to Lily, “Also, I don't believe in doing freebies for multi-billion dollar companies. You SHOULD get paid to do this. You should get paid a lot.”

LilyPichu also addressed the backlash on social media and stated that she was anyway going to Texas and that she asked Riot if she could bring Michael along. “Hello I was going to texas anyway, riot asked me if I wanted to do this, I said sure and asked if I could bring Michael. That's it. Sorry we are not up to expectation but it is what it is now, see you tomorrow and plz recommend good bbq places.”

Many fans stood in support of LilyPichu and stated that she has been a part of the League of Legends community since its inception. Notably, she has created content for Riot Games in the past through the Community Collaboration program and other shows that Riot produced.

Twitch streamer Angela “AriaSaki” Don, a close friend of LilyPichu, wrote on Twitter, “LOL seeing entitled viewers get mad over who PICKS BALLS OUT OF A BOX is insane to me. Legacy this, prestige that.. Lily started her career dedicating herself to league content for YEARS. Maybe the players are the ones rejecting the offer to do it unpaid btw?? Leave her alone ty.”

According to a comment by Hupu Esports on Twitter, a Weibo post had allegedly stated that the special guests were initially Meteos and Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng. Fans speculated that Doublelift could have been possibly removed from the show after what happened on his Trash Talk podcast about Fnatic Elias “Upset” Lipp and his wife Paula.

Fans also pointed out that they were not hating on LilyPichu or Michael Reeves but disappointed with Riot Games for inviting guests who do not have a connection with “the esports scene” of League of Legends.

A part of the community also pointed out that it was excited to watch the LCS because Riot invited LilyPichu and Michael Reeves as special guests.

The theory in the community is that Riot Games is trying to get more people to watch the LCS broadcast and really engage with the audience by inviting off-beat streamers and content creators, apart from the esports personalities that the community is used to.

Notably, Riot Games announced that Tyler “tyler1” Steinkamp will be a part of the opening ceremony of the 2022 LCS Spring Finals on 24th April.

The 2022 League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational (MSI), the seventh edition of the tournament, is scheduled to begin on 10th May at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center (BEXCO) in Busan, Korea. This will be the first international tournament for League of Legends this year and the first time South Korea will be hosting an MSI tournament.