The 2024 League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational will begin May 1! MSI is the first opportunity of the year for fans to witness top regional teams competing globally. In 2024, there are greater stakes as the MSI Championship team secures the first qualification spot for Worlds, which counts as an additional slot for their region. The next best performing region at MSI will also secure an additional slot at Worlds for their region. To ensure that the team that qualifies early for Worlds remains committed to success in their home league, they still must qualify for their region's Summer Playoffs / Season Finals in order to secure their spot.
The Official Rules of the 2024 Mid-Season Invitational can be found here. Here’s everything you need to know about the competition.
What is the Mid-Season Invitational?
The Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) is the first international competition of the annual LoL Esports calendar. MSI is an opportunity to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of teams and regions at the midway point of the season. Representatives from each of the regions will battle it out for a shot at the MSI title. The event moves between host regions each year; this year, teams will compete in Chengdu, China.
This year’s creative theme is “BECOME THE UNKNOWN.” MSI is the first real test of the year in the global scene. New foes, new meta, and in front of a whole new audience. Venture into the dangerous unknown where you must dig deep, push the limits beyond what’s familiar to the point of surprise and discover what you are truly capable of. To push past the unknown, you must push beyond the known.
When is MSI happening?
MSI has two stages: the Play-In Stage (May 1-5) and the Bracket Stage (May 7-12, May 14-19).
Play-In Stage (All matches begin at 1 a.m. PDT / 10 a.m. CEST / 4 p.m. China Standard Time)
- Wednesday, May 1
- Thursday, May 2
- Friday, May 3
- Saturday, May 4
- Sunday, May 5
Bracket Stage (All matches begin at 2 a.m. PDT / 11 a.m. CEST / 5 p.m. China Standard Time / unless otherwise noted)
- Tuesday, May 7
- Wednesday, May 8
- Thursday, May 9
- Friday, May 10
- Saturday, May 11 - 9 p.m. PDT May 10 / 6 a.m. CEST / 12 p.m. China Standard Time
- Sunday, May 12 - 9 p.m. PDT May 11 / 6 a.m. CEST / 12 p.m. China Standard Time
- Tuesday, May 14
- Wednesday, May 15
- Thursday, May 16
- Friday, May 17
- Saturday, May 18
- (Finals) Sunday, May 19
Where will MSI take place?
The tournament will take place in the Chengdu Financial City Performing Arts Center in Chengdu, China.
Which teams are competing?
This year, the teams competing from each of the different regions are:
CHINA – LPL
Bilibili Gaming (BLG)
TOP Esports (TES)
KOREA – LCK
Gen.G (GEN)
T1 (T1)
EUROPE – LEC
G2 Esports (G2)
Fnatic (FNC)
NORTH AMERICA – LCS
Team Liquid Honda (TL)
FlyQuest (FLY)
ASIA PACIFIC – PCS
PSG Talon (PSG)
BRAZIL – CBLOL
Loud (LLL)
LATIN AMERICA – LLA
Estral Esports (EST)
VIETNAM – VCS
GAM Esports
What’s the format?
PLAY-IN STAGE: The Play-Ins creates a field where the top seed from LLA, CBLOL, PCS, and VCS, as well as the second seed from the LPL, LCS, LCK, and LEC, will fight for four spots in the Bracket Stage. It will kick off with the eight teams being split into two best-of-3, double-elimination brackets. Each bracket will consist of 1 team from Pool 1, 2, 3 and 4, and the matchups will be drawn as “Pool 1 vs Pool 4” and “Pool 2 vs Pool 3” in the initial rounds. As these brackets play out, the two teams that go 2-0 and the two teams that go 2-1 will advance to the Bracket Stage. The two teams that go 0-2 and the two teams that finish 1-2 (in total 4 teams) will be eliminated from MSI. There will be no “Advancement Match” in the Play-in Stage this year.
BRACKET STAGE: The Bracket Stage will see eight teams face off in a double elimination, best-of-five bracket. This will include the four winners of Play-Ins, along with LEC1, LCS1, LPL1, and LCK1. Bracket Stage matchups will be drawn following the conclusion of the Play-In Stage. These 8 teams will be seeded into 4 Pools and arranged into the top and bottom side of the bracket. As a new rule this year, teams from the same region will not be on the same side of the bracket, meaning that both the top and bottom side of the bracket will consist of teams from different regions.
Depending on the Play-In results, there are scenarios where there will be only one possible draw result. A draw show for the Bracket Stage will not be conducted under these scenarios, and the Bracket Stage matchups will be announced on May 5 after the Play-In Stage has concluded.
How Do I Watch?
You can catch every match on the main broadcast via watch.lolesports.com.
MSI 2024 Co-Streaming
LoL Esports co-streaming continues at MSI 2024! Riot expects more than 50 co-streamers to participate, continuing to represent the wide range of regions, languages and fans from our community around the globe.
The program at MSI ‘24 is invite-only, and the participating streamers and content creators will give fans the chance to follow MSI with their favorite personalities right alongside the main broadcast.
As we evolve our LoL Esports co-streaming programs, creators will no longer be on a rotating schedule as they were in 2023. In other words, Riot has unlocked all participating creators to stream every stage and every match of the MSI ‘24 tournament. Our hope is that this empowers creators to make even more great content and removes some of the scheduling guesswork for fans seeking to watch with their favorite creator. We will announce the full roster of co-streamers as we get closer to the start of MSI ‘24.
All professional teams that have qualified for MSI are also invited to co-stream the entire tournament and are encouraged to leverage existing creators that are officially affiliated with their teams.
For all other content creators, the standard Content Creator Guidelines remain in effect.
MSI 2024 Empyrean Event Pass, Pass Bundle, and Esports Premium Bundle
Fans can support their favorite teams by purchasing the MSI 2024 Empyrean Event Pass (1650 RP), the Pass Bundle (2650 RP), or the Esports Premium Bundle (3650 RP). Riot will share 30% of the gross revenue with teams competing in the tournament. Additionally, 30% of the gross revenue from sales of the Empyrean Nocturne skin will go to MSI 2024 participating teams. More details about the pass will be shared soon.
This year, we are replacing the usual icon and emote team bundles at MSI and Worlds with custom emotes designed by all teams from the LCK, LPL, LEC, LCS, VCS, PCS, CBLOL, and LLA. We expect to have those emotes on sale during the Worlds window this year.
MSI Merchandise
Taking the theme of “BECOME THE UNKNOWN” head on, Riot has partnered with renowned Chinese sportswear brand Li-Ning to develop the MSI 2024 apparel capsule. The collection features a range of tops and accessories taking heavy inspiration from the MSI brand and showcases iconic League of Legends champions like Lee Sin as well as creatures like the Elder Dragon. For those who are unable to attend MSI in-person, a selection of pieces from the MSI 2024 Collection will be available online for a limited time starting April 25. Regional availability may vary.
