On July 2, the main event of the Mid-Season Invitational — the second international tournament of the year on the
League of Legends competitive calendar — officially kicks off. Having
advanced through the Play-In stage,
Bilibili Gaming (LPL #2) and
G2 Esports (LEC #2) join the five teams that had already secured direct qualification:
Anyone’s Legend (LPL #1),
FlyQuest (LTA #1),
CTBC Flying Oyster (LCP #1), and the two LCK representatives —
Gen.G (Seed #1) and
T1 (Seed #2). As a reminder South Korea earned a second main event slot following
Hanwha Life Esports’ victory at the First Stand earlier this year.
To determine the first-round matchups, teams have been seeded into four tiers. Tier 1 teams face Tier 4, while Tier 2 takes on Tier 3. Gen.G and KOI (LEC #1), representing the two regions that reached the First Stand final (Hanwha Life Esports vs. Karmine Corp), were seeded into Tier 1. Tier 2 comprises CTBC Flying Oyster (LCP #1) and Anyone’s Legend (LPL #1), with Tier 3 featuring FlyQuest and T1. The final tier is filled by the Play-In qualifiers: Bilibili Gaming and G2 Esports.
Final on July 13
Following the Play-In phase, teams entering the Bracket Stage were assigned to tiers, with regional protection enforced for the opening round. The first-round matchups are as follows: Gen.G vs. G2 Esports, Anyone’s Legend vs. FlyQuest, CTBC Flying Oyster vs. T1, and KOI vs. Bilibili Gaming. This article will continue to track the progress of the bracket as the tournament unfolds.
The Bracket Stage follows a double-elimination format. All matches are best-of-five and played using the Fearless Draft format. The winner of the MSI will qualify directly for the World Championship, provided they also reach the playoffs of their domestic Summer Split. Additionally, the second-best performing region at MSI will be granted a fourth slot at Worlds.
If both teams of a region reach the final, that additional slot will instead be awarded to the region whose team finishes third, determined by the loser of the lower bracket final. The Mid-Season Invitational will conclude on July 13, just three days before the beginning of the year’s third international event — the Esports World Cup — which will feature nearly the same pool of teams.
Header Photo Credit: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games
