MSI is back. After two splits in each region and an exciting
First Stand where internationals contenders have already clashed, the Mid-Season Invitational, Riot’s sister tournament to the all-important Worlds, is slated to begin on June 28th. Now, with Riot’s release of the
MSI 2026 Primer and
Format Explainer video, we finally have the details on scheduling, where and how to watch, and the nitty-gritty of the hyped event.
MSI 2026 is an 11-team tournament, in which the top two teams from Korea’s
LCK, China’s
LPL, EMEA’s
LEC, North America’s
LCS, and the Asia-Pacific region’s
LCP are all invited, as well as the champion of Brazil’s
CBLOL. Those teams will kick off the tournament with the Play-In Stage, in which the second seed from each qualifying region will compete for the sole last spot in the 8-team Bracket Stage, where the first seeds lie waiting. The exceptions to this Play-In participation are the LPL, whose second seed
also start in Bracket Stage, thanks to the
’s title-winning performance for the LPL at First Stand, and Brazil, who aren’t granted a spot for their second seed.
The double-elimination Play-In bracket starts June 28th, and runs for four days into July 1st. The Play-In best-of-fives will mostly take place at 12 pm in local Korea Standard Time, which is 5 am CEST, except for June 30’s match, which is 5 hours later. The matchups that begin this four-team clash are already known: The first matchup in Play-Ins, later on the 28th, is a classic, which Hong “
” Chang-hyeon once referred to with the quote “
God has abandoned us, but we will enjoy it.” NA’s
is matching up against Korea’s famous
and their legendary midlaner Lee “
” Sang-hyeok. Next, the French fan-favorite
will be facing off against the Taiwanese
. Fans abroad may recognize DCG’s support Liu “
” Chia-Hao, from his time in the LPL, and international appearances on CFO and oldhead team Flash Wolves.
Whichever one team emerges from Play-Ins will emerge to face the giants of Bracket Stage, which starts on July 3rd, two days after Play-Ins conclude. These series also take place at 5 am CEST daily until a one-day break leading into Upper Finals on the 9th, which will see 10 am CEST as the new time for the next three series, until Grand Finals on the 12th switches again to a 7 am CEST time. MSI will be viewable in English on Riot Games’ official Twitch channel, as well as through a number of alternate-language streams and costreams.
First main stage match known
Furthermore, the seeding for the tournament has also been determined following the confirmation of all qualified teams. The two First Stand finalists, BLG and G2 Esports, have been placed in Pool 1, relegating - and quite unusually, it is worth noting - the LCK first seed Hanwha Life Esports to Pool 2 alongside LYON. FURIA and Secret Whales will occupy Pool 3, while Top Esports, the LPL second seed, will be placed in Pool 4 alongside the winner of the Play-Ins.
As a result, and due to the rule preventing teams from the same region from facing each other in the opening round of the Main Event, the first matchup of the tournament is already confirmed. As Top Esports cannot face Bilibili Gaming, they will therefore take on G2 Esports. The two organizations have become accustomed to meeting regularly on the international stage in recent years. Their last two encounters came at Worlds 2025 and both ended in favor of the Chinese side, notably thanks to Bai “
” Jiahao, whom the European champions struggled to contain.
With the toplaner now inactive and the remarkable improvement shown by the Samurai, G2 have every reason to believe they can turn the matchup in their favor this time around.
