Night view of Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province. /CFP
The League of Legends (LoL) Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) will take place in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province, from May 1 to 19, Riot Games, the developer and publisher of the video game, announced on Friday.
Riot has not announced the format of competitions for this year's MSI. Last year in London, there were a total of 13 teams participating in the tournament. Both the Chinese mainland's League of Legends Pro League (LPL) and South Korea's League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) had two clubs compete at the MSI last year.
In the end, JD Gaming (JDG) from LPL won the title, and Bilibili Gaming of the same league came in second, followed by LCK's T1 and Gen.G Esports.
Traditionally, the teams' performances during the Spring Season will determine if they qualify for the MSI and (partly) the following League of Legends World Championship (Worlds). In 2024, the LPL will begin the Spring Season on January 22. LCK will start from January 17.
Players of T1 from South Korea's League of Legends Champions Korea celebrate after winning the title at the League of Legends World Championship in Seoul, South Korea, November 19, 2023. /CFP
Moreover, for the first time since the MSI was launched in 2015, the tournament was connected to the Worlds this year. First, the MSI champion team will automatically qualify for the Worlds and won't occupy their league's slot(s). The second-best-performing league will also be awarded an extra Worlds berth.
Take the 2023 MSI results as an example. JDG would qualify for the Worlds with another three LPL teams. LCK, as the second-best-performing league, would have four spots for the Worlds.
As Riot announced last year, Worlds 2024 will take place in London from September 25 to November 2. Both LPL and LCK had four teams compete at the tournament in 2023. T1 won the title in the end after beating three LPL clubs – Weibo Gaming, JDG and LNG Esports – at the knockout stage.