This Mid-Season Invitational is one of the most highly anticipated events in the League of Legends esports calendar. From the 2nd of May, thirteen of the world’s best League of Legends teams will descend upon London, England to compete at the Copper Box Arena. Typically, it’s a quarter-of-a-million-dollar tournament that makes for fantastic esports betting opportunities, and that’s why we’ve put together this guide to teach you all about the MSI rankings as the event approaches.
Statistically speaking, League of Legends is one of the top three titles in esports betting. It holds massive weight in the industry and pulls in millions of dollars in betting revenue every year. It’s tournaments like the MSI that make the difference, with bettors flocking from far and wide to place wagers on their favourite League of Legends teams and players.
So, let’s take a look at the MSI power rankings for 2023 and see which teams are most likely to dominate at the event.
Short History of the Mid-Season Invitational
It’s not the oldest tournament in the world – the MSI started in 2015, and with each successive year, it has become grander and more impressive. Over the years, Riot Games has made tweaks to the tournament’s format and structure, attempting to introduce a sense of balance with each update. It’s a hugely valuable competition, and it can be a solid injection of money into the pockets of the winning organisation.
Here’s a quick look at the MSI winners from the past tournaments:
- 2022: Royal Never Give Up
- 2021: Royal Never Give Up
- 2020: Event Cancelled
- 2019: G2 Esports
- 2018: Royal Never Give Up
- 2018: SK Telecom T1
- 2016: SK Telecom T1
- 2015: EDward Gaming
So, as you can see, Royal Never Give Up has enjoyed a dominant performance in recent years, but surprisingly, this isn’t the team at the top of the MSI rankings. Read on to find out which team is at the top of the table.
MSI Power Rankings 2023
Hopefully, our coverage of the MSI rankings should form the basis of a solid MSI betting tips guide. It’s one of the most widely-covered tournaments of the year and every operator – from Bet365 to GG.BET – will be offering markets on the event. It doesn’t matter if you’re a veteran bettor or a total newcomer to the industry, there’s plenty that you can learn from understanding the MSI power rankings for 2023.
If you’re eager to start placing LoL bets and supporting your favourite team, look no further than this guide. At the time of writing this breakdown, the competitive season is yet to kick off in full, and the regional leagues: LCS, LCK, LPL, and LEC, are yet to commence for 2023. So, what we’ve provided as the foundation for our MSI rankings guide is a predictive breakdown of the teams that could make the cut.
Without further ado, let’s take a closer look at the potential MSI teams that could make an appearance in London in May 2023 and see how they rank.
1. T1 – LCK
Last year’s runner-up team for the League of Legends World Championship, T1, is in the best position possible ahead of the MSI. They’re no stranger to dominating an esports tournament, and in the last year, they’ve had great success on some of the biggest stages in the business. There are high expectations for T1 at the MSI, and in terms of esports betting, T1 is arguably the favourite out of all the MSI teams that will eventually compete at the event.
Toward the end of 2022, they came in second at the League of Legends World Championship, narrowly missing the top prize by a single point. At the end of the LCK Summer league, T1 ended up in second place, and at last year’s Mid-Season Invitational, T1 came in – you guessed it – second place. There’s an intense redemption story in store for T1 at MSI 2023, should the team manage to qualify.
This is a legendary Korean team that features the talents of some of the best League of Legends players – and MSI players – that the world has ever seen.
Read also: LoL Worlds betting guide
2. JD Gaming – LPL
Next up in the MSI rankings sits JD Gaming, one of the most capable teams in the scene with a stunning competitive record. Last year, JD won the LPL Summer event, netting a prize worth almost $300,000 and putting them in a great position for the 2022 League of Legends World Championship. While it was a third-place finish for JD Gaming at LoL Worlds, it wasn’t for a lack of effort, and since then, JD Gaming has sharpened up to be considered a ‘superteam’.
Following a strong start to 2023, JD Gaming quickly became the frontrunners for the LPL, backed up by high expectations that the team will both qualify for and potentially win the MSI 2023. There’s a crack squad driving JD Gaming forward in 2023, consisting of top-tier mechanical players such as Kanavi, Knight, Ruler, and 369, making this one of the best League of Legends teams on the board as we approach the MSI.
3. Royal Never Give Up – LPL
Royal Never Give Up is due a recovery phase following a relatively lacklustre performance towards the end of last year. At the League of Legends World Championship, the team dropped out in sixth place, and since then, the team hasn’t had an opportunity to secure a major win. However, following a victory at the Mid-Season Invitational in 2022 and at the LPL Spring 2022, the team did secure a lot of momentum in moving forward.
Despite some relatively impactful changes to the team in the off-season, RNG still stands in a good position to qualify for and maybe even win the MSI, which would be the third time that the organisation has done so. While the MSI odds may not be exactly in RNG’s favour, there’s plenty of potential for the team to go ahead into the tournament and dominate. It’ll all depend on their performance during the opening fixtures of the LPL.
4. Dplus KIA – LCK
DAMWON Gaming rebranded at the start of 2023 to become Dplus KIA, but that had no bearing on the undeniable abilities of the squad. For the last few years, Dplus has consistently been one of the most dominating teams on the board, and there are high expectations in store for the team moving into the 2023 MSI. This is a team that consists of some super-sharp players, including Canyon, statistically one of the best jungle players in the business.
While Dplus could certainly be higher in the MSI rankings at present, the year has only just started and the season is yet to begin in full. There’s plenty in store for what still remains a very capable team heading into 2023.
5. DRX – LCK
DRX underwent an intense Cinderella story at the 2022 League of Legends World Championship, dominating the opposing teams to ultimately lift the trophy. It was the organisation’s first-ever major victory in League of Legends esports, and there are some expectations rippling among the community that the momentum may continue into 2023. While there have been some changes made to the championship-winning roster, there’s still a lot of potential in store for DRX.
It’ll be a huge ask for the Korean team to overcome the roster of teams fleshing out the LCK this year, but if they can win on one of the biggest stages in esports, there’s no reason why they couldn’t dominate a smaller league.
6. EDward Gaming – LPL
EDward Gaming is one of the most successful organisations in modern League of Legends esports, boasting a world championship title. In 2015, EDG won the inaugural Mid-Season Invitational, but since then, the organisation has never returned to the event. Since the LPL 2023 kicked off in January, EDward Gaming has been putting out a solid performance, and that’s something that could easily continue as the season persists.
As a mid-table team in the MSI power rankings, EDward Gaming has a long way to go if it’s going to prove itself as a championship squad once again. It’s not impossible, though, and when it comes to esports betting, there’s nothing bookmakers love more than an underdog organisation.
7. Hanwha Life Esports – LCK
Hanwha has put itself in a very valid position to potentially win the MSI 2023 tournament. During the off-season, Hanwha’s leadership team secured some of the players – and the coach – from DRX’s world championship-winning team. In one swoop, Kingen, Zeka, and Mowgli came across to Hanwha, bolstering the organisation’s ranks ahead of the LCK kicking off. To this day, Hanwha Life has never secured a win in the League of Legends scene, but that fact could change in 2023.
Hanwha has already managed to get a few wins under its belt in 2023 as the LCK opens up, beating down some top-flight organisations and proving it has what it takes to be victorious. Could Hanwha deny its placing in the MSI rankings and lift the trophy at the tournament? Only time will tell.
8. Top Esports – LPL
Despite the name, Top Esports sits some way down the MSI power rankings. While the 2023 season has kicked off quite nicely for Top Esports, there’s a lot of work to be done for the team to secure a placement at the MSI. There were some key changes made during the off-season that strengthened Top Esports’ roster, including the introduction of Rookie, a certified world champion competitor.
Last year, Top Esports failed to gain traction at the League of Legends World Championship, ending up in tenth place. There’s a lot of ground to make up, but there are high expectations for the new Top Esports roster, and many believe that the team can break into the MSI and do quite well for the first time ever.
9. Weibo Gaming – LPL
Weibo Gaming has had a strong start to 2023 in the LPL, giving credence to the belief that the team could go all the way in the Chinese league. As the 2023 season kicked off, Weibo unveiled an entirely new roster, proudly displaying its intention to dominate in an overwhelming fashion during the LPL 2023 season and then, hopefully, in the MSI. Out of every team on the MSI rankings, Weibo is by far the least successful, having claimed just $30,000 in prize money in the League of Legends esports scene.
However, the organisation is little more than a year old, so it’s arguably still developing, and there’s plenty of time to achieve great things at tournaments like the MSI. Could the all-new roster be enough of a boost for Weibo as we push through 2023?
10. Evil Geniuses – LCS
Evil Geniuses is the only organisation from the LCS to make the MSI rankings, proving already that it’s a squad that stands out from the crowd. As one of the most legendary esports organisations in the world, Evil Geniuses is a determined competitor at large, but since winning the LCS Spring league in 2022, little traction has been gained by the squad. There was a third-place finish at MSI 2022, but there are expectations that the squad could be the only North American side with a chance of making it to the MSI this year.
Like other organisations on this list, Evil Geniuses has seen some roster changes during the off-season that have strengthened the squad. There’s a dense concentration of veteran talent on the team now – can the team prove the MSI power rankings wrong and move up to the top spot in 2023?