Update: In what was an expected final between the top two Asian teams, Royal Never Give Up came out on top of T1 to become the 2022 MSI Champions, winning the $75k from the prize pool. In spite of not being the big favorites at the beginning of the tournament and playing remotely with a relatively higher ping, RNG proved themselves from the Group Stage that they were the team to beat.
Aside from two losses in the Rumble Stage where they looked a little shaky, RNG swept the NA representative Evil Geniuses 3-0 and made it look easy as they went directly to the finals. Facing the big home heroes T1 in Busan, Royal Never Give Up didn’t even have support from the crowd. Yet they brought really high level of macro, as well as better drafts compared to T1. This is the 2nd year in a row that Royal Never Give Up wins MSI, which puts them as the favorites for the Worlds Championship. With that being said, there’s still a whole summer split ahead of us…
The Mid-Season Invitational, most commonly referred to as the MSI, is a yearly event that takes place between the Spring and Summer League of Legends competitive seasons. The tournament gathers the best teams (winners of the various Spring Championships), from every competitive region battling it out for two and a half weeks, and across three different stages! The theme for the 2022 event is ‘Take Notes’.
MSI is an international tournament and is the second biggest League of Legends event during the year, only behind the League of Legends World Championships. Therefore, it is considered one of the largest esports tournaments in the world. Such a large attraction leads to very competitive odds and various MSI Betting markets when compared to regular LCS betting. LoL MSI Betting can be a highly lucrative and profitable venture.
Editor’s Betting Pick:
Teams Participating in MSI 2022
| Team | League | Region |
|---|---|---|
| T1 | League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) | Korea |
| Royal Never Give Up (RNG) | League of Legends Pro League (LPL) | China |
| G2 Esports | League of Legends European Championship (LEC) | Europe |
| Evil Geniuses | League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) | North America |
| PSG Talon | Pacific Championship Series (PCS) | Southeast Asia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau |
| fastPay Wildcats | Turkish Championship League (TCL) | Turkey |
| DetonatioN FocusMe | League of Legends Japan League (LJL) | Japan |
| Saigon Buffalo | Vietnam Championship Series (VCS) | Vietnam |
| Team Aze | La Liga Latinoamérica (LLA) | Latin America |
| RED Canids | Campeonato Brasileiro de League of Legends (CBLoL) | Brazil |
| ORDER | League of Legends Circuit Oceania (LCO) | Oceania |
Why do teams participate?
Aside from a much higher prize pool compared to the domestic regions, the winners of the MSI 2022 will grant an additional team slot for their own region for the Worlds Championship 2022.
MSI 2022 Tournament Schedule and Format
MSI 2022 will be held in Busan, South Korea. This is the second time MSI takes place offline following the Covid-19 pandemic, which canceled 2020’s edition. In 2021, Riot Games was able to bring the tournament back in studio, as teams performed in Reykjavík, Iceland.
Unfortunately, due to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the LCL representative will not participate in MSI. As a result, the number of participants to the event for the 2022 Mid-Season Invitational will be eleven, just like in 2021 when the VCS representative wasn’t able to participate due to the travel restrictions in Vietnam.
When will MSI 2022 take place?
The Mid-Season Invitational 2022 will be held from the 10th to 29th of May, lasting just a little less than 20 days.
Mid-Season Invitational Format
MSI 2022 can be broken down into three different stages:
- Group Stage
- Rumble Stage
- Knockout Stage
1. Group Stage (10-15 May 2022)
The Group Stage will consist of the 11 (originally 12) teams being split into three groups: Group A, Group B, and Group C. The various teams will be randomly drawn into the 3 groups based on seeding, in order to create a more balanced competition. Here’s an overview of the MSI 2022 groups:
Group A
- T1 (LCK)
- DetonatioN FocusMe (LJL)
- Team Aze (LLA)
- Saigon Buffalo (VCS)
Group B
- RNG (LPL)
- PSG Talon (PCS)
- fastPay Wildcats (TCL)
- RED Canids (CBLoL)
Group C
- G2 Esports (LEC)
- Evil Geniuses (LCS)
- ORDER (LCO)
All the matches of the Group Stage are best of one format, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the Rumble Stage.
2. Rumble Stage (18-22 May 2022)
Matches in the Rumble Stage will continue to be a Best of 1, with the six teams playing in a double round robin. The best four teams will then advance to the final Knockout Stage, and hence the semi-finals of the 2022 MSI. By then, the strength of all participating teams should be obvious, allowing for a safer LoL MSI Betting experience and more solid LoL MSI Predictions.
3. Knockout Stage (27-29 May 2022)
For the final stage of the competition, it will be a single elimination bracket for both the semi-finals and finals. All matches will be Best of 5. This format is very common in the latter stages of any tournament since it ensures better competitivity, while also allowing teams to recover from mistakes that would’ve been lethal in Bo1s.
MSI Odds and Betting Options
Several bookmakers will definitely offer outright odds on the tournament. This means not only can you bet on the usual individual matches, but on who will win the overall tournament.
MSI 2022 Outright Winner Odds
Outright Winner Odds provided by Bet365 on 3 May 2022:
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| T1 | 1.57 |
| Royal Never Give Up (RNG) | 2.75 |
| G2 Esports | 9.00 |
| Evil Geniuses | 26.00 |
| PSG Talon | 67.00 |
| fastPayWildcats | 151.00 |
| DetonatioN FocusMe | 201.00 |
| Saigon Buffalo | 251.00 |
| Team Aze | 401.00 |
| RED Canids | 501.00 |
| ORDER | 1001.00 |
MSI Betting Options
Aside from the outright winner market, bookmakers will also offer various other betting opportunities on individual matches throughout the various stages of the MSI. These include:
- Match winner
- First blood
- First tower
- First dragon
- First baron
- First inhibitor
- Race to different intervals of kills
LoL MSI Betting Sites
Being a major esports tournament, there are many bookmakers who will capitalise on the hype. This leads to very competitive odds and a great opportunity to make some steady gains.
However, aside from great odds, it is vital for punters to choose regulated bookmakers when looking for LoL MSI betting sites. Regulated bookmakers are not only legal but are much safer and more reliable compared to unknown sites.
Consequences for not betting with regulated and reputable bookmakers may include:
- Losing your deposit
- Being unable to cash out wins
- Unfair bet cancellations
LoL MSI betting is safe with reputable bookmakers like the ones featured below; who not only have extremely competitive odds, but have built a strong reputation through good customer service and quick payouts:
MSI Past Winners (2015 – Present)
2022 – Royal Never Give Up
Royal Never Give Up are the latest MSI Champions, beating the Korean representative T1 in a very close 5-game series. The Chinese team continues the trend of LPL domination on international stages, after winning last year’s Worlds Championship.
Despite not being able to play on the live stage like all the other teams due to the Covid-10 situation in China, RNG performed greatly, showing that they’re still the best. In the groups stage, they dominated the wild card regions and PSG Talon (also after remaking several games due to a ping issue), going undefeated to the Rumble Stage.
In the second phase, the team started off with a loss against a surprising G2, but then quickly adjusted themselves to finish first with an 8-2 record (the second loss was against T1). Coming into the Knockout stage, they had the advantage of facing EG who they quickly swept and then proceeded to become champions following the finals.
What was great about RNG in this particular tournament was the team’s ability to read the meta super well and a small bit of luck in having their comfort champions up in the ranks. Gwen, Viego, Ahri and Kai’sa were all relevant champions that were omnipresent in all games. Not only that, but they were also able to show some flexibility in drafts, which we haven’t seen as much from other teams.
Now RNG will return to China with the sole goal of making it to Worlds and achieving revenge after dropping out in the quarterfinals. Will they succeed this time around? As of right now, it is hard to tell…
2021 – Royal Never Give Up
Royal Never Give Up came into MSI as the best team in terms of momentum, as they dominated both the regular split and the Spring Playoffs.
The LPL team found themselves continue their streak in the groups stage, beating both Unicorns of Love and Pentanet.GG every time they clashed. At the end of the groups stage, RNG finished first with an 8-0 score. (due to Vietnam not participating, RNG’s group became a quadruple round robin)
In the knockout stage, the team finished 2nd behind DWG Kia, with a 7-3 score. With that being said, RNG won both matches against DWG Kia in the two round robins, showing that they had the potential to fight for the top.
Needless to say, they proved it. After quickly beating PSG Talon 3-1 in the semifinals, RNG came out victorious after a very close 5-game series against DWG Kia.
Despite winning MSI, however, RNG failed to replicate those results at Worlds 2021. RNG were eliminated in the quarterfinals by the other LPL representative Edward Gaming, who went on to become the World’s Champions.
2020 – None (Event canceled)
2019 – G2 Esports
G2 Esports had their best year in 2019, winning all stages of the LEC, MSI 2019 and Rift Rivals 2019 NA-EU. On top of Europe’s strong performance in Worlds 2018, with two teams entering the semi-finals, G2 Esports were strongly positioned to take out worlds. While G2 Esports were able to take down big names like Damwon Gaming in the quarterfinals and SK Telecom T1 in the semi-finals, they were wiped in the finals. Following a 0-3 defeat to Fun Plux Phoenix, G2 Esports ended Worlds 2019 in 2nd place.
2018 – Royal Never Give Up
2018 was RNG’s most promising year, earning their first International win with MSI. The team carried this momentum in the LPL, winning the LPL 2018 Summer Playoffs. Unfortunately, RNG were toppled once again in Wolds 2018, this time by G2 3-2 in the quarterfinals.
2017 – SK Telecom T1
Despite winning the 2017 MSI decisively, SK Telecom T1 stumbled in the 2017 Summer season, only placing 4th. The team went on to finish the Summer Playoffs 2nd, and while not the strongest team in the LCK, were a strong contender for Worlds 2017. Ultimately, SK Telecom T1 fell short, losing 0-3 to Samsung Galaxy in the League of Legends World Championship finals, a crushing result for the unkillable demon king.
2016 – SK Telecom T1
SK Telecom T1 has strong competition in the LCK, despite winning the MSI 2016, the team only placed 3rd in the LCK Summer Playoffs. However, SK Telecom T1 along with its LCK competitive dominated the group stage of Worlds 2016. SK Telecom T1 went on to take down ROX Tigers and Samsung Galaxy in the semi-finals and finals 3-2, ending 2016 as the World Champions.
2015 – Edward Gaming
EDG narrowly claimed victory over SK Telecom T1 in the 2015 MSI Finals, ending 3-2. The team, later on, went to take first place in the Summer season, but stumbled in the Summer playoffs, finishing 4th. The team turned to have a decent performance in Worlds 2015 by making it out of groups and entering the quarterfinals.
Where to Watch Live
You can watch the 2022 Mid-Season Invitational live on the usual sites:
It is highly recommended viewers watch LoL MSI 2022 on Twitch as Riot often holds free in-game drops for random viewers who have linked their Twitch and Riot accounts.
Getting Comfortable with LoL Betting
After choosing a reputable bookmaker, LoL MSI betting can be very lucrative with the highly competitive odds offered. In combination with experienced analysis and our LoL MSI predictions, returns are bound to arrive.
LoL betting is easy to pick up, with straightforward markets and a bookmaker’s beginner-friendly interface. If you’re not ready to bet on MSI but interested in learning more there’s plenty of time to learn about LCS Betting and get ready for the League of Legends summer season.
The Mid-Season Invitational gives a good sneak peek at the strength of each region and gives a glimpse of the strongest teams before Worlds. Performance in the MSI will give a strong indication on a team and region’s performance and it can especially helpful for LoL Worlds betting.
However, as past MSI victors have shown, the title does not mean everything. While MSI winners generally get out of groups and many do well, only SK Telecom T1 was able to take both the MSI and Worlds titles in 2016.
