Your LoL esports guide to MSI 2026
Are you ready, League of Legends esports fans? Well, ready or not, the best teams in the world are gathering for the second big international LAN event of the year, the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI). Here’s what you must know about MSI 2026, so you don’t miss out on any of the top-tier LoL action.
MSI 2026 event details
MSI 2026 is hosted by Riot Games and runs from 28 June to 12 July 2026. That’s a whole lot of action for LoL esports fans to consume. The tournament takes place on LAN in South Korea, at the Daejeon Convention Center II.
Teams are competing for their share of the $2 million prize pool. At the current Dollar to Rand exchange rate, that’s roughly R33 million. The action begins with the Play-In stage, where four teams will compete for just one spot in the main event. It’s a single-elimination bracket affair running from 28 June to 1 July 2026.
Once one team emerges from the Play-In Stage, we’ll see the Playoffs Stage (aka Bracket Stage) take place from 3 to 12 July 2026. It’s a double-elimination bracket format. All matches at MSI 2026 are best-of-five, and features the Fearless Draft system.
A total of 11 teams are competing at MSI 2026, following the regional Split 2 events. Check out the regions, leagues, starting stages, and teams competing at MSI 2026 outlined in a neat little table below.
| Region | League | Starting Stage | Teams |
| China | LPL | Bracket Stage (Direct Seeds) | Bilibili Gaming, Top Esports |
| South Korea | LCK | Bracket Stage (Direct Seed) / Play-In Stage | Hanwha Life Esports (Bracket), T1 (Play-In) |
| EMEA | LEC | Bracket Stage (Direct Seed) / Play-In Stage | G2 Esports (Bracket), Karmine Corp (Play-In) |
| North America | LCS | Bracket Stage (Direct Seed) / Play-In Stage | LYON (Bracket), Team Liquid Alienware (Play-In) |
| Asia-Pacific | LCP | Bracket Stage (Direct Seed) / Play-In Stage | Team Secret Whales (Bracket), Revolve Deep Cross Gaming (Play-In) |
| Brazil | CBLOL | Bracket Stage (Direct Seed) | FURIA |
Watch the MSI 2026 action via the Riot Games Twitch channel, and catch up on matches via the LoL Esports YouTube channel. For more information, head on over to the official LoL Esports website. Stay tuned at Esports Central, as we’ll bring you the results and final standings of MSI 2026.
Header image via Riot Games.
