The 2023 Mid-Season Invitational saw a few major changes to its format at the beginning of the year. The changes transformed the tournament into a much bigger spectacle, with more teams allowed to qualify for it.
Usually, MSI had the champions of Spring Splits from each region competing. The case is different now, though, when it comes to EMEA, North America, China, and Korea, who will all field two representatives for the event. The other regions will send one team like in previous years.
The tournament will also see a new format in the 2023 edition. Both the play-in and group stages have been revamped and should offer a much more exhilarating experience for players and viewers. All in all, with so many updates for MSI 2023’s format, it’s safe to say that this year’s edition is looking to be the most exciting one in the tournament’s history. The tournament begins on May 2 and will take place in London.
Moreover, the first participants of MSI 2023 have already started to advance to the event. With that in mind, here’s the list of all League of Legends teams qualified for the Mid-Season Invitational 2023, which will be updated progressively as more teams book their spots.
All League of Legends teams qualified for Mid-Season Invitational 2023
JD Gaming (LPL first seed)
After coming one series away from an international final appearance at last year’s World Championship, JDG are back with a vengeance. The team was the first to qualify for MSI out of China on April 9. They’ll represent the region as its number one seed at MSI.
Bilibili Gaming (LPL second seed)
Bilibili Gaming is making its first international appearance at MSI. The team qualified for the tournament after defeating Edward Gaming in the LPL Spring Playoffs. Their second-place finish in the domestic tournament has given them the right to represent the LPL as its second seed.
MAD Lions (LEC first seed)
MAD Lions pulled off an improbable run to the LEC title in the league’s Spring Split, capping off their run to the championship with a reverse sweep over Team BDS in the Grand Finals. As a reward, they’ll head to MSI as the league’s top seed, and advancing directly to the tournament’s bracket stage.
G2 Esports (LEC second seed)
Starting this year, LEC also saw a bunch of major changes to its format, with one of the main ones being the season divided into three splits. The first one, the 2023 LEC Winter Split, was wrapped on Feb. 26 with a swift G2 Esports victory over MAD Lions in its final. As a result, the European powerhouse became the first team to advance to MSI 2023.
Gen.G (LCK first seed)
Gen.G played exceptionally well down the final stretch of the Spring Playoffs, defeating KT Rolster and T1 on back-to-back days to earn Korea’s first seed at MSI.
T1 (LCK second seed)
T1 qualified for MSI after a rousing 17-1 Spring Split that was quickly followed up by two best-of-five victories over KT Rolster and Gen.G in the quarterfinals and semifinals of the LCK Spring Playoffs. T1 got a rematch against Gen.G in the Spring Finals but were defeated in a massive upset and will head to MSI as Korea’s second seed after having the first seed all but locked up for the majority of the split.
Cloud9 (LCS first seed)
Cloud9 punched their ticket to MSI when they rolled past FlyQuest in the second round of the LCS Spring Playoffs. This year will mark Cloud9’s second appearance at MSI in the last three seasons. They will go to MSI as the region’s top seed after they won their sixth title in franchise history on April 9 over Golden Guardians.
Golden Guardians (LCS second seed)
Golden Guardians’ Cinderella story of a split was punctuated when the team booked its ticket to MSI with an upset victory over FlyQuest on April 8. Despite finishing with an even record in the regular split, Golden Guardians won three straight series to clinch their first international appearance in franchise history, as well as their first-ever appearance in a domestic final.
PSG Talon (PCS first seed)
A familiar face in PSG Talon qualified for MSI 2023 when they won the PCS for the fourth time in the last five splits. They’ll be heading to MSI for the third consecutive year. Last season, PSG played well enough to advance beyond the group stage of MSI but did not qualify for the bracket stage, as they did in 2021.
Detonation FocusMe (LJL first seed)
The winningest organization in the history of Japanese League of Legends, DetonatioN FocusMe, is making its eighth international appearance in the last five years. The franchise has won the LJL in nine of the last 10 splits.
Movistar R7 (LLA first seed)
Rainbow7 is back on the international stage for the first time since 2020. The team emerged as champions of Latin America and will participate in the MSI Play-in stage.
LOUD (CBLOL first seed)
LOUD will once again represent the Brazilian at the international tournament after it triumphed over paiN Gaming with a 3-0 score in the finals of the 2023 CBLOL Split 1. Previously the organization participated in Worlds 2022, where it fell short in the play-in stage.
GAM Esports (VCS first seed)
After winning the VCS again, GAM Esports will return to the international stage. The team has represented the VCS at two of the last three international LoL events.
