Riot Games has officially revealed that this year’s Mid-Season Invitational will be held in Busan, South Korea at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center.
As the first half of the 2022 League season enters its postseason stage, teams now have a destination in their minds motivating them to qualify for the international event.
This will mark South Korea’s first opportunity to host the MSI and the first international League event in South Korea since Worlds 2018.
“South Korea has been a trailblazer in the esports industry for decades,” Naz Aletaha, the global head of League esports said in a press release. “We’re thrilled to honor its rich history in esports, the passion of Korean fans, and the talent of the pro teams by bringing MSI to Korea for the first time.”
South Korea as a region has produced the most League World Championship titles at six. Three of those titles belong to T1 (formerly known as SKT T1), who might be able to eye out a return to the MSI stage, but this time with a home advantage.
“Busan was an incredible host to us during both Worlds 2014 and 2018, and we look forward to returning there to set the stage for the best League of Legends teams in the world to face off,” Aletaha said.
This will also be the first international League event to feature a live audience since the Worlds 2020 finals. This event, however, will feature a live audience throughout the tournament, something that has not been seen in League since Worlds 2019.
The format will follow a similar structure to MSI 2021 where the tournament will feature a group stage, rumble stage, and a knockout stage. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has stopped the LCL from participating in this year’s event. This means that one group from the group stage will feature just three teams instead of four.
The group stage will be played from May 10 to May 15, where six teams will move forward into the rumble stage from May 18 to May 22. Then, the top four teams will qualify for the knockout stage, where the top four teams will play best-of-five series from May 27 to 28 to qualify for the grand finals on May 29.
- Group stage: May 10 to May 15
- Rumble stage: May 18 to May 22
- Knockout stage semifinals: May 27 to May 28
- Finals: May 29
