Location of Mid Season Invitational 2022 announced

Riot Games announced yesterday the location of the 2022 League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational (MSI). This year, they have chosen to host the tournament in Busan, South Korea. From May 10 to 29, the best teams from each region will gather in the second largest city in South Korea. The tournament will be played at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Centre (BEXCO). There will also be an audience at a League of Legends tournament for the first time since 2019.

CIS region not represented

Unfortunately, the CIS region will not be represented at MSI this year due to the cancellation of the 2022 LCL Spring Split due to the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war. As such, teams will be divided into two groups of four and one group of three, as part of a best-of-one double round robin. The first phase will take place between May 10 and 15.

From there, the top two teams from each group will advance to the Rumble Stage, where again all six teams will fight each other in the best-of-one double round robin format. This stage takes place between May 18 and 22, before the top four teams conclude the competition, between May 27 and 29, in the knockout stage. Here we will see a full-fledged best-of-five series in one elimination round until the final, where one team will take home the MSI trophy.

South Korea suitable host

According to the city's mayor, Park Heong-joon, Busan is „the mecca of esports.“ Busan has already hosted a large number of esports tournaments over the years. BEXCO was even the host venue for the 2014 and 2018 LoL Worlds Group Stages, in 2018 BEXCO also hosted the quarter-finals.

„South Korea has been a pioneer in the esports industry for decades,“ said Global Head of LoL Esports Naz Aletaha. „We are thrilled to honor its rich history in esports, the passion of Korean fans and the talent of professional teams by bringing MSI to Korea for the first time. Busan was an incredible host for us during both Worlds 2014 and 2018, and we look forward to returning there to pave the way for the world's best League of Legends teams to compete against each other.“