League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational

League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) is an international LoL esports tournament held after the second split of the season, succeeding the First Stand and preceding LoL World Championship.

Historically held in May-June, the MSI brings together the world’s best LoL esports teams to battle it out for the coveted trophy and the pride that comes with winning the MSI title for their region while giving the fans a glimpse into how the squads do in the international stage.

As one of the most watched LoL esports tournaments of the season, the MSI is also a massive hit among esports punters, who tune in to watch and bet on their favourite teams on the best LoL betting sites.

Crypto bettors also have plenty of betting platforms to choose from when deciding where to place their MSI bets – including Stake, where you can find solid market coverage and generous bonuses, including a welcome bonus with Stake promo code NEWBONUS.

League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational is an annual LoL esports tournament hosted by Riot Games. First introduced in 2015, MSI has long been the only international event – besides LoL Worlds – on the League of Legends competitive schedule before the introduction of First Stand in 2025.

Unlike LoL Worlds, the MSI features regional (Spring Split) champions and runners-up from all major regions who battle it out for the trophy, the largest slice of the prize pool, and a direct invite to the season-culminating LoL World Championship.

The list of invited teams to the MSI has changed over the years. In the inaugural event, five regional champions of major regions qualified for the event directly, while a team from the “Wildcard” regions qualified for the event through the MSI Wildcard Invitational (IWCI).

Over the years, the conditions for getting invited to MSI changed, as did the number of teams.

As of 2025, the MSI welcomes 10 LoL esports teams, which include two teams from each of the Tier-1 regions:

The invites to the six teams are sent out to the champions and runners-up of the respective regional Spring Splits. Based on the team’s placement, the squads are seeded either in the Play-In stage or the Bracket Stage.

For the 2025 MSI, the number of participating teams was reduced from 12 to 10 due to the merger of regional leagues and changes in the competitive structure in Tier-1 leagues.

The list of participating teams includes the champions and runners-up from each of the five major regions (LCK, LPL, LEC, LTA, and LCP).

MSI is divided into two stages – the Play-In Stage and Bracket Stage.

Play-In stage welcomes four teams, who are seeded into a double-elimination bracket, with all matches played as best-of-five (BO5). The top two teams advance to the Bracket Stage.

The bracket stage welcomes eight teams (six pre-qualified and two from the play-in stage) seeded into a double-elimination bracket. All bracket stage games are played as best-to-of-five (BO5), including the grand finals.

The second-best region in the final standings also unlocks a fourth seed for their region at LoL Worlds 2025

LoL Mid-Season Invitational is one of the most watched and bet-on LoL esports events of the year, so it comes as no surprise that punters will not have a hard time finding MSI betting markets.

Bettors can place their favourite MSI bets on various betting platforms, which include traditional bookmakers and even some crypto betting sites like Stake.

Mid-Season Invitational is an international LoL esports tournament. Due to its popularity, you can rest assured that you can pick between a wide range of betting options. 

That includes pre-tournament betting on outright markets, as well as in-play bets on each game.

Most popular LoL MSI bet types: