2022 Mid-Season Invitational

2022 Mid-Season Invitational
Tournament information
SportLeague of Legends
LocationSouth Korea
Dates10 May–29 May
AdministratorRiot Games
Venue(s)
2 (in Busan)
Teams11
Final positions
ChampionsRoyal Never Give Up
Runner-upT1
MVPYan "Wei" Yangwei
(Royal Never Give Up)
← 2021
2023 →

The 2022 Mid-Season Invitational was the seventh Mid-Season Invitational (MSI), a Riot Games–organised tournament for League of Legends, a multiplayer online battle arena video game. The tournament was the culmination of the 2022 Spring Split and the first interregional competition of Season 12.

11 of the 12 premier League of Legends leagues had a team representing them; the LCL was not participating due to the Spring Split being cancelled as a result of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. The competition continued the same format that was introduced during MSI 2021. The minimum prize pool was US$250,000.

"Set It Off" was the tournament's theme song, put together by DPR Live, and DPR Cline.[1]

The tournament was hosted in Busan, South Korea, from 10 to 29 May 2022. The Group Stage was held in the Busan Esports Arena,[2] while the Rumble Stage and Knockout Stage was held in the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center (BEXCO) Exhibition Hall 1 in Busan.[3] Due to COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China, the qualified team from LPL competed remotely from China, in the team's training facility.[4]

Defending champion Royal Never Give Up from China defeated T1 from South Korea 3–2 in the final, winning their third MSI title.[5]

Format

Teams from 11 regions competed in the Group Stage, the Rumble Stage, and the Knockout Stage, similar to the format used in the 2021 Mid-Season Invitational.[6]

Group stage

All teams were drawn into three groups, with two of the groups having four teams and one group with three teams. All matches was a best-of-one double round robin.

Rumble Stage

The top two teams from each group competed in the Rumble Stage. The matches was a best-of-one double round robin.

Knockout stage

The top four teams advanced to the Knockout Stage. The matches was a best-of-one single elimination.

Qualified teams

Due to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, the LCL Spring Split had been cancelled, and the CIS region therefore could not participate in the tournament.[3][7]

Region League Teams ID Pool
China LPL Royal Never Give Up RNG 1
Europe LEC G2 Esports G2
South Korea LCK T1 T1
North America LCS Evil Geniuses EG 2
TW/HK/MO/SEA PCS PSG Talon PSG
Vietnam VCS Saigon Buffalo[a] SGB
Latin America LLA Team Aze AZE 3
Turkey TCL Istanbul Wildcats IW
Brazil CBLOL RED Canids RED 4
Japan LJL DetonatioN FocusMe DFM
Oceania LCO ORDER ORD

Venue

BEXCO for the 2022 MSI

Busan was the city chosen to host the competition. The Group Stage was held at the Busan Esports Arena [ko], while the Rumble Stage and Knockout Stage was held at the BEXCO.

Busan, South Korea
Group Stage Rumble and Knockout Stage
Busan Esports Arena [ko] BEXCO

Group stage

  • Date and time: 10–15 May, began at 17:00 KST (08:00 UTC)[9]
  • Eleven teams were drawn into three groups, two groups of four and one group of three
  • Double round robin for Groups A and B, quadruple round robin for Group C; all matches were best-of-one
  • If two teams had the same win–loss record and head-to-head record, then a tiebreaker match would have been played
  • Top two teams advanced to the Rumble Stage; bottom two teams were eliminated
Group A
Pos Team Pld W L PCT Qualification
1 T1 6 6 0 1.000 Advance to Rumble stage
2 Saigon Buffalo Esports 6 4 2 0.667
3 Team Aze 6 1 5 0.167
4 DetonatioN FocusMe 6 1 5 0.167
Source: LoL Esports
Group B
Pos Team Pld W L PCT Qualification
1 Royal Never Give Up 6 6 0 1.000 Advance to Rumble stage
2 PSG Talon 6 3 3 0.500
3 RED Canids 6 2 4 0.333
4 Istanbul Wildcats 6 1 5 0.167
Source: LoL Esports
Group C
Pos Team Pld W L PCT Qualification
1 G2 Esports 8 8 0 1.000 Advance to Rumble stage
2 Evil Geniuses 8 4 4 0.500
3 ORDER 8 0 8 0.000
Source: LoL Esports

Rumble stage

  • Date and time: 20–24 May, begins at 15:00 KST (06:00 UTC)[9]
  • Six teams played in a double round robin; matches were best-of-one
  • If teams had the same win–loss record and head-to-head record, then tiebreaker matches would have been played for first, second, and fourth place
  • Top four teams advanced to the Knockout Stage; bottom two teams were eliminated
Pos Team Pld W L PCT Qualification
1 Royal Never Give Up 10 8 2 0.800 Advance to knockout stage
2 T1 10 7 3 0.700
3 G2 Esports 10 5 5 0.500
4 Evil Geniuses 10 5 5 0.500
5 PSG Talon 10 3 7 0.300
6 Saigon Buffalo Esports 10 2 8 0.200
Source: LoL Esports

Knockout stage

T1 vs RNG in the finals
  • Date and time: 27–29 May, 17:00 KST (08:00 UTC)[9]
  • Single elimination, matches are best-of-five
  • Top team from the Rumble Stage chose between 3rd and 4th to be their opponent and the day of play for the semifinals (RNG chose EG).[10]
SemifinalsFinal
1Royal Never Give Up3
4Evil Geniuses0
Royal Never Give Up3
T12
2T13
3G2 Esports0

Semifinals

Semifinals May 27 Royal Never Give Up 3 – 0 Evil Geniuses Busan, South Korea
17:00 KST    Source BEXCO
1 Game 1 0
1 Game 2 0
1 Game 3 0
Semifinals May 28 T1 3 – 0 G2 Esports Busan, South Korea
17:00 KST    Source BEXCO
1 Game 1 0
1 Game 2 0
1 Game 3 0

Finals

Final May 29 Royal Never Give Up 3 – 2 T1 Busan, South Korea
17:00 KST    Source BEXCO
1 Game 1 0
0 Game 2 1
1 Game 3 0
0 Game 4 1
1 Game 5 0

Ranking

(*) Not including tie-break games.

Place League Team GS RS SF Final Prize (USD)[11] Prize (%)[11]
1st LPL Royal Never Give Up 6–0 8–2 3–0 3–2 $75,000 30%
2nd LCK T1 6–0 7–3 3–0 2–3 $50,000 20%
3rd–4th LEC G2 Esports 8–0 5–5 0–3 $25,000 10%
LCS Evil Geniuses 4–4 5–5 0–3
5th PCS PSG Talon 3–3 3–7 $17,500 7%
6th VCS Saigon Buffalo 4–2 2–8
7th–8th CBLOL RED Canids 2–4 $8,325 3.33%
LCO ORDER 0–8
9th–10th LJL DetonatioN FocusMe 1–5 $6,675 2.67%
LLA Team Aze 1–5
11th TCL Istanbul Wildcats 1–5 $5,000 2%

Notes

  1. ^ The VCS Spring 2022 Champions GAM Esports decided not to participate in this MSI due to their participation in the 2021 Southeast Asian Games as the Vietnam National Team. Saigon Buffalo are invited to MSI as the runners-up.[8]

References

  1. ^ "Take notes: The MSI 2022 song is here to 'Set It Off' with DPR LIVE on stage". DotEsports. 2 May 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  2. ^ "MSI Updates - Group Draw Results, Adjusted Dates and Venue". lolesports.com. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  3. ^ a b "MSI 2022 is heading to South Korea". lolesports.com. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  4. ^ "Mid-Season Invitational 2022 Update". lolesports.com. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  5. ^ Younger, Warren (29 May 2022). "RNG defeat T1 to win MSI 2022". Upcomer. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  6. ^ Miter, Mateusz (22 April 2022). "MSI 2022 format, explained". Dot Esports. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  7. ^ "The LCL will miss MSI 2022 due to the ongoing war in Ukraine". Upcomer. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  8. ^ From the Scene: 2022 Mid-Season Invitational lights up esports arena in Busan, The Korea Herald, 11 May 2022
  9. ^ a b c "MSI 2022 Primer". lolesports.com. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  10. ^ "2022 Mid-Season Invitational Official Rules". lolesports.com. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  11. ^ a b "2022 Mid-Season Invitational Rules" (PDF). Riot Games. Retrieved 14 May 2022.