The upcoming 2019 Mid-Season Invitational for League of Legends is heading to Asia. A total of 13 teams are expected to join, with the tournament scheduled to begin May 1.
The MSI 2019 is divided into two main stages: the Group Stage and the Knockout Stage
Group Stage
The first phase is the Play-In Group Stage and is scheduled from May 1 to May 4. Games will be held at the GG Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City. Eight teams have been divided into two groups. The teams are the split champions of their respective regions.
For Group A, the teams are:
- 1907 Fenerbahçe Esports (TCL Winter Champion)
- Bombers (OPL Split 1 Champion)
- Isurus Gaming (LLA Opening Champion)
- Phong Vũ Buffalo (VCS Spring Champion)
Group B meanwhile has:
- DetonatioN FocusMe (LJL Spring Champion)
- INTZ eSports (CBLOL Summer Champion)
- MEGA Esports (LST Spring Champion)
- Vega Squadron (LCL Spring Champion)
The format is a best-of-one double round robin, with the winner of each group moving to the next phase. The Play-In Knockout Stage is scheduled for May 5 to May 7, and is also at the GG Stadium.
In this stage, the winner of Group A plays against Team Liquid, while the Group B winner fights against Flash Wolves. This stage follows a best-of-five double elimination format and three teams move to the Group Stage.
This time the Group Stage is set for May 10 to May 14, and games will be played at the National Convention Center in Hanoi.
The three qualifiers of the previous stage now get matched with G2 Esports (LEC Spring Champion), Invictus Gaming (LPL Spring Champion), and SK Telecom T1 (LCK Spring Champion). The top four teams then move to the Knockout Stage, which is in Taipei. Team Liquid was the LCS Spring Champion, with Flash Wolves being the LMS Spring Champion.
The Knockout Stage consisted of a Semifinals best-of-five round, with the winners finally battling it out at the Finals, which is also a best-of-five.
Previous winners of the Mid-Season Invitational include Royal Never Give Up and EDward Gaming. SK Telecom T1 won both the MSI 2016 and MSI 2017.
