Riot announces League of Legends’ MSI details - here’s all we know
Riot Games has announced the details around its League of Legends MidSeason Invitational event in Chengdu, China this May. The ticket prices will increase throughout the event and will go on sale in early April. Moreover, it revealed the format between the event's Play-In, Bracket, and Final stages.
The format
As previously announced, for the first time, the winner of MSI will receive a direct ticket for the World Championship in London, UK, later this year. Riot had one stipulation in order to cash in on the slot, requiring the winner to also qualify for the Playoffs in their respective regional event.
This makes sure that the team would not just rest on its laurels for the second half of the year and be out of form by the time Worlds rolls around. Moreover, two teams from the Chinese LPL, the South Korean LCK, the North American LCS, and the European LEC will be participating in MSI.
One team from the Latin American LLA, the Brazilian CBLOL, the Pacific PCS, and the Vietnamese VCS will be in attendance. An extra slot for Worlds for the strongest region at MSI is also on the line, with an aggregate placement of the two participating teams granting the privilege to one fortunate region.
The runner-ups from the major regions will be facing off against the minor regions' representative during the Play-In Stage, drawn into two double-elimination brackets played out in a best-of-three format.
The two Play-Ins finalists will go into the Bracket Stage, facing off against the first-seeded teams from the major regions, once more playing a double elimination bracket, however, this time in a best-of-five match format.
Schedule and ticket prices
Ticket sales kick off on April 1 at 11 pm PDT / April 2 at 8 am CEST / April 2 at 7 am BST. A month later, the action is set to start with the Play-In stage, running from May 1 to 5, with tickets ranging from ¥288 to ¥428 (~ £32 to £48 / €37 to €55 / $40 to $59).
For week 1 of the Bracket Stage, ticket prices offer a wider range of options and go anywhere from ¥268 to ¥798 (~£30. to £90 / €35 to €103 / $37 to $111) and will run from May 7 to the 12th. For week two, running from May 14-18, the prices once more increase slightly to ¥288 to ¥1088 (~£32 to £122 / €37 to €140 / $40 to $151).
For the Grand Final on May 19, tickets will run you ¥488 to ¥1388 (~£55 to £156 / €63 to €179 / $68 to $192). The Draw Show will take place on April 20 after the conclusion of the LPL Finals, determining how the aforementioned brackets for the Play-In Stage will look like.
