2021 Mid-Season Invitational

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2021 Mid-Season Invitational
2021 Mid-Season Invitational logo.png
Tournament information
SportLeague of Legends
Location Iceland
Dates6 May–23 May
Administrator(s)Riot Games
Venue(s)Laugardalshöll (Reykjavík)
Teams11
Final positions
Champions Royal Never Give Up
(2nd title)
Runner-up DWG KIA
3rd place MAD Lions
PSG Talon
MVP Chen "GALA" Wei
(Royal Never Give Up)
← 2019
2022 →

The 2021 Mid-Season Invitational was the sixth Mid-Season Invitational (MSI), a Riot Games-organised tournament for League of Legends, a multiplayer online battle arena video game. The tournament was be the culmination of the 2021 Spring Split, the first international competition of Season 11.

Each of the 12 premier League of Legends leagues had a team representing them. This was the first edition in which all competitive regions began in the same stage of the tournament, unlike previous years where the winners of the minor leagues had to win play-in matches to face teams from the larger regions.[1][2]

The tournament was hosted in Iceland from 6 to 23 May 2021. All of the matches were held in the Laugardalshöll in Reykjavík due to restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Royal Never Give Up from China defeated the Worlds Champion DWG KIA from South Korea 3–2 in the final, winning their second MSI title.

Format[]

The format for 2021 replaces the Play-In stage used from 2017 to 2019 with a Group Stage featuring all regions. The 12 teams were seeded into 3 groups from 4 seeding pools. This is the first time that teams from Europe (LEC), South Korea (LCK) and China (LPL) will not automatically qualify for the second stage (known as the Rumble Stage, formerly the Group Stage of the Main Event) but have to compete with all remaining teams.

The top two teams in each group in Group Stage qualify for the Rumble Stage, a six team double round robin. The top four teams of the Rumble Stage advance to the single elimination Knockout Stage.

The winning team earns their region an additional bid to the 2021 League of Legends World Championship.

Qualified teams[]

The number of regions decreased from 13 at MSI 2019 to 12, due to the merger of Taiwan/Hong Kong/Macau (LMS) and Southeast Asian (LST) professional leagues into the PCS for 2020.

Pools of Group Stage are determined by the achievements of regions during the MSI and Worlds events from the two years prior.

Due to national travel restrictions related to COVID-19 in Vietnam, the VCS champions ⁠⁠GAM Esports are unable to participate.

Region League Teams ID Pool
China LPL Royal Never Give Up RNG 1
Europe LEC MAD Lions MAD
South Korea LCK DWG KIA DK
North America LCS Cloud9 C9 2
TW/HK/MO/SEA PCS PSG Talon PSG
Vietnam VCS GAM Esports GAM
CIS LCL Unicorns of Love UOL 3
Latin America LLA Infinity Esports INF
Turkey TCL Istanbul Wildcats IW
Brazil CBLOL paiN Gaming PNG 4
Japan LJL DetonatioN FocusMe DFM
Oceania LCO Pentanet.GG PGG

Roster[]

Players Coach
Top Jungle Mid ADC Support
Europe (LEC) – Europe MAD Lions
Turkey Armut
(İrfan Berk Tükek) 		Spain Elyoya
(Javier Prades Batalla) 		Czech Republic Humanoid
(Marek Brázda) 		Czech Republic Carzzy
(Matyáš Orság) 		Germany Kaiser
(Norman Kaiser) 		United Kingdom Mac
(James MacCormack)
China (LPL) – China Royal Never Give Up
China Xiaohu
(Li Yuanhao) 		China Wei
(Yan Yangwei) 		China Cryin
(Yuan Chengwei) 		China GALA
(Chen Wei) 		China Ming
(Shi Senming) 		Hong Kong Tabe
(Wong Pak-kan)
China Xiaobai (sub.)
(Yang Zhonghe) 		China Xiaohu (sub.)
(Li Yuanhao) 		Taiwan Poppy
(Chang Po-hao)
South Korea (LCK) – South Korea DWG KIA
South Korea Khan
(Kim Dong-ha) 		South Korea Canyon
(Kim Geon-bu) 		South Korea ShowMaker
(Heo Su) 		South Korea Ghost
(Jang Yong-jun) 		South Korea BeryL
(Cho Geon-hee) 		South Korea kkOma
(Kim Jeong-gyun)
North America (LCS) – United States Cloud9
Australia Fudge
(Ibrahim Allami) 		United States Blaber
(Robert Huang) 		Croatia Perkz
(Luka Perković) 		Denmark Zven
(Jesper Svenningsen) 		Canada Vulcan
(Philippe Laflamme) 		South Korea Reignover
(Kim Yeu-jin)
Taiwan/Hong Kong/Macau/Southeast Asia (PCS) – Hong Kong PSG Talon
Taiwan Hanabi
(Su Chia-hsiang) 		South Korea River
(Kim Dong-woo) 		Taiwan Maple
(Huang Yi-tang) 		Taiwan Doggo (loan)[a]
(Chiu Tzu-chuan) 		Hong Kong Kaiwing
(Ling Kai-wing) 		South Korea Helper
(Kwon Yeong-jae)
South Korea Winged
(Park Tae-jin)
Brazil (CBLOL) – Brazil paiN Gaming
Brazil Robo
(Leonardo Souza) 		Brazil Cariok
(Marcos Santos) 		Brazil tinowns
(Thiago Sartori) 		Brazil brTT
(Felipe Gonçalves) 		South Korea Luci
(Han Chang-hoon) 		Turkey Nova
(Ahmet Yılmaz)
Switzerland Dionrray
(João Pedro Barbosa)
Commonwealth of Independent States (LCL) – Russia Unicorns of Love
Russia BOSS
(Vladislav Fomin) 		Russia AHaHaCiK
(Kirill Skvortsov) 		Russia Nomanz
(Lev Yakshin) 		Russia Lodik
(Stanislav Kornelyuk) 		Russia SaNTaS
(Aleksandr Lifashin) 		Germany Sheepy
(Fabian Mallant)
Japan (LJL) – Japan DetonatioN FocusMe
Japan Evi
(Shunsuke Murase) 		South Korea Steal
(Moon Geon-yeong) 		South Korea Aria
(Lee Ga-eul) 		Japan Yutapon
(Yuta Sugiura) 		Japan Kazu
(Kazuta Suzuki) 		South Korea Yang
(Yang Gwang-pyo)
Latin America (LLA) – Costa Rica Infinity Esports
Uruguay Buggax
(Mateo Aroztegui) 		Peru SolidSnake
(Diego Vallejo Trujillo) 		Chile cody
(Cristian Quispe) 		Argentina WhiteLotus
(Matías Musso) 		Argentina Ackerman
(Gabriel Aparicio) 		Brazil Von
(Gabriel Barbosa)
Oceania (LCO) – Australia Pentanet.GG
Australia BioPanther
(Brandon Alexander) 		Australia Pabu
(Jackson Pavone) 		Australia Chazz
(Jesse Mahoney) 		Australia Praedyth
(Mark Lewis) 		New Zealand Decoy
(Daniel Ealam) 		Australia Charlie
(Charlie Wraith)
Turkey (TCL) – Turkey Istanbul Wildcats
Turkey StarScreen
(Soner Kaya) 		Turkey Ferret
(Hakan Mert Çakmak) 		Turkey Serin
(Tolga Ölmez) 		Turkey HolyPhoenix
(Anıl Işık) 		Turkey Farfetch
(Berk Badur) 		Turkey Robogod
(Barış Mete Sevinç)
Turkey Janus
(Özcan Gürbüz)

Venue[]

Reykjavík was the city chosen to host the competition. All matches will be played at Laugardalshöll without spectators.

Reykjavík, Iceland
Laugardalshöll

Group stage[]

  • Date and time: 6–11 May, begins at 13:00 UTC
  • Twelve teams are drawn into three groups, with four teams in each group
  • Quadruple round robin for Group A, double round robin for Groups B and C; all matches are best-of-one
  • If two teams have the same win-loss record and head-to-head record then a tiebreaker match is played
  • Top two teams will advance to the Rumble Stage; bottom two teams are eliminated

Group A[]

⁠⁠GAM Esports was drawn in this group but unable to participate.

# Team ~ RNG PGG UOL W L T-B
1 Royal Never Give Up RNG ~ 4–0 4–0 8 0
2 Pentanet.GG PGG 0–4 ~ 2–2 2 6 W
3 Unicorns of Love UOL 0–4 2–2 ~ 2 6 L
Date Game Blue side Result Red side
6 May 1 RNG W L PGG
2 PGG L W UOL
7 May 3 PGG L W RNG
4 UOL L W RNG
8 May 5 RNG W L UOL
6 UOL L W PGG
9 May 7 UOL L W RNG
8 UOL W L PGG
9 RNG W L PGG
10 RNG W L UOL
11 PGG W L UOL
12 PGG L W RNG
T-B UOL L W PGG

Group B[]

# Team ~ MAD PSG PNG IW W L
1 MAD Lions MAD ~ 2–0 2–0 1–1 5 1
2 PSG Talon PSG 0–2 ~ 2–0 2–0 4 2
3 paiN Gaming PNG 0–2 0–2 ~ 2–0 2 4
4 Istanbul Wildcats IW 1–1 0–2 0–2 ~ 1 5
Date Game Blue side Result Red side
6 May 1 IW L W PNG
2 MAD W L PSG
7 May 3 IW L W MAD
4 PNG L W PSG
8 May 5 MAD W L PNG
6 PSG W L IW
10 May 7 MAD L W IW
8 PSG W L PNG
9 IW L W PSG
10 PNG L W MAD
11 PNG W L IW
12 PSG L W MAD

Group C[]

# Team ~ DK C9 DFM INF W L
1 DWG KIA DK ~ 1–1 2–0 2–0 5 1
2 Cloud9 C9 1–1 ~ 1–1 2–0 4 2
3 DetonatioN FocusMe DFM 0–2 1–1 ~ 1–1 2 4
4 Infinity Esports INF 0–2 0–2 1–1 ~ 1 5
Date Game Blue side Result Red side
6 May 1 DK W L C9
2 INF W L DFM
7 May 3 INF L W DK
4 DFM W L C9
8 May 5 DK W L DFM
6 C9 W L INF
11 May 7 C9 W L DK
8 DFM W L INF
9 DK W L INF
10 C9 W L DFM
11 DFM L W DK
12 INF L W C9

Rumble stage[]

  • Date and time: 14–18 May, begins at 13:00 UTC
  • Six teams will play in a double round robin; matches are best-of-one
  • If teams have the same win-loss record and head-to-head record, then tiebreaker matches are played for first, second, and fourth place
  • Top four teams will advance to the Knockout Stage; bottom two teams are eliminated
# Team ~ DK RNG PSG MAD C9 PGG W L
1 DWG KIA DK ~ 0–2 2–0 2–0 2–0 2–0 8 2
2 Royal Never Give Up RNG 2–0 ~ 1–1 1–1 1–1 2–0 7 3
3 PSG Talon PSG 0–2 1–1 ~ 1–1 2–0 2–0 6 4
4 MAD Lions MAD 0–2 1–1 1–1 ~ 1–1 2–0 5 5
5 Cloud9 C9 0–2 1–1 0–2 1–1 ~ 1–1 3 7
6 Pentanet.GG PGG 0–2 0–2 0–2 0–2 1–1 ~ 1 9
Date Game Blue side Result Red side
14 May 1 DK L W RNG
2 MAD W L PGG
3 PSG L W DK
4 RNG W L C9
5 PSG W L PGG
6 C9 L W MAD
15 May 7 PGG L W RNG
8 DK W L C9
9 MAD L W RNG
10 C9 L W PSG
11 PGG L W DK
12 MAD W L PSG
16 May 13 C9 W L PGG
14 RNG L W PSG
15 DK W L MAD
16 RNG W L PGG
17 C9 L W DK
18 PSG W L MAD
17 May 19 PSG L W RNG
20 MAD L W DK
21 C9 W L RNG
22 PGG L W MAD
23 DK W L PSG
24 PGG W L C9
18 May 25 RNG W L DK
26 PGG L W PSG
27 RNG L W MAD
28 PSG W L C9
29 DK W L PGG
30 MAD L W C9

Knockout stage[]

  • 1st place team from the Rumble Stage chooses between 3rd and 4th to be their semifinal opponent (DK chose MAD).
  • Single elimination, matches are best-of-five
Semifinals Finals
      
2 Royal Never Give Up 3
3 PSG Talon 1
Royal Never Give Up 3
DWG KIA 2
1 DWG KIA 3
4 MAD Lions 2

Semifinals[]

Match 1[]

  • Date and time: 21 May, 13:00 UTC.
Team ID Result
2 Royal Never Give Up RNG 3
3 PSG Talon PSG 1
Game Blue side Result Red side
1 RNG W L PSG
2 PSG W L RNG
3 RNG W L PSG
4 PSG L W RNG
5 X - - X

Match 2[]

  • Date and time: 22 May, 13:00 UTC.
Team ID Result
1 DWG KIA DK 3
4 MAD Lions MAD 2
Game Blue side Result Red side
1 DK W L MAD
2 MAD W L DK
3 DK L W MAD
4 DK W L MAD
5 MAD L W DK


Finals[]

  • Date and time: 23 May, 13:00 UTC
Team ID Result
Royal Never Give Up RNG 3
DWG KIA DK 2
Game Blue side Result Red side
1 RNG W L DK
2 DK W L RNG
3 RNG W L DK
4 DK W L RNG
5 RNG W L DK

Ranking[]

(*) Not including tie-break games.

Place Region League Teams GS RS SF Final
1st China LPL Royal Never Give Up 8-0 7-3 3-1 3-2
2nd South Korea LCK DWG KIA 5-1 8-2 3-2 2-3
3rd–4th Europe LEC MAD Lions 5-1 5-5 2-3
TW/HK/MO/SEA PCS PSG Talon 4-2 6-4 1-3
5th North America LCS Cloud9 4-2 3-7
6th Oceania LCO Pentanet.GG* 2-6 1-9
7th–8th Japan LJL DetonatioN FocusMe 2-4
Brazil CBLOL paiN Gaming 2-4
9th–11th CIS LCL Unicorns of Love* 2-6
Latin America LLA Infinity Esports 1-5
Turkey TCL Istanbul Wildcats 1-5

Notes[]

  1. ^ Due to health complications, player "Unified" (Wong Chun Kit) was unable to participate. Beyond Gaming's bot laner "Doggo" had been loaned to PSG Talon for the duration of the tournament.[3]

References[]

  1. ^ "MSI 2021 is Heading to Reykjavik, Iceland". lolesports.com. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  2. ^ Lim, Jang-won (20 April 2021). "MSI preview: 11 teams heading to Iceland; VCS unable to attend once again". Korea Herald. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  3. ^ O'Dwyer, Samuel (25 April 2021). "PSG Talon to attend MSI without their starting AD carry". Dot Esports. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
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