The LoL fan community eagerly awaits the beginning of the Canadian tournament, which will answer the main question: who is currently the strongest team in the world? Before this significant event, the 1xBet platform prepared a preview with the most interesting information about MSI 2025.
Starting this year, the professional League of Legends esports season is divided into three parts: the spring split and its final, the 2025 First Stand Tournament; the summer split and its final, the 2025 Mid-Season Invitational; and the fall split, culminating in the whole season’s conclusion, the 2025 World Championship.
The 2025 Mid-Season Invitational (MSI 2025) will be held from June 27 to July 12 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, Canada. The ten best teams in the world will compete for $2,000,000 in prize money according to the following scheme:
- 1st place – $500,000
- 2nd place – $300,000
- 3rd place – $240,000
- 4th place – $200,000
- 5th-6th place – $160,000
- 7th-8th place – $130,000
- 9th place – $100,000
- 10th place – $80,000
That’s not all: the winner will receive a direct invite to the fall 2025 World Championship, and the region of the squad that finishes in second place will earn an additional slot for the same major.
Participants and tournament format
The top 2 teams from each of the 5 regional leagues will automatically qualify for the MSI 2025:
- Korea (LCK): Gen.G Esports, T1
- China (LPL): Anyone’s Legend, Bilibili Gaming
- APAC (LCP): CTBC Flying Oyster, GAM Esports
- Europe (LEC): KOI, G2 Esports
- America (LTA): FlyQuest, FURIA
The competition kicks off with the first Play-In Stage, where G2 Esports, Bilibili Gaming, GAM Esports, and FURIA will clash for two spots in the Bracket Stage in a double-elimination format. The next Bracket Stage will see the top two winners of the first round face off against six higher-ranked squads: Gen.G Esports, KOI, Anyone’s Legend, CTBC Flying Oyster, FlyQuest, and T1.
All matches in both stages will follow a Bo5 format using Fearless Draft.
Tournament favorites
Before the start of MSI 2025, the 1xBet esports experts decided to assess the participants’ chances of winning and select the top 5 leading contenders for the title. What is 1xBet? It is an international betting brand with 18 years of experience in the entertainment industry. It sponsors famous esports organizations and teams, including ESL, PGL, Aurora, MIBR, The MongolZ, and others.
- T1 is the best squad in LoL history, featuring the legendary “Faker”. They won the last two Worlds and became the Esports World Cup 2024 champions. Although the team faced problems at the beginning of the season, this served as additional motivation to prove their level. They are a clear favorite in any scenario.
- Gen.G Esports – another Korean squad will come to the tournament as the champion of last year’s MSI 2024. The team can not only reach the final but also compete for the title against T1.
- Bilibili Gaming – the best squad in China showcases the most consistent performance in any competition. Last year, Bilibili Gaming won both regional splits and advanced to the finals of two majors – MSI and Worlds. They are a strong competitor for the main favorites, especially if they get lucky with the tournament bracket.
- Anyone’s Legend – this team ranks among the top for the same reason as Bilibili. The second-strongest league in the LoL world sent its champions to MSI 2025, who strive for the first major international trophy in their history.
- CTBC Flying Oyster – our rating is closed by a squad from the Pacific region, which has achieved excellent results in the current season: two consecutive victories in regional splits and a bronze medal at the first major tournament this year, FST 2025.
Don’t miss the top MSI 2025 and the Esports World Cup 2025 right after that. Then, the teams will enjoy their summer vacation.
