The last article of this series examined the changes to the LCS this year: the shift in format to Bo2/Bo3 and the revisions to the promotional tournament, to name a few. This article examines the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) tournament, scheduled for May 2016 in between the spring and summer split of all regions. MSI is analogous to the Confederations Cup of international football / soccer, as both are invitational tournaments featuring regional champions prior to the corresponding World Cup / Championship. In particular, this post will discuss the potential changes in store for MSI this year.

Hidden among questions, answers, complaints, and memes in the recent Reddit AMA from the Riot Games Esports team was a brief discussion about 2016’s slate of international tournaments. While IEM Katowice is expected to retain the same format as last year, MSI will be doubling up. Specifically, the 2016 MSI will last two weekends to provide a better broadcast schedule.

Last updated: April 10, 2016

Preliminary: IWCI 2016

The only change from 2015 is the split of the Latin American region into two leagues, resulting in 8 wildcard regional leagues:

Brazil (CBLOL)

Turkey (TCL)

Southeast Asia (GPL)

Oceania (OCL)

CIS (LCL)

Japan (LJL)

Latin America North (LAN)

Latin America South (LAS)

The spring split champions from each of these regions will compete in the International Wildcard Invitational 2016, likely at a venue in Southeast Asia at Mexico City from April 16 – April 23. In the group stages, every team plays each other once, for a total of 28 matches over 4 days (April 16-19 local time). The top four teams advance to the playoffs: the semifinals take place on April 21 and 22, with the grand finals on the April 23. The winner will attend MSI 2 weeks later.

Main Event: Expansion to Two Weekends

Last year, MSI featured the spring split champions of the five premier regions, along with the victor of the seven-team International Wildcard Invitational (IWCI). This year, MSI takes place over 2 weekends this year, allowing for a less compressed schedule. In particular, each team will play 2 games against each other in the first weekend, for a total of 30 group stage matches.

Group stage (Weekend 1):

Day 1: 6 matches

Day 2: 6 matches

Day 3: 6 matches

Day 4: 6 matches

Day 5: 6 matches + potential tie breakers

Playoffs (Weekend 2):

Day 1: Seed 1 vs Seed 4

Day 2: Seed 2 vs Seed 3

Day 3: Finals

Lastly, MSI will be shifting from North America, likely to the East. The most likely venue will be Korea, as OGN / SPOTV / Kespa have the infrastructure to accommodate the expanded tournament. As announced in February 2016, MSI will be held at Shanghai, China.

Closing Thoughts

To conclude, the timeline of the IWCI and MSI are summarized below.

IWCI Saturday, 4/16: 7 group stage matches Sunday, 4/17: 7 group stage matches Monday, 4/18: 7 group stage matches Tuesday, 4/19: 7 group stage matches + tiebreakers (if necessary) Thursday, 4/21: Semifinal 1 Friday, 4/22: Semifinal 2 Saturday, 4/23: Finals

MSI Week 1: Group Stages Wednesday, 5/4: 6 matches Thursday, 5/5: 6 matches Friday, 5/6: 6 matches Saturday, 5/7: 6 matches Sunday, 5/8: 6 matches (3 Bo2)+ tiebreakers (if needed)

MSI Week 2: Playoffs Friday, 5/13: Semifinal 1 Saturday, 5/14: Semifinal 2 Sunday, 5/15: Finals

