- Riot Games has officially canceled the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI), its second-largest annual international League of Legends competition.
- Originally delayed, it is unlikely that teams would be able to travel internationally to compete. Alternative events are being explored.
- Additional team invites for the World Championships have also been awarded to the highest performing global regions.
While Riot Games has been able to complete its regional League of Legends seasons online, the publisher has had to cancel MSI, one of its major global tournaments. Usually showcasing the top-performing Spring Split teams, Riot said that it called off the event on the advice of health authorities and other experts, and is exploring alternative activities.
MSI was previously delayed from its original May date to June, however travel and public gathering restrictions caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic did not ease as originally anticipated. In a statement, Head of Global Esports John Needham noted that alternative versions of the event would not meet company standards, and now the 12 regional leagues will move into their Summer Splits under the schedules set at the beginning of the year.
“This decision also allows us to dedicate our global esports team and resources to planning for Worlds 2020,” he said. “We are totally committed to delivering the biggest spectacle we’ve ever produced in China to celebrate our sport’s 10-year anniversary.”
The finals for Worlds this year is set to take place in Shanghai Stadium, which boasts a potential capacity of over 50,000 people. In a recent press conference, the Shanghai government pledged full support for the event.
One of the purposes of MSI is to determine the seeding of the World Championships. With its absence, as well as the creation of the Pacific Championship Series (which merged two regional leagues this year), Worlds will see the following seed distribution.
- LPL (China), LEC (Europe): four teams each.
- LCK (Korea), LCS (North America): three teams each.
- PCS (Southeast Asia), VCS (Vietnam): two teams each.
- CBLOL (Brazil), TCL (Turkey), LJL (Japan), LLA (Latin America), OPL (Oceania), LCL (Commonwealth of Independent States) : one team each.
The Chinese and European leagues have been awarded an extra seed this year, based on their performance in international competitions over the last two years (both were represented in the 2018 and 2019 Worlds finals).
Additional information about the 2020 World Championship, including pool placements for all seeds, will be shared closer to the event.
