Published on: 14/05/2021
MSI International Weekend Preview
2021’s League of Legends MSI is here and we’re ready to predict match results, as always. Are you interested in this and other esports events?
11 regional champions are heading to Iceland for #MSI2021. Who will Break Out? Watch live May 6-23 (PT) at https://t.co/lh1tk7wEe0 pic.twitter.com/SKyMjptHxL
— LoL Esports (@lolesports) April 26, 2021
Event Details
Riot Games has hosted the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) tournament since 2015. Considering it’s the second most important (after the “Worlds” Championship), then we are sure there will be many exciting moments in the one being held this year in Reykjavík, Iceland. Especially after Riot has decided to implement a new format that splits 11 regions into three groups, one best-performing team has been selected from each region to represent it from May 6 to May 23 for an extra slot at Worlds.
Here are all the teams attending 2021’s MSI:
| Group A | Group B | Group C |
| Royal Never Give Up (LPL) | MAD Lions (LEC) | DAMWON Gaming (LCK) |
| Unicorns of Love (LCL) | PSG Talon (PCS) | Cloud9 (LCS) |
| Pentanet.GG (LCO) | İstanbul Wildcats (TCL) | DetonatioN FocusMe (LJL) |
| PaiN Gaming (CBLOL) | Infinity Esports (LLA) |
Groups B and C will play best-of-one double round-robin, while Group A will play quadruple round-robin. Only the top two teams from each group will go to the next “rumble” stage in best-of-one double round-robin matches. Both the semifinals and grand finals will be the best-of-five series. You can watch the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) 2021 either on their Riot’s Twitch and YouTube channels, as well as on the official LoL Esports site.
Key MSI Matchups on May 14
DAMWON Gaming vs. Royal Never Give Up (9 AM EST): We predict RNG will win this match-up. They’re at the top of the rankings with 8 wins and 0 losses, so despite having won Worlds 2020, the Koreans should be terrified of the Chinese.
MAD Lions vs. Pentanet.GG (10 AM EST): A 83.7% win rate versus a 33% win rate speaks a lot for itself. Curiously enough, Pentanet has won every match that passes over the 15 minutes mark, but we still predict MAD Lions will win with Gold and Damage per Minute advantage.
PSG Talon vs. DAMWON Gaming (11 AM EST): DAMWON only has lost one game so far and this won’t be the second, so we predict they’ll get the first tower, probably first-blood, and the victory over PSG.
Royal Never Give Up vs. Cloud9 (12 PM EST): Cloud9 was able to beat DAMWON very recently but will they’ll beat RNG as well? Probably not. The only thing that could get them close to this outcome is getting Baron Nashor, as in previous matches.
Cloud9 vs. MAD Lions (2 PM EST): We predict MAD Lions will win this match but only after surviving a tough early game. This is because Cloud9 tends to play more aggressively in the first 15 minutes but slow down, proven on the CS and K/D/A.
Key MSI Matchups on May 15
Pentanet.GG vs. Royal Never Give Up (9 AM EST): RNG will return and retake their confidence thanks to this victorious matchup against Pentanet.
DAMWON Gaming vs. Cloud9 (10 AM EST): The Koreans might revenge after Tuesday’s match. After all, they played objectives smartly but lost in team fights.
MAD Lions vs. Royal Never Give Up (11 AM EST): We predict RNG will also win this matchup but only if they take over several objectives and creatures before minute 15.
Pentanet.GG vs. DAMWON Gaming (1 PM EST): We predict DAMWON will win this match, no doubts.
MAD Lions vs. PSG Talon (2 PM EST): Both teams have dominated the mid-to-late game, but we’ll still have to go to MAD Lions to win this matchup against PSG Talon.
Written by Marco Morales
