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League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational 2023 started on May 2, but it wasn’t until the end of the Play-In Stage that the battle for the MSI crown properly began.
Featuring eight of the world’s best League of Legends teams, the new format of the MSI 2023 Bracket Stage promises to produce two weeks of exciting battles and just one day into the tournament’s stage, we can already say for sure that it won’t disappoint.
Korean Teams Off To A Good Start
The MSI 2023 Bracket stage kicked off on Monday, May 8, with a clash between the most successful European LoL team G2 Esports and the reigning LoL Champions Korea (LCK) champions, Gen.G.
Entering the match as heavy underdogs, G2 Esports proved that they could dance with the best, but eventually fell short and lost the best-of-five series 1-3, thus allowing Gen.G to proceed into the second round of the bracket play.
The series was relatively close, and while Gen.G proved their superiority, G2 had their moments and were well on their way to producing a reverse sweep. But, unfortunately, they ran out of gas and couldn’t close it out, handing Gen.G a free pass into Round 2.
However, due to the changed tournament format, G2 Esports are not yet eliminated from the MSI 2023 title race. For 2023, Riot Games decided to implement a double-elimination bracket, giving teams a second chance to claw their way to the finals.
Plenty More Matches On The Schedule
G2 Esports’ loss against Gen.G on Monday was a hard blow for Western fans, but the West still has three more representatives in the upper bracket. Neither will have an easy time winning their series, but hope dies last.
On Tuesday, May 10, we’ll watch the reigning LEC 2023 Spring champions MAD Lions clash with the most successful LoL esports team in history – T1, in what promises to be a one-sided fixture. Bookmakers have MAD Lions priced as +1100 underdogs to come out ahead, giving them little to no chance of improving Europe’s record against Korean teams.
Following Tuesday’s LEC vs LCK battle, North American (LCS) and Chinese (LPL) teams will take center stage, kicking off with a clash between the LoL Pro league runners-up BIlibili Gaming and the LoL Champions Series champions, Cloud9.
Of the four West vs East LoL esports matches, this looks like it will be the closest one, with esports bookmakers pricing Cloud9 as +275 underdogs. Even though Bilibili Gaming are still favored, Cloud9 enter the MSI 2023 well-prepared and are in a good spot to get the West a win.
The first round of MSI 2023 Bracket Stage will conclude on Friday, May 12, with a clash between LCS 2023 Spring runners-up Golden Guardians and the LPL 2023 Spring champions, JD Gaming. Billed as the most one-sided match of the MSI Bracket stage, this is expected to end only one way – with JD Gaming sweeping the floor with GG.
Golden Guardians enter the match as +1400 outsiders, while JD Gaming are priced at -10000 to come out ahead of the best-of-five series. Even the biggest LCS fans likely won’t be too optimistic about this series; however, there’s always a chance.
MSI 2023 Runs Until May 21
Following the first round of the MSI 2023 Bracket stage, we’ll get to watch the round one losers battle it out in the lower, and the top teams fight in the upper bracket as they carve their way to the finals.
The battle for the title will run until Sunday, May 21, when the top two teams will duke it out for the trophy and the lion’s share of the $250,000 prize pool.