The 2023 Mid-Season Invitational was the eighth Mid-Season Invitational (MSI), a Riot Games-organised tournament for League of Legends, a multiplayer online battle arena video game. The tournament was the culmination of the 2023 Spring Split and the first interregional competition of Season 13.
The event marked the first time a double elimination format would be applied to a League of Legends esports event, as the event was split into two stages, that being the play-in stage and the bracket stage.
The tournament was hosted in London, England, from 2 to 21 May 2023. All stages of the tournament were played in the Copper Box Arena.
"Rules (Are Meant to Break)" was the tournament's theme song, put together by Che Lingo.
Royal Never Give Up from China were the two-time reigning champions, but failed to qualify for the event after losing to Bilibili Gaming in the 2023 LPL Spring Playoffs.
JD Gaming and Bilibili Gaming, both from China, faced off in the finals, with JD Gaming defeating Bilibili Gaming 3–1 and winning their first MSI title.
Format 8 of the 13 teams started from the play-in stage. Three final surviving teams from the play-in stage then proceeded to the bracket stage, where they would meet with the other five teams. For the event, the teams were unable to use champions Yuumi and Milio as both were deemed unsuitable by Riot Games for competitive play at the time.
Play-in stage All teams were drawn into two groups, with all groups having four teams. Excluding the Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) match that was a best-of five match, all the other matches of the stage had a best-of-three double elimination format.
Bracket stage The three surviving teams from previous stage joined the other five teams to compete in the bracket stage. All matches of the bracket stage had a best-of-five double elimination format.
Qualified teams Four of the nine premier League of Legends leagues had two teams representing them, including the LCK, LPL, LEC and LCS, with both LCK teams will start in the bracket stage due to a team from the region winning the 2022 World Championship. Team from LCL (CIS), TCL (Turkey), LCO (Oceania) have been no longer qualified directly for MSI since 2023. The number of teams taking part in this tournament would be increased from eleven to thirteen.
RegionLeaguePathTeamIDPoolStarting in the bracket stage South KoreaLCKSpring champion Gen.GGEN1Spring runner-up T1T13ChinaLPLSpring champion JD GamingJDG1EMEALECSpring champion MAD LionsMAD2North AmericaLCSSpring champion Cloud9C92Starting in the play-in stageChinaLPLSpring runner-up Bilibili GamingBLG1EMEALECWinter champion G2 EsportsG2North AmericaLCSSpring runner-up Golden GuardiansGG2Asia-PacificPCSSpring champion PSG TalonPSGVietnamVCSSpring champion GAM Esports GAM3JapanLJLSpring champion DetonatioN FocusMeDFMLatin AmericaLLASpring champion Movistar R7R74BrazilCBLOLSpring champion LOUDLLL
Venue London was the city chosen to host the competition. Both Play-In Stage and Bracket Stage would be held at the Copper Box Arena. London, England Copper Box Arena
Play-in stage
Date and time: 2–7 May, begins at 13:00 GMT on weekdays and 12:00 GMT on weekends Eight teams would be drawn into two groups Pool 1 team would play with pool 4 team, while pool 2 team would play with pool 3 team in upper bracket round 1 Double elimination; all matches are best-of-three, excluding match between two group runners-up is best-of-five The three teams consisting of the winners of each group and winner of match between two group runners-up advanced to the Bracket Stage as pool 3; five teams would be eliminated
Bracket
Bracket stage
Date and time: 9–21 May, begins at 13:00 GMT on weekdays and 12:00 GMT on weekends Teams of same pool 1 or same pool 2 would be on opposite sides of the upper bracket. All four teams could not face each other in upper bracket round 1. Teams of the same region could not face each other in upper bracket round 1 too. Double elimination; matches are best-of-five The members of the winning team will lift the MSI trophy, earning their title as the League of Legends 2023 Mid-Season Invitational Champions.
Ranking Team ranking PlaceLeagueTeam Prize (%) Prize (USD)1stLPL JD Gaming20%$50,0002ndLPL Bilibili Gaming15%$37,5003rdLCK T112%$30,0004thLCK Gen.G10%$25,0005th–6thLCS Cloud98%$20,000LEC G2 Esports7th–8thLCS Golden Guardians6%$15,000LEC MAD Lions9thPCS PSG Talon5%$12,500 10th–11thCBLOL LOUD3%$7,500LLA Movistar R712th–13thVCSGAM Esports2%$5,000LJLDetonatioN FocusMePlaceRegionTeam Prize (%) Prize (USD)
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