The 2023 Mid-Season Invitational and Caedrel’s New Role
The 2023 Mid-Season Invitational is the first international League of Legends event of the year. It will take place in London, United Kingdom, from May 2 to 21 at Copper Box Arena. Just before the event began, the LEC Twitter account surprised fans with a major change to the co-streamer list. Marc “Caedrel” Lamont, who was originally a color caster and analyst for the LEC, is now listed as an official co-streamer for MSI 2023.
A Surprising Decision
The news of Caedrel’s role change came as a shock to many fans. This was especially surprising because he was initially included in the lineup for the event, according to the broadcast talent announcement on April 22. This will be the first international event where Caedrel will not be part of the main broadcast since he transitioned to the analyst desk in LEC Summer 2020. This year’s MSI will feature an impressive 30 co-streamers, a significant increase from the five partnered co-streams during Worlds 2022.
Caedrel’s Plans and Fans’ Concerns
Caedrel later clarified that his decision to transition from the main broadcast team to co-streaming was entirely his own. He announced that he will cover the entire event on his Twitch channel. Fans need not worry, as Caedrel will only be departing for the duration of MSI and will return to the regular broadcast team for LEC Summer 2023. In the past, fans have expressed concerns about the quality of co-streamers at League events. The inclusion of non-League content creators, like Sykkuno, during Worlds 2022 received backlash from the community. This excluded experienced League streamers such as LS and IWDominate, who have consistently covered past international events.
The Value of Co-Streamers
Heading into 2023, Riot Games has recognized the value of co-streamers in their other games, such as VALORANT. At LOCK//IN Sao Paulo, Sentinels content creator Tarik attracted the highest viewership out of all VALORANT channels, surpassing the official VALORANT channel itself. This highlights the importance of co-streamers in enhancing viewer engagement and expanding the audience. Riot’s decision to include more co-streamers in MSI 2023 acknowledges this value and provides fans with alternative streams to watch.
Caedrel’s departure from the main broadcast team may disappoint some viewers, but his extensive knowledge about League of Legends and the teams attending MSI will offer a solid streaming alternative for both new and old viewers. MSI 2023 will feature the top 13 teams from international leagues competing in a new two-stage format, with double elimination for the play-ins and bracket stage. Fans can tune in to the Riot Games Twitch stream, the LoL Esports Youtube channel, or any of the partnered co-streamer broadcasts, including Caedrel, to follow the action.
Mid-Season Invitational, League of Legends, Caedrel, co-streamers, broadcast team, Twitch channel, international event, viewership, community backlash, VALORANT, LOCK//IN Sao Paulo, alternative streams, double elimination.