The 2021 League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational will begin in just one week. Each region’s best team will compete on the international stage for the first time this season.
But before the winner of MSI 2021 can be crowned, they must first navigate the group stage. This year, the format has been slightly modified. The top two teams from each group will advance to a secondary group stage. From there, only four teams will compete in a single-elimination bracket to determine the MSI champion.
Although it may seem easy to predict that the pool one teams will dominate their respective groups, we shouldn’t underestimate the representatives from the minor regions. There are many teams from emerging leagues competing at MSI, and they could surprise us. Here are our predictions for the winners of each group at the MSI 2021 group stage.
Group A: Royal Never Give Up
Royal Never Give Up’s biggest competition in Group A, GAM Esports, won’t be able to participate due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. This gives RNG a clear path to the top of the group. With their recent victories over top teams from the LPL, RNG is considered one of the best teams in the world. Matches against minor region teams should be easy for them. However, their real challenge will come in the secondary group stage when they face strong teams like DWG KIA and MAD Lions.
Group B: MAD Lions
MAD Lions, the team that broke the G2 and Fnatic dominance in the LEC, is hungry for redemption after their early exit from Worlds last year. With roster changes and a strong bottom lane duo, they are ready to compete against the best teams from outside of Europe. MAD Lions have proven their ability to rise to the challenge when facing top-tier teams like G2 and Rogue. It won’t be a surprise if they advance past the group stage with ease.
Group C: DWG KIA
As the defending world champions, DWG KIA is still the best team in the world. They should have no trouble dominating Group C. The only team that could potentially give them some trouble is Cloud9, especially with Perkz as their mid laner. Perkz has a history of going head-to-head with ShowMaker, and their matchups have been evenly split. However, DWG KIA’s overall strength and talent across multiple positions should allow them to easily advance from the group stage and make a strong showing throughout MSI.
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League of Legends, Mid-Season Invitational, MSI 2021, group stage, Royal Never Give Up, MAD Lions, DWG KIA, minor regions, emerging leagues, LPL, LEC, Worlds, Cloud9, G2, Fnatic, ShowMaker, Perkz.