The first part of the 2023 League of Legends season is coming to an end, and fans are eagerly awaiting the Mid-Season Invitational, the first international tournament of the year. But before the tournament starts, there will be a draw show to determine the matchups.
This year, MSI will have a new format for the play-ins and playoffs. The eight teams will be divided into two double-elimination brackets in the first phase. The draws will be crucial for all teams, including the representatives from wild card regions and the second seeds from LPL, LEC, and LCS.
Now let’s take a look at everything you need to know about the 2023 MSI Draw Show.
MSI 2023 – How will the teams be seeded?
The new format will seed the eight teams from play-ins into two groups of four. They will compete in double-elimination brackets, and unlike Worlds, there won’t be any pools. This means that any team can be drawn to play against any other team. The eight teams in the play-ins stage are:
- LPL #2 seed: BiliBili Gaming
- LEC #2 seed: G2 Esports
- LCS #2 seed: Golden Guardians
- PCS #1 seed: PSG Talon
- VCS #1 seed: GAM Esports
- LJL #1 seed: DetonatioN FocusMe
- LLA #1 seed: Movistar R7
- CBLOL #1 seed: LOUD
In this new format, three teams will advance to the play-off stage: the winners from each group and the winners from the Last Chance Qualifier. The Last Chance Qualifier will be played between the second seeds of the two groups.
When and where is the MSI 2023 Draw Show?
The MSI 2023 Draw Show will take place after the LEC Spring Finals, which will determine the European team (other than G2) that will participate in the tournament. The LEC Spring Finals will be on Sunday, April 23, starting from 11 am CT. The draw show is likely to be held at LEC studios in Berlin, as the European region will be the last to finalize their MSI participants.
Depending on the duration of the best-of-five series, the draw show will start after 2 pm CT. However, there is a possibility that it might start around 4 pm CT.