LoL Esports unveil tournament formats for upcoming MSI and Worlds 2025

League of Legends (LoL) publisher Riot Games has revealed the tournament formats for the upcoming global esports events, the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) and the League of Legends World Championship (Worlds).

According to the official page for LoL Esports, MSI will feature the top two teams from each major region for a total of 10 teams, while Worlds will feature 21 squads.

The Mid-Season Invitational, which is set to take place after the end of the Spring Splits across the five major regions on June 27th to July 12th, will allow the top two regions to gain an additional slot at Worlds. Additionally, the winner of the tournament will also directly qualify for the tournament later in the year.

With the implementation of the three international tournaments, the Mid-Season Invitational has been moved to the end of June in Vancouver, Canada.

Compared to last year’s format, MSI will have a major difference in the seeding process. Aside from the first seeds of the major regions, the number two seed of the winning region at First Stand will get a bye straight to the Bracket Stage, while the other second seeds will play in the play-in stage, which will feature a GSL, best-of-five format.

The top two will then head to the bracket stage, joining the other six teams to compete in a best-of-five double elimination bracket and determine the MSI champions.

For Worlds, the two regions that gain an additional slot based on the MSI performance will have their teams added to the play-in stage, featuring a single elimination best-of-five bracket that qualifies the winner into the Swiss stage.

Implemented since Worlds 2023, the Swiss Stage is a five-round format that qualifies the top eight teams with three wins at the end of Round 5. Compared to the previous group format, Swiss opens up for more cross-regional matches. In the Knockout Stage, the eight qualified teams will then compete in a single-elimination, best-of-five bracket, with the winner crowned 2025 world champion in Chengdu, China. Worlds currently has no set date.