LoL MSI 2025 format explained: Stages, brackets & rules

The 10th edition of the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) is nearly upon us. MSI LoL 2025, an international League of Legends tournament organized by Riot Games, will take place this year in Vancouver, Canada. After strong feedback from the community, Riot Games has confirmed this will be the first iteration of the tournament featuring the Fearless Draft format. Expect a fresh selection of champions across games as players compete to build the best synergies and counters.

With ten teams gunning for glory, it can be tough to get up to speed on how the MSI’s stages work. Here’s what you need to know about LoL MSI 2025, how its qualification works, and where you can watch League of Legends pros face off for its grand prize.

LoL MSI 2025 is Riot Games’ second annual international competition, and it will take place between June 27 and July 12, 2025. 

The studio has also confirmed the final LoL MSI 2025 location: the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, Canada. It hosted the Finals of the 2017 North American League Championship Series (NA LCS) Spring Split. 

While general ticket sales went live in March 2025, you can still head here to grab some LoL MSI tickets. Instead, you can also watch the games from Riot Games’ website. Two teams are picked from five regions for MSI 2025, and these players will duke it out for the title of MSI Champion. 

This LoL tournament is also an opportunity for the two best-performing regions to claim additional slots in Worlds 25, Riot Games’ annual World Championship event. It’s the first MSI event that features the LCP and LTA, new Asia-Pacific and American leagues that merge multiple series. 

10 teams will be split into two LoL MSI 2025 stages, the Play-In Stage and the Bracket Stage. Thanks to Hanwha Life Esports winning the First Stand Tournament 2025, LoL Champions Korea (LCK) will have its two qualified teams sent to the Bracket Stage. The other four regions will each have one team in the Play-In and one team in the Bracket Stage.

The Play-Ins kicks off in a GSL (Global StarCraft League) format stage, with the top two teams qualifying for the Bracket Stage. All matches are in the Bo5 (best of five) format using Fearless Draft. 

These are the Play-In teams in LoL MSI 2025: 

Once all the Bracket Stage teams are decided, the eight teams will play in a double-elimination format. Check out the latest standings; these games are also in the Bo5 format with Fearless Draft. The winning team in a game advances to the winner’s bracket, while the losing team goes to the loser’s bracket. 

Here are the Bracket Stage teams in LoL MSI 2025:

Outside the traditional Bo5 format, the biggest change coming to the LoL MSI rules this year is the adoption of Fearless Draft. This format ensures that any champions used in previous LoL matches of a best-of-series become unavailable for both teams in subsequent games. It keeps team compositions fresh and ensures that teams don’t lean on a specific character’s strengths to win games. 

Here’s how Fearless Draft will work across all LoL MSI brackets:

Riot Games has confirmed the LoL MSI 2025 prize pool to be a massive $2,000,000. While we know how much the teams got to take home from MSI 2024’s $250,000 prize pool, expect some difference in how the prize pool is split this year. That’s because 10 teams are competing this time, as opposed to 12 teams from last year.

If the prize pool is split the same way as MSI 2024, the winning team will be able to take home 20% of the prize money, followed by 16% for the runner-up. Third and fourth place teams will get 12% and 10% respectively. While the remaining teams had their share reduced by 2% for every two spots they dropped on the ladder in 2024, this might change this year. 

While the previous MSI tournaments might not have had a massive $2,000,000 prize pool, they were packed with unforgettable LoL esports moments and exhilarating plays from players. Here are all the past LoL MSI winners from previous tournaments:

Expect the League of Legends esports scene to heat up as we near LoL MSI 2025. With the biggest prize pool in the history of the series, expect these games to break viewership records and give us some intense match-ups. With Fearless Draft in play, expect players to be on their toes as their champion pool shrinks with each game against an opponent. 

The 17,000-seat Pacific Coliseum “promises an unforgettable setting for the second international tournament of the year,” according to Riot Games. If you’re a streamer who’s considering co-streaming the MSI, you’re in luck. Last year, Riot unlocked all participating creators to co-stream every stage and every match of MSI ‘24. Keep an eye on Esports Insider for more on the LoL MSI schedule as the games determine the winners who climb up the ladder.