The Mid-Season Invitational is back for the second year in a row as all roads lead to Busan, South Korea for MSI 2022. The annual tournament is looked to as one of the highlights of the competitive League of Legends season. MSI’s importance stems from the fact that the event is used as the first major tournament during which teams from different regions face off against each other. With the respective winners of each region’s Spring Split qualifying for the event, the competition is fierce, to say the least.

The League of Legends betting aspect of the tournament should not be overlooked, as apart from the massive audience, MSI draws in a massive number of punters as well.

This year’s edition, MSI 2022, will run from May 10th all the way up to May 29th. The tournament itself is split into three different stages: Stage 1 (Groups), Stage 2 (Rumble), and Stage 3 (Knockout).

In total, eleven of the world’s top League of Legends teams will battle it out for the bragging rights and a slice of the base $ 250,000 USD prize pool. It should be noted that although small at first glance, the base prize pool will get additionally supplemented with a percentage of the revenue from designated in-game sales.

Be as it may, we are certainly in store for some invigorating League of Legends action during the next three weeks.

MSI 2022 Schedule

As previously mentioned, MSI 2022 will run for a better portion of May. The tournament itself is split into three different stages, with only the absolute top teams advancing further into the tournament.

MSI 2022 Stage 1 – Groups (May 10th – May 15th)

The tournament will start off with its inaugural group stage. All of the attending teams will be split into three different groups in accordance with their seeding. While Groups A and B will be played in double Round Robins, Group C will be played in quadruples because it has one less team. All matches will be played as Best-of-Ones.

At the end of the MSI 2022 Groups, only the top two teams will advance to the next stage.

MSI 2022 Stage Two – Rumble (May 18th – May 22nd)

Only six of the top teams will advance to the second stage of MSI 2022. During the Rumble stage, teams will be drawn into a single group. All matches will be played as Bo1’s, with the eventual top four teams qualifying for the Knockouts.

MSI 2022 Stage Three – Knockouts (May 27th – May 29th)

With only the top four teams surviving this far, expect the level of competition to increase dramatically. A total of only three matches will be played during the Knockouts, as MSI 2022 ends with a single-elimination bracket, culminating in the Grand Finals.

All matches during the Knockouts will be played as Best-of-Fives.

Watch MSI 2022 Live

MSI 2022 Betting

When it comes to betting on MSI 2022, the event will surely cater to both the conventional and special bettors among you. The sheer popularity of the Mid-Season Invitational means that the event is one of the highlights of the year when it comes to betting on League of Legends.

As far as the actual betting on the event goes, the biggest tip for all potential punters is to do your homework. League of Legends is a game with its own meta and flow, with different regions employing different playstyles. Whether you’re an actual League of Legends player, casual esports fan or pure bettor, it pays off to know what you’re actually betting on.

If the game seems a bit too much for you, you can always tune in and pay close attention to the commentators and analysts. Most of them are either high ranking players or former professionals themselves, and can give you some valuable insight on the status quo.

Conventional betting is always the most popular and simple method. There are three types of conventional betting methods you can use to wager during the tournament:

1. Pre-Match Betting
2. Live/In-Play Betting
3. Tournament/Outright Betting

Special betting in League of Legends stems from the game itself and is often revolved around player kills, game durations, and specific objectives. In-game knowledge is necessary when it comes to special betting in League, as you could be stuck playing a game of pure chance if you do not possess the necessary knowledge.

With a vast number of different tactics teams use on their road to victory, some playstyles tend to focus on different objectives. You can use this to your advantage, and give yourself a valuable edge when wagering on special bets in League of Legends.

Some of the most popular types of special bets you can wager on during the tournament include:

1. Map Duration – Wager on a specific time in which the game will be completed.
2. Race to Kills – Wager on which of the two opposing teams gets to a certain amount of kills first.
3. Total Kills – Wager on a specific number of kills that will happen in a game.
4. First Dragon – Wager on which team kills the first Dragon in the match.
5. First Baron – Wager on which team kills the first Baron in the match.
6. First Inhibitor – Wager on which team kills the first Inhibitor in the match.

MSI 2022 Teams & Odds

From the teams attending, LCK’s T1 comes in as the absolute favorite. The LCK’s MSI drought goes all the way back to 2017, and T1 is looking primed to end it this year. Last year’s winners Royal Never Give Up at first sight look like the only team that can stop them. Historic rivals, LEC and LCS, are looking a step below the two previously mentioned regions. Everybody else will seemingly be looking for a miracle if they want to foil T1’s upcoming onslaught.

MSI 2022 Favorites, Contenders, and Dark Horses

Seeing as there is a multitude of the competitive scene’s top teams attending the event, it can be hard picking your own horse for the race. With all of the teams in mind, let’s see who are the absolute favorites, the perennial contenders, and potential dark horses for the tournament. Out of all the teams attending, we’ve singled out the three best teams that fall under those categories.

1. Favorites – T1

Korean powerhouse T1 is heading into MSI 2022 as the absolute favorites, and the odds reflect that to a fault. After breaking almost every record in the books during the LCK 2022 Spring Split, T1 is looking absolutely unstoppable.

With T1 looking like a well-oiled machine and Faker playing in a form that’s reminiscent of his absolute prime, it’s hard not to back up the LCK Champions as the absolute favorites.

With their perfect Spring Split standing as a testament to their strength, T1 is the team to beat at MSI 2022.

2. Contenders – G2 Esports

We’ve picked European hopefuls G2 Esports as our perennial contenders for the event. As the team’s three newest additions slowly settled in, G2 had a relatively mediocre Spring Season, finishing in third place.

It is during the LEC Spring Playoffs that the team awoke, as G2 went on to win the LEC Playoffs without dropping a single game.

With a healthy dose of teamplay back on the menu, G2 remains a force to be reckoned with. Even though the odds don’t favor the Europeans, G2 could be in the conversation for a title run if they can replicate their Playoffs form.

3. Dark Horse – PSG Talon

While PSG Talon didn’t win their respective region in a dominating fashion, their talent is unquestionable. A potential PSG Talon title run is truly a long shot, with the odds heavily stacked up against them.

The team is comprised of a healthy mix of up-and-coming talent and veteran players and posses some serious firepower. Their playstyle on the other hand leaves a lot to be desired, as PSG Talon is facing a serious identity crisis when it comes to overall team play.

If they can get their bearings together, PSG Talon is certainly a team that can fight for a spot in the top four. If they can manage to get to the Knockouts, we’re definite proposers of the “anything can happen” mindset.

MSI 2022 Storylines

MSI 2022 is not without its own mixture of intrigue and controversy. Whether it’s the complete absence of a specific region (LCL), or the LPL Spring champions RNG attending the event remotely due to COVID-19 restrictions, this year’s tournament has had its fair share of hiccups.

The LCL’s Absence

Due to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, the CIS region’s LCL Spring Split was scrapped entirely after just two weeks of competitive play. The absence of CIS teams will be felt, as the region has been a staple of the League of Legends scene for the past couple of years. LCL teams have on numerous occassions proved that they can compete against teams from the upper echelons.

With the conflict still ongoing chances are that the LCL season will be scrapped entirely.

RNG’s Remote Attendance

As previously stated, the LPL Spring champions RNG will attend the event remotely due to travel restrictions caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. RNG will thankfully not be hampered too much by ping issues due to Busan’s close vicinity to mainland China.

It should be noted that due to this specific situation, all matches during the event will be played with an artifically standerdized ping capped at 35 ms. Riot has implemented this tool before, during the LPL vs. LCK Showdown at the 2020 Mid-Season Cup.

RNG will have the option to play their matches either from the team’s training facilities or the LPL Arena in Shanghai.

Saigon Buffalo Will Represent the VCS at MSI 2022

In a strange turn of events, the VCS Spring Champions GAM Esports have chosen to skip MSI 2022 in favor of attending the Sea Games 31. GAM Esports has been a dominant force in the VCS scene for quite some time now. The team went on to win the VCS 2022 Spring Season with a perfect record, and continued their good form into the Playoffs.

The VCS runners up, Saigon Buffalo, will attend the event in their stead. Although the Buffalo are a strong team in their own right, they’re a tier below the VCS champions.

With MSI 2022 being the first Mid-Season Invitational VCS teams will attend since 2019, the absence of the region’s top team will be a hard obstacle to overcome.

T1’s Record Breaking Split

LCK Champions T1 are entering the tournament as the biggest favorites ever, and for good reason. After finishing the LCK 2022 Spring Season without a loss to their names, T1 went on to dominate the Spring Playoffs.

T1’s roster seemingly has it all: experience, talent, star power, teamplay, and mental fortitude. While the talk of the town has been Faker’s resurgence, it’s team captan Keria who has been the standout player for T1.

The team’s synergy and decision making have hit a level that’s arguably never been seen before. With the current state of affairs, stopping T1 from winning the LCK’s first MSI title since 2017 is looking like Mission Impossible, just without Tom Cruise as the star of the show.