As of now, there are only a few days left until MSI 2024 officially kicks off in Chengdu. With the gathering of many prominent teams like T1, Gen.G, and BLG, this MSI promises extremely high professional quality. Moreover, this is also an opportunity for the LCK region to reclaim the MSI title after 7 years since SKT T1’s championship in 2017.
However, it is quite strange that both experts and the audience in LCK seem not too enthusiastic about this MSI tournament. Many believe that MSI does not hold much significance and that the World Championship at the end of the year is the ultimate goal. Even the renowned commentator CloudTemplar shared that the LCK region not winning MSI is not a problem at all.
Many fans agree with CloudTemplar and admit that T1 is the reason behind the above “let MSI go” attitude. Remember that in the 2023 season, T1 lost to BLG in the lower bracket finals of MSI and only secured third place. However, Faker and his teammates made a spectacular comeback at the 2023 World Championship by continuously defeating LPL representatives to claim the world championship title.
Furthermore, since the 2017 season, teams that won MSI have all failed to conquer the World Championship in the same year. Faker surely understands this well as he and his teammates won MSI 2017 but lost to Samsung Galaxy at that year’s World Championship. Subsequent MSI champions like RNG (2018, 2021, 2022), G2 Esports (2019), and JDG (2023) also fell victim to this “curse”.
Fairly speaking, maintaining high performance throughout the entire season and winning every tournament is extremely difficult. The fact that no team has achieved a “Grand Slam title” in League of Legends history is the clearest proof of this. Clearly, when comparing scale and importance, the World Championship is still ranked above MSI. Thus, for those who wish to see an LCK representative win the World Championship, missing the MSI title this year may even be seen as a “good omen” for them.
Nevertheless, MSI is still an extremely prestigious tournament, so the teams coming here (including 2 LCK representatives) are all aiming for the championship. It should be noted that Riot Games has changed the format of MSI 2024, ensuring that the champion will secure a spot in the World Championship. This makes the significance of MSI 2024 much greater than in previous seasons. At that time, teams will surely strive harder to win this title to secure their position at the World Championship taking place at the end of the year.
Moreover, if an LCK representative wins MSI 2024, they will end the streak of 3 consecutive titles won on the home soil of the LPL region. This will certainly be a significant achievement that LCK representatives like T1 and Gen.G will aim for. Of course, the “let MSI go” attitude to focus on the World Championship from LCK fans is understandable. However, with the great significance of MSI 2024, it is unlikely that LCK representatives like Gen.G and T1 will overlook this title.