On the morning of April 24 (Vietnam time), the official draw for the MSI 2022 group stage took place in Busan, South Korea. This year’s MSI 2022 is highly anticipated as it gathers many champions from previous MSI tournaments, such as T1, G2 Esports, and Royal Never Give Up. Meanwhile, the VCS representative will make their return to an international League of Legends tournament after a two-year absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Due to the LCL region’s inability to participate for unavoidable reasons this season, the format remains unchanged from previous seasons, with VCS also forced to be absent. With the results now revealed, many teams seem to have secured their progression, barring any “earth-shattering” surprises, like T1 or RNG.
Format
11 participating teams
Round 1 (Group Stage)
– Teams are divided into 3 groups, 2 groups of 4 teams and 1 group of 3 teams.
– Round-robin format, home and away matches.
– Each match in the group stage is a BO 1.
– The top 2 teams in each group will advance to Round 2.
Round 2 (Rumble Stage)
– Round-robin format, home and away matches.
– Each match is a BO 1.
– The top 4 teams will advance to Round 3.
Round 3 (Knockout Stage)
– Single elimination.
– Matches are BO 5.
T1 has landed in a relatively “easy” group, with no team like DetonatioN FocusMe or Team Aze likely to pose a threat to the LCK representative. DFM may have challenged T1 at the 2021 World Championship, but that seems nearly impossible at this time. AZE – the representative from the Latin America region – is even less likely to cause an upset.
Similarly to T1, RNG also finds itself in a group that isn’t too challenging. PSG Talon remains a formidable force in the PCS region’s League of Legends. However, after significant losses during the offseason transfer period in 2021, they may struggle to maintain their status and ability to create upsets as they did at the 2021 World Championship. Meanwhile, RED Canids and Istanbul Wildcats simply cannot compare to the LPL representative.
However, for the VCS representative (likely to be Saigon Buffalo), both the international and Vietnamese League of Legends communities expect them to create surprises. In their return to the international arena after two years, the VCS representatives need to perform at their best. This is not only to leave a good impression in the international League of Legends community but also to protect their 2 slots for the World Championship.
MSI 2022 will officially kick off on May 10 and will last for about two weeks, concluding on May 29, with the first matches of the group stage promising many exciting surprises for the audience.