The upcoming Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) will mark a significant change in League of Legends esports history. For the first time, the MSI 2023 Play-In stage, the primary stage of the tournament, will consist of best-of-three matches, a departure from the best-of-one format used in previous years.

Here’s the new MSI format explained in detail.

This year’s MSI will feature eight teams from different parts of the world, all competing in one venue in London, United Kingdom. The teams are divided into two brackets, Group A featuring Bilibili Gaming, Movistar R7, Golden Guardians, and GAM Esports, and Group B featuring G2 Esports, LOUD, PSG Talon, and DetonatioN FocusMe.

Only the top two teams from each group and the winner of the LCQ match will advance to the bracket stage, where the competition will intensify. With this new format, who will rise to the challenge and emerge victorious?



MSI 2023 Play-In stage schedule, standing, and results

Play-In Stage standings

GROUP AGROUP B
Bilibili Gaming (2-0)G2 Esports (2-0)
Golden Guardians (3-1)PSG Talon (2-2)
Movistar R7 (1-2)LOUD (1-1)
GAM Esports (0-2)⁠DetonatioN FocusMe (0-2)

Play-In Stage schedule and results

The MSI 2023 Play-In stage will take place from May 2 to May 7.

Matches start at 5 a.m. PST | 12 p.m. GMT | 8 p.m. GMT+8 during weekdays and an hour earlier at 4 a.m. PST | 11 a.m. GMT | 7 p.m. GMT+8 on weekend dates.

MSI 2023 draw results for play-in stage
Credit: LoL Esports

May 2

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
DetonatioN FocusMe0 — 2PSG Talon
LOUD0 — 2G2 Esports

May 3

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
Movistar R70 — 2Bilibili Gaming
GAM Esports0 — 2Golden Guardians

May 4

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
Bilibili Gaming2 — 1Golden Guardians
G2 Esports2 — 0PSG Talon

Bilibili Gaming and G2 Esports qualify for the MSI 2023 bracket stage.

May 5

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
Movistar R72 — 1GAM Esports
LOUD2 — 0DetonatioN FocusMe

GAM Esports and DetonatioN FocusMe have been eliminated.

May 6

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
Golden Guardians2 — 0Movistar R7
PSG Talon2 – 0LOUD

Movistar R7 and PSG Talon have been eliminated.

May 7

TEAMRESULTSTEAM
Golden Guardians3 — 0PSG Talon

Golden Guardians qualifies for the Bracket stage while PSG Talon have been eliminated.


League of Legends fans can catch all MSI 2023 matches live on Riot Games’ official channels on Twitch and YouTube.

READ MORE: MSI 2023: Schedule, results, standings, format, teams, where to watch