After announcing the postponement of the Mid-Season Invitational back in February, Riot Games has now announced that the tournament will be played in July.

Details on MSI’s location has yet to be made known, but Riot says it will “remain flexible given how much the COVID-19 situation has impacted international travel and live events for nearly every sports and entertainment property.”

Credit: Riot Games

To minimize the impact on ongoing professional leagues, Riot Games also announced that Summer Splits will begin prior to MSI.

These are the start dates of Summer Split 2020 for the respective regions:

  • Oceania Pro League (OPL) – May 15th
  • Vietnamese Championship Series (VCS) – May 15th
  • League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) – May 16th
  • Turkish Champions League (TCL) – May 16th
  • LoL Champions Korea (LCK) – May 20th
  • League of Legends European Championship (LEC) – May 22nd
  • Campeonato Brasileiro League of Legends (CBLOL) – May 23rd
  • LoL Pro League (LPL) – May 23rd
  • Pacific Championship Series (PCS) – May 30th
  • Latin America League (LLA) – May 30th
  • League of Legends Japan League (LJL) – May 31st
  • League of Legends Continental League (LCL) – June 6th

The coronavirus situation has already delayed the Spring Split for major leagues like the LPL, which has since resumed online on March 9, and caused the LCK to be postponed indefinitely after Spring Split round one.



LEC’s Spring 2020 finals location have had to be moved from Budapest, Hungary to a smaller location in the LEC studio in Berlin due to safety concerns.

With the Summer Split moved up, the break in between Spring and Summer Splits is reduced. Teams that qualify for MSI 2020 will have to deal with a tight schedule as they will have to play through the Summer Split before travelling to the tournament.

Credit: Aloysius Low/ONE Esports

MSI 2019 was played in three cities in Asia. The play-in stage was held in Ho Chi Minh City, the group stage in Hanoi, and knockout stage in Taipei, Taiwan.

Riot Games has also announced that Rift Rivals, an inter-regional competition held during Summer Split will be canceled entirely. The decision was made based on feedback received from teams and players.

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