There will only be 11 teams at the 2021 League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational in Iceland. We were supposed to see 12 teams represented at this tournament, but COVID restrictions meant that VCS champions GAM Esports were unable to travel to Reykjavik for the event.
They will be missed as teams from Vietnam have made a name for themselves at this competition.
2021 Mid-Season Invitational Odds
DWG Kia -200
Royal Never Give Up +160
MAD Lions +1300
Cloud9 +1600
PSG Talon +3000
Unicorns of Love +5000
Istanbul Wild Cats +9000
Pain Gaming +10000
Detonation FocusMe +15000
Infinity Esports +25000
Pentanet.GG +30000
It’s rare to see a team be an odds-on favorite coming into a major international tournament. However, DWG Kia certainly deserve the honor. They are the reigning World Champions, they were the best team in Korea during the Spring Split, and they swept both Hanwha Life Esports and Gen.G in the LCK Spring Split Playoffs to earn their place at MSI.
Canyon, ShowMaker, and Beryl can all make a case for being the best player in the world at their positions. Most pundits agree that Canyon is easily the best jungler, as he is constantly getting ahead and then getting his teammates ahead in their lanes. ShowMaker hasn’t been as dynamic in the mid lane as Chovy and others, but he does an excellent job controlling his lane and pushing his team over the top in team fights. Beryl is an S-Tier support that is a playmaker, and he can completely throw opponents off kilter by playing Heimerdinger.
The only team with a legitimate chance of knocking off DWG Kia is Royal Never Give Up. The LPL champions are finally back on the international stage after taking a backseat to new titans in China for the last two years. RNG no longer have Uzi, but they have two familiar faces in Xiaohu and Ming.
Xiaohu made the move to top lane from the mid lane prior to the start of the split. That move has paid huge dividends, as he quickly became a top lane talent to be feared in the region. This allowed Cryin to take over in the mid lane.
Ming has been RNG’s support since early 2017. He is one of the longest tenured support players in the world, and he has a wealth of experience to draw from at this tournament.
For the first time ever, neither Fnatic nor G2 Esports are representing Europe at MSI. Instead, the MAD Lions are the current champions of Europe after knocking off both G2 and Rogue multiple times in the Spring Split Playoffs.
MAD Lions came alive in the playoffs with Elyoya playing well in the jungle and Armut outperforming all expectations in the top lane. The bottom lane did enough, and Humanoid was solid in the mid lane to give the MAD Lions their first ever LEC title. However, it’s hard to be too bullish on this team’s chances since there will be a meta change, and MAD Lions don’t have the same proven talent as the other three teams from major regions.
Although it’s clear that the LCS is the weakest of the four major regions, Cloud9 will likely outperform MAD Lions at MSI. They have the misfortune of being drawn into a group with DWG Kia, so C9 will likely finish second in Group C. However, they have two extremely proven players in former G2 stars Perkz and Zven.
Vulcan is a quality support too, but the keys will be Blaber and Fudge. Blaber could surprise and be one of the best junglers at MSI, while Fudge just needs to hold his own in the top lane.
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