Source: LCK

Riot Games announced that the 2026 Mid-Season Invitational (MSI), held at the Daejeon Convention Center (DCC) Exhibition Hall 2 in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, will begin on Sunday the 28th with a match between T1 and Team Liquid.

Now in its 12nd year, the MSI is an international League of Legends esports tournament where 11 teams from six regions—Korea (LCK), China (LPL), EMEA (LEC), North America (LCS), Asia Pacific (LCP), and Brazil (CBLOL)—compete to determine the best region. Following the LCK MSI qualifiers held from the 12nd to the 14th, Hanwha Life Esports and T1 secured their spots to compete against global powerhouses in the Daejeon-hosted tournament.

T1 holds the record for the most MSI appearances globally. They represented the LCK in the inaugural 2015 MSI, finishing as runners-up, and claimed back-to-back titles in 2016 and 2017. After missing out on MSI from 2018 to 2021, T1 finished as runners-up in Busan in 2022, took third place in 2023 and 2024, and reached the finals in 2025, where they narrowly lost 2-3 to Gen.G in a full set.

Since lifting the trophy in 2017, T1 has gone eight years without an MSI title. While they have finished in the top three in every appearance since, their performance is often considered to have fallen short of expectations compared to their six World Championship titles.

The Play-In stage features the second seeds from four regions, excluding the LPL, which earned a direct spot in the Bracket stage by winning the First Stand. T1 will compete against LCS representative Team Liquid (TL), LEC representative Karmine Corp (KC), and LCP representative Deep Cross Gaming (DCG), starting with their opening match against Team Liquid on Sunday, the 28th. While T1 is favored to advance through the Play-In stage, they cannot afford to be complacent, as all three opponents have fought through intense competition in their respective regions to reach the MSI stage.

The Play-In stage will run for four consecutive days from Sunday, the 28th, to Wednesday, July 1st. The four teams will compete in a double-elimination format, with only the winner of the final match advancing to the Bracket stage. The Play-In stage will be played as a best-of-five series using the Fearless Draft format.

The 2026 MSI can be watched via the official LoL esports website and the LCK YouTube channel. Fans watching through the official website will receive drops, including the Yuumi-themed 'Duck!' and Renekton-themed 'No Running!' icons, and special events will be held in collaboration with partners such as Opera GX, Secretlab, and Coinbase.