League of Legends: Riot Games Cancels the 2020 Mid-Season Invitational

Unfortunately, League of Legends fans won't be able to watch MSI this year.

Today, John Needham, Global Head of Esports for Riot Games confirmed that this year's Mid-Season Invitational has been canceled. This year has been a crazy ride for everyone, and the world of esports is no exception. Though LoL Esports leagues around the world moved to an online format, the question of MSI's fate hung in the balance for a while.

With no real end in sight to the worldwide pandemic, this option is the best for all involved. “We believe this decision was necessary to ensure the health and safety of the players, teams, crew, partners, media, and fans,” Needham elaborated in the announcement.

Now, teams will instead go straight into their Summer Splits. Here, they will fight for their spots in the World Championship, as is tradition. An accompanying announcement detailed the seeding and distribution for the World Championship. It is as follows:

LPL (China), LEC (Europe): 4 Teams each
LCK (Korea), LCS (North America): 3 Teams each
PCS (Southeast Asia), VCS (Vietnam): 2 Teams each
CBLOL (Brazil), TCL (Turkey), LJL (Japan), LLA (Latin America), OPL (Oceania), LCL (Commonwealth of Independent States): 1 Team each

Other details about Worlds are set to be revealed at a later date. But, with all the uncertainty in the world right now, its fate may be threatened too. The World Championship is by far the biggest event LoL Esports has to offer and its cancellation would be devastating. Although we can't watch the best teams in the world battle at MSI this year, we'll hold out hope for Worlds instead.