League Of Legends: Teams With The Best Chance To Win MSI
The Mid-Season Invitational is the second-largest League of Legends event of the year behind the World Championships. However, MSI is even more exclusive than worlds in the number of teams that are allowed to participate. Only the Spring Split champions from each region are allowed to participate in the event.
To guess a team's likelihood to win MSI this year, it's important to factor in both the team's strength and the likelihood that they'll even make it to MSI. Some teams may be stronger than others, but if they're the fourth-best team in their team, they aren't likely to even make it to MSI, let alone win it.
Rogue used to be known as a team that would play fairly passively until the late game, and rely on their incredible team fighting to overwhelm their opponents. However, their new jungler, Kim "Malrang" Geun-Seong, has invigorated them with early ganks and aggressive plays that have elevated the team to a new level. Rogue now sits as one of the top two teams in Europe.
Unfortunately, Europe seems much weaker as a region than in previous years, and Rogue would be unlikely to beat the Chinese and Korean teams they'd be facing at MSI. There's also the question of if they can even make it to MSI, as the dominant Fnatic still stands in their way of a title.
For all of spring, two teams have stood atop North America as the titans. One of those teams is C9 and their star mid-laner, Ibrahim "Fudge" Allami, who has played everything from enchanters like the lovable Ivern to burst mages like the genius League of Legends inventor, Viktor. Fudge and the other C9 players had a tough final week of the regular season, but they're still one of two favorites to win the title this spring.
While C9 has a good shot at the North American title, NA is considered almost unanimously to be the fourth strongest region. This C9 roster has the potential to make some noise, but without their former star coach, LS, the team is unlikely to make it over the hurdle.
The other dominant team in North America, Team Liquid, ended one game ahead of C9 in the regular-season standings. TL and C9's odds of winning the title seem similar at a glance, and the two titans each took a game off the other in their spring split meetings.
While the two North American powerhouses seem equal in skill, TL has something else going for them that C9 doesn't. Gabriël "Bwipo" Rau, TL's top laner, has proven himself to be arguably the most knowledgeable player in the entire game. With Bwipo's leadership and the overwhelming experience of the entire roster, TL can upset teams from other regions that seem superior in talent.
Gen.G's star mid-laner, Jeong "Chovy" Ji-Hoon, is certainly one of the League of Legends players fans should keep their eye on. Chovy has been one of the best players in Korea for years, and this Gen.G team is loaded with talent and arguably his best roster ever.
If Gen.G can make it to MSI, they'll likely be the favorites to win it all. However, standing in their way of a domestic title in Korea is the undefeated T1. Despite all their talent, Gen.G defeating T1 would be a massive upset, so it seems unlikely that Chovy and company will make it to MSI at all.
A victory over bitter League of Legends rival, G2, sent Fnatic straight to finals weekend in Europe. The team is looking like the most dominant team Europe has to offer, and their support, Zdravets "Hylissang" Galabov, and bot laner, Elias "Upset" Lipp, have been the strongest bot duo all season and show no signs of slowing down.
Europe has won MSI before, and it seems like they have the potential to do it again with Fnatic. They won't be the favorites by any means if they make it to MSI, but there's a good chance that they'll be there and that they'll give any team a run for their money.
Back with a previous roster, RNG was able to secure their very first MSI trophy. Now, only one player remains from the previous roster: Li "Xiaohu" Yuan-Ho. Thanks to Xiaohu, who has swapped from mid lane to top lane and then back to mid in the last few years, RNG now sits second in the Chinese standings. With a real shot at claiming the title once more, it seems plausible that Xiaohu and RNG could end the split with their second MSI title.
Whichever Chinese team makes it to MSI, they'll likely be the team predicted to finish in second place. However, neither of the two Korean teams remaining are completely infallible, and RNG still has a chance to take the crown.
When people talk about the greatest LoL players of all time, Song "Rookie" Eui-jin is usually placed in the top five. Not too long ago, V5 was one of the only teams in LPL history to have 0 wins in the regular season. Now, the revamped roster sits in 1st place among the Chinese teams with a dominant 14-2 record. Their top laner, Lee "Rich" Jae-won, originally just known for his Aatrox, has branched out and had strong performances on other traditional competitive champions, like Gnar and Arcane powerhouse, Jayce.
V5 is certainly the favorite to take home the trophy in China, and they would potentially be favored over Korea's Gen.G in a best of five. However, even for a powerhouse like V5, there's one team that stands above them.
When most people debate the greatest player in a game, there's often some debate. Michael Jordan or LeBron James? Federer, Nadal, or Djokovic? For League of Legends, there is no debate: Lee "Faker" Sang-Hyeok is unanimously considered the best player ever. Faker and T1 are household names in Korea, and their current team might be the greatest they've ever produced. After being the first team to ever go undefeated in the regular season, T1 dismantled their playoff opponents to make it to the finals.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that three of T1's starting five are the best players in the world at their position: Faker Lee "Gumayusi" Min-Hyeong and spring split MVP Ryo "Keria" Min-Seok have both proven they're levels above the competition. If Faker were to win MSI, it would be his sixth international title and his tenth Korean championship. Both are accolades that would further cement his legacy and title as the "Unkillable Demon King."