The League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational (LoL MSI) is in full swing with the Bracket Stage getting underway.
Strong teams from every region are about to compete in two weeks of brutal best-of-fives.
There’s no break in this format so Pick’Ems have to be locked in by 1:15am BST July 2nd before G2 Esports face Gen.G.
With that in mind, here is a breakdown of the first MSI match-ups and who is favourite to win the whole tournament.
LoL MSI Bracket Stage Round 1 preview
Following the Play-Ins, G2 Esports barely made it to the LoL MSI Bracket Stage along with the dominant Bilibili Gaming.
Which meant the impressive FURIA and GAM Esports teams were heartbreakingly eliminated.
That leaves MSI with just eight teams remaining and some very exciting match-ups:
- Gen.G vs G2 Esports
- Anyone’s Legends vs FlyQuest
- CTBC Flying Oyster vs T1 Esports
- Movistar KOI vs Bilibili Gaming
Gen.G vs G2 is a horrible draw for the latter as their reward for Play-Ins qualification is the tournament favourites.
While there was no official trophy or title in South Korea this split, Gen.G are considered the LCK’s top seeds.
And they are understandably feared considering they put up a perfect 18-0 undefeated record in Rounds 1-2 before beating Hanwha Life 3-2.
The next match-up is one the type everyone wants to see at international tournaments.
China’s LPL champions, Anyone’s Legend, will face LTA North champions FlyQuest from North America.
AL are the surpirse story of the season, attending their first ever international event after an exceptional split in the LPL.
They will be heavily favoured in this series, but FlyQuest are in excellent form and proved they can hang with the world’s best teams after forcing Gen.G to five games at last year’s World Championships.
LCP champions CTBC Flying Oyster proved they are a fearsome team at First Stand earlier this year.
However, they lost their only match against Korean opposition then and will likely struggle against reigning World Champions T1 Esports and Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeuk.
Finally, LEC champions Movistar KOI were very impressive in the Playoffs but EMEA teams have struggled internationally in recent years.
Still, MKOI can cause upsets with Javier ‘Elyoya’ Prades Batalla one of the LoL MSI 2025 players to watch.
They’re going to be a difficult team to judge until we see their first series, which is against BLG.
BLG thrashed the other LEC representatives, G2, 3-0 in the Play-Ins and already have momentum.
Playing in the Play-Ins usually ends up being an advantage with extra experience, so don’t be surprised if BLG go far at MSI.
Who will win LoL MSI 2025?
According to LoL betting sites, the LCK’s Gen.G are tournament favourites and the safest bet for Pick’Ems.
Next in the odds is fellow LCK team T1, which is understandable given the five-time World Champions’ international record.
However, T1 have had a bumpy and drama-filled year so they aren’t as safe a pick as you may think.
The LPL’s AL are a real team to watch and one that Gen.G’s coaches have said are the squad they fear the most.
And as mentioned earlier, the Play-Ins may give BLG additional experience on this patch may just be what the team needed.
With star players like Zhuo ‘Knight’ Ding, BLG are a great outsider shout for a riskier Pick’Ems prediction.
And if you want to stay loyal to Western teams, FlyQuest or MKOI really have to be the choice.
G2 could surpirse if the Play-Ins games helped them fix their issues.
But MKOI and FlyQuest are the teams who feel likely to cause an upset.
In my seven years of esports writing, I’ve introuduced esports coverage to newspapers, interviewed some of the biggest names in the industry, and driven viewers mad with the puns in my YouTube scripts. I’m most proud of the latter.