TL;DR

• MSI 2017 is going to São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on April 28 – May 21.
• Worlds 2017 is heading to China including Wuhan, Guangzhou, and Shanghai from September 23 – October 29.
• At the Finals on November 4, we’ll be crowning our new World Champions from the Beijing National Stadium aka the Bird’s Nest.
• Starting this year, all 13 professional LoL Leagues will participate at MSI and Worlds.

The Future of International Competitive Events

In 2017, we’ll be breaking new ground as we bring the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) to Brazil and the League of Legends World Championship (Worlds) to China. MSI and Worlds represent the pinnacles of League of Legends international competition. This year we’re expanding these tournaments to be more inclusive of all regions, as well as to give fans an opportunity to see their teams compete against the best in the world and earn their place amongst them.  

Retiring International Wildcard (IWC)

Starting this year, all 13 regions will participate at MSI and Worlds 2017. We’ll be retiring International Wildcard-exclusive events and will no longer use the IWC classification.

New seeding

For MSI and Worlds, we’ll be awarding seeds based on previous competitive results including MSI 2015, Worlds 2015, MSI 2016, and Worlds 2016.

New tournament stage: the Play-In

We’ll be expanding the tournament format of both MSI and Worlds to accommodate all regions with a new phase, the Play-In Stage. This new stage will happen before the Group Stage. The Play-In Stage format and participating teams will vary for MSI and Worlds.

New MSI implications for Worlds

In addition to the top 4 regions at MSI claiming the top 4 seeds at Worlds (similar to 2016), the top performing region out of BR, CIS, JPN, LAN, LAS, OCE, SEA, and TUR will earn an additional seed at Worlds.

MSI 2017

The 2017 Mid-Season Invitational is heading to Brazil, home to a thriving competitive scene and passionate fan base. Below is the schedule and outline of cities we’ll be visiting across Brazil:

• Play-In Stage: April 28-May 1, May 3-4, and May 6 at the CBLOL Studio in São Paulo
• Group Stage: May 10-14 at the Jeunesse Arena (formerly Rio Arena) in Rio de Janeiro
• Knockout Stage: May 19-21 at the Jeunesse Arena (formerly Rio Arena) in Rio de Janeiro

Worlds 2017

We’re bringing the 2017 World Championship to China for the first time.  Here’s where we’ll be traveling as the top teams face-off for the Summoner’s Cup:

• Play-In: September 23-26 + September 28-29 at Wuhan Sports Center Gymnasium in Wuhan, China
• Group Stage: October 5-8 + October 12-15 at Wuhan Sports Center Gymnasium in Wuhan, China
• Quarterfinals: October 19-22 at the Guangzhou Gymnasium in Guangzhou, China
• Semifinals: October 28-29 at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center in Shanghai, China
• Finals: November 4 at the Beijing National Stadium (Bird’s Nest) in Beijing, China