With all six teams decided for the MSI Main Event, teams must now make their final preparations. With the best teams every region has to offer ready to face off, who has the initial edge? Let’s find out and take a look at where each team finds themselves in the MSI main event power rankings!

1.Invictus Gaming

The defending world champions head into the main event of MSI as the best team and likely the favorite to win it all once again. With the meta still favoring aggressive plays, IG should be in their comfort zone against the best that each region has to offer.

Leading the way as always is their unstoppable Korean solo lanes in Top Laner Kang “TheShy” Seung-lok and Mid Laner Song “Rookie” Eui-jin. Helping them get ahead throughout the early stages of the game is Jungler Gao “Ning” Zhen-Ning, who has managed to maintain a consistent level of play throughout the Spring Split. Then when all else fails, the team can still count on the ever-reliable bot lane of ADC Yu “JackeyLove” Wen-Bo and Support Wang “Baolan” Liu-Yi.

With all the star power on this roster, IG looks like the team to beat, whether they win it all remains to be seen. However, with how good the team looked heading into the tournament, they should have the best chance going forward.

2.SK Telecom T1

SK Telecom T1 make their return to an international tournament with their most talented roster. While they would be the clear favorite in the past, a lot has changed since their last international appearance and Korea is no longer the top dogs of the world. SKT has the potential to fix this and it starts now at MSI.

The star of the show, as usual, is Mid Laner Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok who will finally have a chance to go up once again against the likes of Song “Rookie” Eui-jin and Rasmus “Caps” Winther. Backing him up is another god in support Cho “Mata” Se-hyeong who will be looking to avenge his loss to Invictus Gaming at Worlds 2018. Along with them are world class players in Top Laner Kim “Khan” Dong-ha, Jungler Kim “Clid” Tae-min, and ADC Park “Teddy” Jin-seong all of which are looking for their first international trophy.  

With a determined roster heading into MSI, SKT will have a tough road ahead of them. There is some doubt as to whether SKT can compete against the high paced aggressive style of the other regions (China, Europe, etc.). If they’re able to keep up, SKT could bring Korea back to the throne sooner rather than later.

3.G2 Esports

G2 comes into MSI with the most dominant performance in their domestic region. However, G2 could be at a disadvantage as main support Mihael “Mikyx” Mehle may have to sit out due to injury. If Hampus “promisq” Mikael Abrahamsson ends up starting for the team instead, G2 could struggle with the roster change.

If G2 wants to find success regardless of who ends up starting as the Support, it’ll come off the great play of the solo lanes in Top Laner Martin “Wunder” Hansen and Mid Laner Rasmus “Caps” Winther. Along with them, look to Jungler Marcin “Jankos” Jankowski to have a great tournament as well against some of the best Junglers in the world. Finally, with the toughest challenge ahead of him is ADC Luka “Perkz” Perković who will finally have a chance to test himself against world-class ADCs.

While the possibility of having to play without Mikyx could be a huge hit for G2, the team should still have a solid tournament. In the end, how far they go will depend heavily on the individual performances of the players themselves.

4.Team Liquid

After a dominating 3-0 victory over Phong Vũ Buffalo, Team Liquid have made their way into the main event of MSI. Coming into the tournament with their best roster to date, the expectations are high for Team Liquid. Luckily, with a new lineup since their last international appearance at Worlds 2018, the team will have a great chance to have an impressive showing.

The star of the team as always is ADC Yiliang “Peter” “Doublelift” Peng who now has MVP Support Player Jo “CoreJJ” Yong-in backing him up in lane. Meanwhile, the team has another carry in Mid Laner Nicolaj “Jensen” Jensen. Backing them up is Top Laner Jung “Impact” Eon-yeong and Jungler Jake Kevin “Xmithie” Puchero who both remain solid and consistent players in any situation.

While Team Liquid come into the tournament with a great roster, they’re still a borderline playoff team due to the overall strength of the other top teams. While they should still easily make the playoffs, they could be in for a rough time against the likes of Invictus Gaming. Regardless of what happens, a strong showing from Team Liquid could instill some faith and hope back into the region heading into the final half of the season.

5.Flash Wolves

The more things change the more they stay the same, as Taiwan is represented once again by the Flash Wolves. They come into MSI with a very different look as longtime members Huang “Maple” Yi-Tang and Hu “SwordArT” Shuo-Chieh left for China.

While the roster is fairly different it still features some familiar players in Top Laner Su “Hanabi” Chia-Hsiang, ADC Lu “Betty” Yu-Hung and Mid Laner Shin “Rather” Hyeong-seop who is on loan from Griffin. Although the team will rely on their veteran presence to lead them to victory, they’ll still be backed by rookie Support Liu “ShiauC” Chia-Hao and Jungler Lee “Bugi” Seong-yeop.

Even if the expectations are low for the team, Flash Wolves are always capable of having a strong showing and sneaking into the playoffs. Whether they can do it again remains to be seen, but with a roster that’s still fairly talented, it’s hard to count them out right away.

6.Phong Vu Buffalo

Finishing off the power rankings is the final team that made it out of the Play-Ins in Phong Vũ Buffalo. While they had a long road to the main event of MSI, Phong Vũ Buffalo did show once again that Vietnam continues to lead the way as the top region among wildcards.

The star player for this year’s representative of Vietnam is Top Laner Phạm “Zeros” Minh Lộc who has been amazing with his aggressive play style. Along with Zeros, Mid Laner Võ “Naul” Thành Luân and Jungler Hoàng “Meliodas” Tiến Nhật have also been fairly impressive as well. Meanwhile, although their bot lane tandem of ADC Đặng “BigKoro” Ngọc Tài and Support Nguyễn “Palette” Hải Trung have struggled at times, they have been mostly solid during the Play-Ins.   

While Phong Vũ Buffalo will likely miss out on the playoffs, they could affect the standings with a few upsets. Of course, it’ll rely on key players like Zeros to have some great games to do so. Regardless of their overall strength, the other teams can’t sleep on Phong Vũ Buffalo.

To watch League of Legends tournaments, visit watch.na.lolesports.com. For more information on the Split, teams, standings and players, visit www.lolesports.com. Recaps of former weeks and other LoL content can be found at https://thegamehaus.com/league-of-legends/.

Featured image courtesy of LoL Esports Flickr.

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