The 2023 Mid-Season Invitational will reportedly take place in London

League of Legends will reportedly return to the UK in 2023 for the first time since the Worlds 2015 quarterfinals with the Mid-Season Invitational London.

The Mid-Season Invitational is reportedly scheduled to take place in the capital of England next year, according to a report from Esports News today. Although the event hasn’t been confirmed in every detail, multiple reports close to the publication indicate that the event will most likely be held in London. According to reports, OVO Arena Wembley, formerly known as SSE Arena and capable of accommodating 12,500 spectators, may host the 2023 MSI.

The MSI, which has a prize pool of $250,000, is the second-largest international competition in League’s ecosystem after the World Championship. A number of other countries have also hosted MSI events in recent years, including Brazil, France, Germany, Iceland, Vietnam, and China. The Chinese behemoth Royal Never Give Up won the tournament’s most recent iteration, which took place in Busan, Korea, after defeating the formidable Korean team T1 in the championship match. 

If the reports are accurate, the Mid-Season Invitational London will bring League of Legends back to the UK in 2023 for the first time since 2015. The last event that happened in London was the 2015 World Championship quarterfinals. OVO Arena Wembley was the venue of the event, which was covered by BBC, the country’s national broadcaster. Although there haven’t been many League of Legends tournaments held in the United Kingdom, the nation is home to a number of well-known players in the scene, including former Vitality star Barney ‘Alphari’ Morris, MAD Lions coach James ‘Mac’ MacCormack, and broadcaster Andy ‘Vedius’ Day. 

Esports events booming again in the U.K.

London’s esports scene has been dormant since the Covid-19 outbreak, with only a handful of events being hosted over the past two years. Before covid, London had hosted a number of significant esports competitions, including the Clash Royale Crown Championship finals in 2017, the Rocket League World Championship, and CSGO FaceIT London Major in 2018. However, after a protracted absence, esports action made a spectacular return to London with the RLCS 2022 Spring Championship, which took place at the Copper Box Arena.

After receiving harsh criticism for the tournament’s structure from fans who found it uninteresting, Riot Games announced in November that modifications to the Mid-Season Invitational format and the Worlds format would both be implemented in 2023. The modifications are expected to take effect in January 2023, the start of the LEC Winter split, but no specifics have been released as of yet.

Header: Riot Games