G2 Esports going to MSI after LEC Winter win, who else will go?

G2 Esports is the first team qualified for MSI 2024 after defeating MAD Lions KOI to win the LEC Winter Split.

G2 is the LEC 2024 Winter champion and has secured its place in the first international event of the year, the Mid-Season Invitational. G2 had a smooth playoffs journey, running through the upper bracket undefeated. MAD was knocked down to the loser’s bracket by Fnatic and threatened to eliminate the team entirely in the third round, but MAD endured and eliminated Team BDS to earn a spot in the finals against G2.

MAD stood its ground against G2, but it all came down to execution. G2 seemingly has the stronger roster of the two teams, and took the championship as a result with a 3-1 score. The finish isn’t ideal for MAD Lions KOI, but the organization dunked on last-place LEC team and short-lived rivals Karmine Corp nearly as hard as it could have.

With this result, G2 Esports is the first team to qualify for MSI 2024. The 2024 LEC Spring Season starts on March 9 and G2 will be looking to secure a group stage start by winning the split. If it fails to do so, it will start from the play-in stage. If G2 Esports wins the LEC Spring Season, the runner-up of the split will qualify as the LEC’s second seed.

MSI 2024 qualification schedule for LCS, LPL, and LCK

Because of the current format, the LEC is the first region to determine its MSI representative with G2 Esports earning a spot by winning the 2024 Winter Split.

MSI 2024 qualification roadmap:

• February 18 (LEC Winter Split winner, G2 Esports)
• March 31 (LCS Spring Split winner, runner-up)
• April 6 (VCS)
• April 6 (LLA)
• April 7 (PCS)
• April 14 (LCK Spring Split winner, runner-up)
• April 14 (LEC Spring Split winner)
• April 20 (CBLOL)
• Unknown (LPL Spring Split winner, runner-up)

The next region to determine its representatives will be the LCS on March 31. The 2024 LCS Spring Split champion qualifies for 2024 MSI as the number one seed while the runner-up takes the second seed and starts in the play-in stage, though fans will only be able to see who comes out on top from home with the cancelation of the roadshow.

The rest of the tournament’s participants will be determined in April. On April 6, the representative from Vietnam’s VCS and the Latin American LLA will be decided. On April 7, the PCS champion will also qualify for MSI 2024. The representatives from the LCK will be confirmed on April 14. The final region to crown a champion is the CBLOL or Brazil, on April 20. The exact dates for the LPL 2024 Spring Split playoffs are yet to be announced.

This year, MSI is more important than ever. The team that wins MSI 2024 will automatically qualify for Worlds. To keep this prize, the winning team must reach the playoffs in the domestic league during its summer split. The MSI runner-up will unlock a fourth seed for its region at Worlds. A single region can receive both benefits if both of its teams make it to the finals, which happened in 2023 with JD Gaming and Bilibili Gaming from the LPL.

MSI 2024 is scheduled to start on May 1 through May 19 in Chengdu, China and while fans know that G2 Esports will be there, it remains to be seen who else will be.