The Play-In Stage looks exciting.

The Mid-Season Invitational 2023 is exactly a week away, starting from May 2 - 21 in the Copper Box Arena in London, England. And for the first time in MSI history, it will now feature 13 teams in the mix, a step up from the 11 teams that competed last year. This season's MSI also features a brand-new format without a group stage; in its place is the play-in stage before teams move on to the bracket stage.

This year's MSI not only has two extra contestants this time round, but it also features additional teams from some of the biggest regions. Regions like the LCK, LPL, LCS, and LEC now get two slots each whilst the rest of the regions will have to contend with one. This includes the likes of the VCS, PCS, LJL, CBLOL, and LLA.

The respective winners of the LPL, LCS, LEC (Spring only), LCK, and the LCK runner-up (awarded for winning Worlds 2022) will start from the bracket stage while the other eight teams will start from the play-in stage. The team that won the LEC Winter Split will join the runner-ups from the LPL and LCS alongside the smaller regions.

Confirmed Teams for MSI

Bracket Stage teams

 Cloud9 (LCS)

Gen.G (LCK)

 JD Gaming (LPL)

 MAD Lions (LEC)

T1 (LCK)

Play-In Stage teams

Bilibili Gaming (LPL)

DetonatioN FocusMe (LJL)

G2 Esports (LEC)

GAM Esports (VCS)

Golden Guardians (LCS)

LOUD (CBLOL)

PSG Talon (PCS)

Movistar R7 (LLA)

After the conclusion of the LEC Spring Split finals, which saw MAD Lions reverse-sweep Team BDS, the MSI draw show began by pitting the eight play-in stage teams against one another in a double-elimination best-of-three bracket. All eight teams were split into two groups of four with Group A featuring Bilibili Gaming, Movistar R7, Golden Guardians, and GAM Esports. As for Group B, it will have G2 Esports, LOUD, PSG Talon, and Detonation FocusMe.

Here is how the play-in stage will look like in the first five days of MSI:

Much like previous iterations, it is the play-in stage teams that will be playing more matches to qualify for the next round. It will also feature some never-before-seen matchups that include many of these teams facing one another for the first time. Teams in the play-in stage will have to win two games in a row to qualify.

Only two teams from the upper bracket are capable of qualifying, essentially one from each group. As for the teams that get dropped to the lower bracket, they will have to fight tooth and nail for one final qualification spot in the bracket stage. This will see three teams join the five bracket stage teams for multiple best-of-fives in a double-elimination system to determine who will reach the grand finals.

Here is what the schedule for the first two days of MSI 2023 looks like:

Multiple teams will also be making their debut at MSI 2023 this year, which includes one of the LCK's top teams, Gen.G Esports. Having recently secured its second LCK regional title, this will be Gen.G's first-ever appearance at MSI. The same can also be said for CBLOL's LOUD, the LCS' Golden Guardians, as well as both the LPL's Bilibili Gaming and JD Gaming.

With MSI just a week away, the excitement is palpable, especially for many of the new teams that will be making their debuts at Riot Games' first annual LAN event. Be sure to catch all the action next week on the official Riot Games Twitch channel.