In March, long ago, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Riot cancelled the spring season of the League of Legends European Championship, as well as the League Championship Series and all games of the Academy, and the Spring Finals format has been changed. It was announced today that the Mid-Season Invitational, the second largest tournament on the LoL calendar after the World Championships, will also be canceled.

"The Global League of Legends Esports team has been working hard over the past few months to adapt to these changes, support our regional leagues in their successful transition to online competition, and maintain our next big international tournament, the Mid-Season Invitational. The Mid-Season Invitational is the next big international tournament. One result of this hard work was the decision to postpone the MSI from May to July in hopes that the crisis will fade, travel restrictions will ease, and we can deliver an outstanding MSI," wrote John Needham, Riot's global head of LoL esports

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"However, based on modeling by our external risk advisors, it seems highly unlikely that either the global spread/impact of COVID-19, or travel restrictions and public assembly policies in response to the crisis, will be significantly mitigated by MSI's currently scheduled dates (July 3-19) . Based on this model, as well as input from health authorities, local governments, regional leagues and teams, travel experts, and other stakeholders, we have made the difficult decision not to host the MSI in 2020. We believe this decision was necessary to ensure the health and safety of our athletes, teams, crews, partners, media, and fans."[7

Riot's regional leagues will continue to operate, and Needham said that pulling the plug on MSI now will allow Riot to return to its original Summer Split schedule, which it was forced to change when it postponed the event from May to July in March. Riot is now looking to "support and amplify" regional play and is also evaluating the possibility of holding "alternative events and activities."

The move will also allow Riot to focus on the 2020 World Championships, which will be held this fall in Shanghai, China. This year's event will mark the 10th anniversary of League of Legends esports, and Needham said Riot is "fully committed to providing the biggest spectacle ever" to celebrate it.

Due to MSI's cancellation, Riot has made a number of changes to the seeding process for 2020 Worlds, with some leagues receiving additional seeding. This year's seeding order will look like this:

More details on this year's big event, including the actual dates, will be announced when it gets closer.