MEET THE TEAMS

1907 Fenerbahçe Espor did a complete roster overhaul for 2019, resulting in their first TCL championship title since 2017. They breezed through Playoffs, with two 3-0 victories, including a win against Bahçeşehir SuperMassive, who have represented Turkey at three previous Mid-Season Invitationals. Now, it will be on 1907 Fenerbahçe Espor to prove that Turkey is still one of the strongest emerging regions on the international stage. They have a different playstyle compared to the other teams from the TCL, who are primarily mid and bot lane focused. The majority of 1907 Fenerbahçe’s damage output comes from their top laner Ruin, and jungler Kirei. The two put on strong performances in the later half of the split, helping earn the team a 20-match win streak. It’s a win streak they’ll be hoping continues at MSI.

DetonatioN FocusMe completely dominated the LJL Spring Split, only dropping a single game in the Regular Season for a 20-1 record. They continued this level of play in the Finals, with an easy 3-0 victory over Unsold Stuff Gaming, for their second consecutive title and first trip to the Mid-Season Invitational. Their key players are mid laner Ceros and ADC Yutapon, who flex on opposing teams with their huge champion pools. Ceros played Heimerdinger six times during the season, with Yutapon picking champions such as Vladimir, Nunu, Karthus, and even Mordekaiser. It’s this flexibility which enables them to pull off a wide variety of strategies, and teams will underestimate them at their own peril.

INTZ e-Sports Club is historically the most dominant team in the CBLoL. They’ve lifted the championship trophy four times and have attended multiple international tournaments as a result. Despite this pedigree, they came into the 2019 Summer Split Finals as underdogs against rivals Flamengo, who had gone 20-1 in the Regular Season. However, the Intrépidos, as the INTZ players are known, went to the stage ready to fight and pulled off a 3-2 upset. One of the team’s biggest strengths is Shini, their jungler, who creates openings in the early game to put his team ahead and makes space for Envy, their mid laner, to dominate his lane opponent and use that pressure to roam elsewhere on the map. After a quiet few years internationally, this CBLoL team will be looking to make their mark at this year's Mid-Season Invitational.

Isurus Gaming have been crowned champions in the inaugural season of Latin America’s unified championship. The Argentinian sharks made big roster changes in the offseason, signing both Seiya and Oddie to pair with Buggax, Warangelus and Slow, getting the best of Latam North and Latam South in one team. Despite being the closest thing to a Latin American super-team, they were slow to start in the Regular Season, ending in fourth place. Isurus Gaming then slogged their way through the Playoffs to face Rainbow7 in the Finals. Against their former team, Oddie and Seiya led Isurus to a 3-1 victory, and booked their tickets to Vietnam.

MEGA Esports breezed through the Thailand National Qualifier and took the LST Spring Major by storm, not dropping a single game on their road to the Mid-Season Invitational. The team is built around a core of former Ascension Gaming players and regional heavyweights in Lloyd, G4, and Rockky, who are no strangers to the international stage. They have been at the top of their region for years, attending multiple Mid-Season Invitationals and World Championships. They’re rounded out by Korean imports Jjun, Pop, and veteran coach Bigfafa, who will be looking to continue this unbeaten run when they travel to Vietnam for the Play-In Stage.

Invictus Gaming, the reigning World Champions, enter the Mid-Season Invitational with an identical roster that we saw rise to the top of Worlds 2018. It wasn’t smooth sailing for them to get to MSI, though. After Worlds, the team lost motivation. Their coach departed and the dominance of iG in the LPL waned. But with the signing of a new coach, and a recovery of their performance, iG gradually climbed back up to their World Championship form, defeating JD Gaming 3-0 in the Finals to claim their first ever LPL Championship. Rookie and TheShy, iG's solo laners, are arguably the best at this year's MSI, and as a team they are known for shortest, bloodiest games in the LPL. Whenever they step on stage, expect fireworks. At MSI, Invictus Gaming will be chasing the last major championship missing from their trophy case.

Flash Wolves are so synonymous with the LMS it’s almost hard to imagine another team representing the region on the international stage. Since Spring 2016, they have won every LMS championship and absolutely dominated the region. Yet, with the departure of star players SwordArt and Maple, there were question marks about whether Flash Wolves could continue their championship streak. They signed two Korean players, Rather from the highly talented LCK team Griffin, and Bugi. This created communication issues for the squad over the course of the Regular Season, resulting in a second place finish. But in the Playoffs, the Flash Wolves found their voice and the traditional “Underwolves” of the team, Betty and Hanabi, stepped up, helping the Wolves earn the LMS championship trophy for the seventh straight time.