The Play-In stage of Mid-Season Invitational 2025 in Vancouver will excite League of Legends fans throughout the world. The round robin will see four powerhouse teams of G2 Esports, Bilibili Gaming, GAM Esports, and FURIA battling it out for just two spots in the Bracket Stage.
The new Fearless Draft system, along with Patch 25.13, means that unusual picks are more than just a luxury; they are now a necessity. Despite having great credentials and fan following, the established teams will have to contend with fierce determination as well as genuine ambition of the underdogs to prove all the predictions wrong in Vancouver. The Play-In is a great chance to make a statement andmake a statement.
G2 Esports Steps Up When It Matters Most
No talk about international League of Legends tournaments is complete without mentioning G2 Esports.
G2 was defeated by Karmine Corp in the Winter LEC Finals and Movistar KOI in the Spring LEC Finals. Then, how is G2’s image so solid around the world? G2, much like T1, tends to perform similarly well on the international stage under pressure.
G2 Esports’ philosophy matches perfectly with patch 25.13, enabling the dynamic draft to be successful and the pick to be unexpected. G2 has always been very creative in its approaches. In a format where one single pick can change a whole series, this is G2’s biggest strength. G2 are one of the few Western organizations that elite Eastern competitors actually respect on the international stage, be it Rasmus Borregaard Winther digging out an overlooked midlane champion or Rudy Semaan expertly capitalizing on early jungle positioning.
Unlike before, this summer’s G2 is very different. Caps and Sergen Çelik can no longer operate unchallenged within their respective domestically. Also, although SkewMond and Labros Papoutsakis can explode despite lack of experience internationally, they usually find it hard to level.
Yet, G2 has shown fans on numerous occasions that they should never underestimate the team, especially when they have a chance at an experiment. Once Fearless Draft is rolling, MSI 2025 carefully creates the best environment for G2’s strategic creativity.
Bilibili Gaming: Experienced Competitors With an Opportunity for Glory
Bilibili Gaming’s Journey to Vancouver Is in Big Trouble With most of their 2024 roster unchanged, losing star jungler Peng Li-Xun has noticeably shaken up their team dynamic.
The lineup of BLG is still quite strong, with Chen Ze-Bin, Zhuo Ding and a powerful bot lane duo. However, the team has been unable to keep up their flawless execution that used to make them one of the most intimidating rosters in the LPL.
Bilibili Gaming had an impressive international performance in 2024, putting them close to achieving great things. However, every tournament ends without a title, and that chips away at this team’s belief they can truly win championships. BLG has great mechanical skills. But their macro-play is not the greatest. Their lane control is also often lacking at times. Their draft seems inflexible as well. All these qualities have made BLG lose some key series back in their own region.
The Play-In Reset Opportunity
MSI’s Play-In stage might offer just the thing that MSI needs to refocus and make a clean break for bracket. Still, in a competitive field where individual best-of-three series can change everything, BLG must avoid slow tournament starts.
Bilibili’s first big hurdle will come vs. GAM where they must prove their jungler Yang Ling can take down Đỗ Duy Khánhin. A win in the jungle could decide the entire series due to the current patch encouraging jungle players to be as precise and proactive as possible like never before.
GAM Esports who are Strong, Underestimated & Internationally Proven
GAM Esports, the second seed from LCP, doesn’t look very dangerous on paper as they enter MSI 2025. The GAM performed well against the CTBC Flying Oysters in both playoff series, as they kept getting better. Their roster makeup is quite similar to past international campaigns, which indicates stability and competitive experience of the organization.
Many observers have learned to take GAM predictions with a pinch of salt. But, their history shows numerous international upsets, especially against the west. GAM has time and again shown that they flourish when overlooked or underestimated. They have become a quietly lethal competitor who embodies their motto of showing what they are made of.
The current patch promotes aggressive gameplay and a strong draft. GAM shows a good ability to compete with top teams in those areas. The team to mess up the early MSI bracket predictions most likely is LTA second seed.
FURIA: The Passionate Underdogs that Prove Themselves
FURIA is the heaviest underdog for the MSI Play-In stage. The Brazilian organization has to prove many skeptics wrong, not just for their team but also for the new LTA South region which continues to establish its identity as a competitor following recent organisational changes.
The players of FURIA have shown they can play above their expected levels. Guilherme Araújo Ruiz’s aggressive playing style in Top Lane, along with Pedro Seixas’ consistency in Jungle and Arthur Peixoto Machado’s reliable mage performances formed the team identity. FURIA’s strategy revolves around early fights and establishing an early lead. However the issues which come with this playstyle being implemented at MSI are great. Moreover, they will have to deal with the patch requirements.
Turning Patch Challenges into Opportunities
The slower scaling composition meta is reinforced with patch 25.13. Most teams are happy to increase the time spent in-game and position themselves to win in the late game. However, this doesn’t work out nearly as well against FURIA. Their core strength may come in handy in this situation. Through a strong midlane of explosive mages, with signature champions like Tutsz and Guigo’s relentless pressure in the top lane, FURIA has unique capabilities to upset slow compositions as well as early game tempo. FURIA can counter expectations on teams which will play slowly early on if they can take advantage of their opponent’s scaling.
The competitive pressures are also growing with the recent performance of Latin America and Brazil at international tournaments where the two have continually overperformed. The FURIA team takes the last legacy along with the responsibility of proving that LTA South can compete at the highest levels internationally.
The contest on big streaming sites and the official LoL Esports site begins on 27 June by 8:00 PM BST, expected to show what seems to be a fine MSI 2025 Play-Ins.
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