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SK Telecom T1 Overview
The 2016 Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) was held in Shanghai, China. It is often remembered as one of the most turbulent international tournaments in history, featuring the "Vacation" narrative for Europe, a miracle run by North America's CLG, and SKT T1 recovering from a disastrous Group Stage to assert dominance when it mattered most.
Tournament Structure
- Double Round Robin Group Stage.
- Each team plays every other team twice (Total 10 games per team).
- All Group Stage matches are Best-of-one (Bo1).
- Top 4 teams advance to the Knockout Stage.
- Knockout Stage matches are Best-of-five (Bo5).
Regional Stakes
This was the first MSI where results directly influenced the World Championship. The top 4 regions at MSI secured the top 4 seeds for the Worlds Group Draw.
Prize Pool
The $450,000 USD prize pool is distributed as follows:
| Place | Prize | % | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🏆1st | $250,000 | 55.6% | SK Telecom T1 |
| 🥈2nd | $100,000 | 22.2% |  Counter Logic Gaming |
| 🥉3-4 | $50,000 | 11.1% |  Royal Never Give Up |
| 🥉3-4 | $50,000 | 11.1% |  Flash Wolves |
| 5 | - | - |  G2 Esports |
| 6 | - | - |  SuperMassive Esports |
Participating Teams
The listed role-labeled lineups are the teams that attended MSI 2016.
- SK Telecom T1 KR
SK Telecom T1 KR
- TOP
- Duke
- JNG
- Blank
- MID
- Faker
- BOT
- Bang
- SUP
- Wolf
LCK Spring champion
- Royal Never Give Up CN
Royal Never Give Up CN
- TOP
- Looper
- JNG
- Mlxg
- MID
- Xiaohu
- BOT
- wuxx
- SUP
- Mata
LPL Spring champion
- Counter Logic Gaming NA
Counter Logic Gaming NA
- TOP
- Darshan
- JNG
- Xmithie
- MID
- Huhi
- BOT
- Stixxay
- SUP
- Aphromoo
NA LCS Spring champion
- G2 Esports EU
G2 Esports EU
- TOP
- Kikis
- JNG
- Trick
- MID
- PerkZ
- BOT
- Emperor
- SUP
- Hybrid
EU LCS Spring champion
- Flash Wolves LMS
Flash Wolves LMS
- TOP
- MMD
- JNG
- Karsa
- MID
- Maple
- BOT
- NL
- SUP
- SwordArt
LMS Spring champion
- SuperMassive Esports IWC
SuperMassive Esports IWC
- TOP
- fabFabulous
- JNG
- Stomaged
- MID
- Naru
- BOT
- Achuu
- SUP
- Dumbledoge
International Wildcard Invitational winner
Results: Group Stage
Narrative: The Group Stage was defined by chaos. RNG dominated at home, CLG performed above all expectations, and SKT slumped to a 4-game losing streak mid-tournament before stabilizing. Flash Wolves proved to be SKT's "Kryptonite" by defeating them 2-0.
| # | Team | W-L | % | Str |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Royal Never Give Up | 8 - 2 | 80% | 1L |
| 2 | Counter Logic Gaming | 7 - 3 | 70% | 3W |
| 3 | Flash Wolves | 6 - 4 | 60% | 1W |
| 4 | SK Telecom T1 | 6 - 4 | 60% | 4W |
| 5 | G2 Esports | 2 - 8 | 20% | 3L |
| 6 | SuperMassive Esports | 1 - 9 | 10% | 6L |
| RNG | CLG | FW | SKT | G2 | SUP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RNG | 1-1 | 2-0 | 1-1 | 2-0 | 2-0 | |
| CLG | 1-1 | 2-0 | 1-1 | 2-0 | 1-1 | |
| FW | 0-2 | 0-2 | 2-0 | 2-0 | 2-0 | |
| SKT | 1-1 | 1-1 | 0-2 | 2-0 | 2-0 | |
| G2 | 0-2 | 0-2 | 0-2 | 0-2 | 2-0 | |
| SUP | 0-2 | 1-1 | 0-2 | 0-2 | 0-2 |
Semifinals: SKT T1, despite finishing 4th, returned to peak form to dismantle the 1st seed RNG. On the other side, CLG defeated Flash Wolves to become the first North American team to reach an MSI Final.
Royal Never Give Up SK Telecom T1 Counter Logic Gaming Flash Wolves SK Telecom T1 Counter Logic Gaming SKT T1 claims the 2016 MSI title Venue
Group Stage / Knockout Stage
Capacity: 18,000
Pudong New Area