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Royal Never Give Up Overview
MSI 2021 marked the return of the Mid-Season Invitational after MSI 2020 was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For the first time in MSI history, the tournament was held in Iceland, inside the Laugardalshöll indoor arena—famous for hosting the 1972 World Chess Championship “Match of the Century.”
Although 12 teams qualified, Vietnam’s 
GAM Esports were unable to travel due to national COVID restrictions. MSI proceeded with 11 teams, and Group A changed to a quadruple round robin while the other groups retained the planned triple round robin.
This edition of MSI also introduced a three-stage structure (Groups → Rumble → Knockout) and featured a highly anticipated showdown between 
DWG KIA and Royal Never Give Up, with RNG ultimately reclaiming the MSI crown.
Tournament Structure
Played on Patch 11.9 (Viego & Gwen disabled).
- Stage 1 (Groups): 3 Groups. Group A played a Quadruple Round Robin (3 teams) due to GAM's absence.
- Stage 2 (Rumble): 6 teams, Double Round Robin. Top 4 advance.
- Stage 3 (Knockout): Single elimination, Best-of-five (Bo5).
Prize Pool
Base Prize Pool: $250,000 USD.
| Place | Prize | % | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🏆1st | $75,000 | 30% | Royal Never Give Up |
| 🥈2nd | $50,000 | 20% | DWG KIA |
| 🥉3-4 | $25,000 | 10% |  PSG Talon,  MAD Lions |
| 5-6 | $17,500 | 7% |  Cloud9,  Pentanet.GG |
| 7-9 | $8,325 | 3.33% |  Unicorns of Love,  paiN Gaming,  DetonatioN FocusMe |
| 10-11 | $5,000 | 2% |  İstanbul Wildcats,  INFINITY |
| - | Compensated | - | GAM Esports |
Participating Teams
MSI proceeded with 11 attending teams after GAM Esports was unable to travel.
Attending teams
- Royal Never Give Up CN
Royal Never Give Up CN
- TOP
- Xiaohu
- JNG
- Wei
- MID
- Cryin
- BOT
- GALA
- SUP
- Ming
- MAD Lions EU
MAD Lions EU
- TOP
- Armut
- JNG
- Elyoya
- MID
- Humanoid
- BOT
- Carzzy
- SUP
- Kaiser
- DWG KIA KR
DWG KIA KR
- TOP
- Khan
- JNG
- Canyon
- MID
- ShowMaker
- BOT
- Ghost
- SUP
- BeryL
- Cloud9 NA
Cloud9 NA
- TOP
- Fudge
- JNG
- Blaber
- MID
- Perkz
- BOT
- Zven
- SUP
- Vulcan
- PSG Talon PCS
PSG Talon PCS
- TOP
- Hanabi
- JNG
- River
- MID
- Maple
- BOT
- Doggo
- SUP
- Kaiwing
- Unicorns of Love CIS
Unicorns of Love CIS
- TOP
- BOSS
- JNG
- AHaHaCiK
- MID
- Nomanz
- BOT
- Lodik
- SUP
- SaNTaS
- INFINITY LAN
INFINITY LAN
- TOP
- Buggax
- JNG
- SolidSnake
- MID
- Cody
- BOT
- WhiteLotus
- SUP
- Ackerman
- İstanbul Wildcats TR
İstanbul Wildcats TR
- TOP
- StarScreen
- JNG
- Ferret
- MID
- Serin
- BOT
- HolyPhoenix
- SUP
- Farfetch
- paiN Gaming BR
paiN Gaming BR
- TOP
- Robo
- JNG
- Cariok
- MID
- tinowns
- BOT
- brTT
- SUP
- Luci
- DetonatioN FocusMe JP
DetonatioN FocusMe JP
- TOP
- Evi
- JNG
- Steal
- MID
- Aria
- BOT
- Yutapon
- SUP
- Kazu
- Pentanet.GG OCE
Pentanet.GG OCE
- TOP
- BioPanther
- JNG
- Pabu
- MID
- Chazz
- BOT
- Praedyth
- SUP
- Decoy
Qualified but did not attend
- GAM Esports VN Did not attend
GAM Esports VN
- TOP
- Not preserved
- JNG
- Not preserved
- MID
- Not preserved
- BOT
- Not preserved
- SUP
- Not preserved
Qualified as VCS Spring champion but could not travel because of COVID-19 restrictions; no MSI starting five is asserted.
Stage 1: Group Stage
Group A: Due to GAM's absence, this group played a Quadruple Round Robin. Pentanet.GG defeated UOL in a tiebreaker to advance.
Group A
| Pos | Team | W-L |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Royal Never Give Up | 8-0 |
| 2 | Pentanet.GG | 2-6 Won Tiebreaker |
| 3 | Unicorns of Love | 2-6 Lost Tiebreaker |
Group B
| Pos | Team | W-L |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | MAD Lions | 5-1 |
| 2 | PSG Talon | 4-2 |
| 3 | paiN Gaming | 2-4 |
| 4 | İstanbul Wildcats | 1-5 |
Group C
| Pos | Team | W-L |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | DWG KIA | 5-1 |
| 2 | Cloud9 | 4-2 |
| 3 | DetonatioN FocusMe | 2-4 |
| 4 | INFINITY | 1-5 |
Stage 2: Rumble Stage
The 6 surviving teams merged into one group. The top 4 advanced to the Knockout Stage.
| # | Team | W-L | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DWG KIA | 8 - 2 | 80% |
| 2 | Royal Never Give Up | 7 - 3 | 70% |
| 3 | PSG Talon | 6 - 4 | 60% |
| 4 | MAD Lions | 5 - 5 | 50% |
| 5 | Cloud9 | 3 - 7 | 30% |
| 6 | Pentanet.GG | 1 - 9 | 10% |
Stage 3: Knockout Stage
Selection: DWG KIA (1st) chose to face MAD Lions (4th), leaving RNG vs PSG Talon.
DWG KIA MAD Lions Royal Never Give Up PSG Talon DWG KIA Royal Never Give Up Venue
All Stages
Capacity: No Audience (COVID)
Laugardalur Valley