MSI LoL Power Rankings 2023

Now that all the Spring Splits have finally ended, the winning teams will have a chance to compete at the first LoL international tournament of 2023, the Mid-Season Invitational. As usual, we prepared our LoL MSI Rankings, ranking the 13 teams competing for the trophy.

Compared to previous years, the MSI will have an important format change, with more teams from major regions participating, as well as double-elimination brackets to give teams more chances of staying alive in the competition. Therefore, we might get to see some major upsets going forward.

MSI 2023 Power Rankings

The rankings will be from last to first so make sure to read to the end to find out which team we think is the strongest right now.

With MSI starting on May 2nd,  make sure to tune in to enjoy your games and earn your rewards! If you’re interested in LoL Betting, check out our guide on how to bet on MSI 2023.

13. Movistar R7 – LLA

The last team on our list is Movistar R7, who have returned to the international stages after participating at the 2020 Worlds Championship.

Just like their nearest region CBLOL, Movistar R7 have also started importing Korean players, bringing in Bong and Mireu in the two solo lanes. Bong used to play for NASR Turkey, while Mireu was playing for another LLA team Estral Esports. The other new addition is rookie support Lyonz.

The team mainly plays through its mid laner Mireu and his ADC Ceo, with all the other players having a supportive role. In particular, Mireu has been hard carrying his team, completely dominating his enemy laners throughout the split. 

Unfortunately, they will be going up against BLG in the first round, and considering the level of other teams, the trip to London might only last a few days for R7. And for that reason, they are our last place in this year’s MSI Power Rankings.

12. DetonatioN FocusMe – LJL

DFM continues to be the best team Japan has. Despite finishing second behind Sengoku Gaming in the regular split, they quickly swept them in the playoffs finals. 

Yutapon and Aria continue to be the team’s main carries, with Harp and Steal acting as enablers and playmakers. The rookie top laner tol2, instead, has been primarily playing as a weaksider. Even though he has done a decent job so far, there are great chances he gets demolished by other top laners, who can play carry champions and take advantage of the resources they will build.

For that reason, DFM are currently only 12th in the MSI Power Rankings, as their chances of making it out of the play-in stage are going to be extremely slim. 

11. LOUD – CBLOL

LOUD dominated CBLOL, qualifying to MSI after demolishing paiN Gaming in the finals. Thanks to the addition of Korean player Route, LOUD has now a great carry in the team, and the team is taking full advantage of it. 

The team always plays and drafts in a way to favor him and makes him take over the game as soon as he picks up some resources. His fellow Korean teammate Croc has been playing a more supportive playstyle, just like the veteran mid laner Tinowns. 

While it has worked out fine until now, the question is what will happen if LOUD cannot enable Route as they have done so far, considering the players they will face internationally going forward. 

For this reason, we haven’t pushed LOUD any higher than 11th on our Power Rankings. Nonetheless, Brazil always brings exciting gameplay so we’re curious to see what they can deliver this year. 

10. Golden Guardians – LCS

After being in the bottom half in most LCS splits, Golden Guardians’ rise this year is a refreshing moment for NA fans. 

They proved that you don’t need to spend lots of money to get good results, as long as you have a good base to work with and players who are willing to adapt to each other and find a matching identity. 

The Korean trio of River, Gori, and huhi is working great, and with two veterans like Licorice and Stixxay, GG has put together a solid roster. Not only are they having great coordination, but the players have stepped up hugely, especially Licorice and Gori. The latter was hard carrying Golden Guardians during the regular split, while Licorice got the chance to showcase his damage-oriented picks in playoffs.   

That said, GG still got dominated by C9 during the finals, showing that there is still a gap to the best NA team. They will put up a good fight against all teams in play-ins, but their chances of qualifying for the next stage are going to be slim. Will they prove us wrong? 

9. GAM Esports – VCS

GAM Esports have dominated the VCS this split, but the team’s expectations going into MSI might not be as big, especially considering the roster is worse on paper compared to last year. 

GAM went undefeated in the regular split, but had to work a lot harder during the VCS playoffs, going 3-2 and 3-1 against the second-best team SBTC Esports. 

This year’s iteration of GAM relies a lot more on scaling and late game team comps, rather than dominating the enemies during the early game. Thanks to top laner Kiaya’s large adaptability, as well as Sty1e’s damage in the teamfights, they were able to make it work. 

Now that they are at MSI, we have to see whether they can match other teams’ or they will get hard beaten early on. The team is good, but it’s quite far off from the GAM we came to know many years ago.  

8. PSG Talon – PCS

Once again, PSG Talon is representing the PCS at the international stages. However, their playoff run hasn’t been as dominant as in previous years. They barely made it through against Impunity and CTBC Flying Oyster, and only dominated FRANK Esports in the finals.   

It goes to say that Junjia’s addition to the team did wonders for them since the former EDward Gaming was known to be a more-than-decent LPL jungler, who was gated by Jiejie. 

The new roster PSG Talon put together is solid across the board, with Wako delivering great carry performances. Support CorGi does a great job with his map presence on both enchanters and engage supports, and Azhi has shown great flexibility over many picks.

They might not have what it takes to upset the top four, but there are chances they will contest some games against the favorites in play-ins. 

7. G2 Esports – LEC

There are mixed feelings about G2. The team was convincing during the Winter Split, but only found themselves fourth in the LEC Spring Split.

It goes to say that they went against MAD Lions in the losers’ bracket who ended up winning the championship. They brought the enemies to a 5-game series, so it’s still a fairly good split overall for them. 

We know that G2’s real potential is much higher than what they’ve shown recently, but the question is: what kind of level of play will they bring at MSI? 

We willl have an answer only when G2 starts play-ins. That said, we think they should be, alongside BLG, the two teams with the highest chances of making it to the next stage.

6. Cloud9 – LCS

With this one last title, Cloud9 has now become the most successful organization in NA’s history. They have proved throughout the last two splits that they are the no. 1 org in the LCS, and that NA’s international success will highly depend on them.

This year, they made a major upgrade in the mid lane, bringing in first Diplex and then EM3NES. The Korean talent dominated the LCS after being promoted to the main team, so now all eyes will be on how he fares against the other top mids in the world. 

It will be a tough task for the team to battle it out with the LCK and LPL teams, but there is a good chance C9 can contest the LEC as the third-best region in the world. While EU has been better than NA in the past few years, C9 has the chance to turn this trend around. 

5. MAD Lions – LEC

Against all odds, MAD Lions not only made it to MSI, but they are going as the first seed from the LEC, which means a direct ticket to the bracket stage. 

Their run during the LEC Spring Split is truly memorable, having worked their way from a starting eighth place. They defeated one enemy after another, gaining more and more confidence with each series they played.

On top of that, they reverse-swept BDS in the finals, proving how important having a strong mental is in League of Legends. This, along with their outstanding coaching staff, is what allowed MAD to achieve these results. 

That said, the team will now have the big test of facing the other top orgs from other regions. It’s not going to be easy, considering how strong the Eastern teams are, but if there is a slim chance to see an upset happen, then it will surely be on the Lions’ hands (or paws, I should say). 

4. BLG – LPL

While all eyes will be on JD Gaming when it comes to Chinese teams, BLG is going to be the dark horse among the top teams. 

The huge step-ups they made during the LPL Spring Playoffs proved that the team has enormous potential but it needs a bit of polishing. 

Elk is one of the rising stars this year and he will continue to be the backbone of BLG. Alongside Bin and ON, their performances will directly dictate how far the team can go.

Even though there might be some small concerns about how Yagao will fare against the other top mids in the world, he does have what it takes to take them down. If all stars align for BLG, then we might get the most electrifying 4-way battle at MSI ever. 

Nonetheless, they are at least expected to make it into the playoffs stage. After that, it will depend on what they can deliver when things start getting serious. 

3. T1 – LCK

Everyone expected T1 to head to MSI as the LCK champion, so it was quite shocking when Gen.G defeated them.

Despite the loss, T1 is still looking strong, as we think that their true level is not the one we’ve seen during the finals. Zeus had some moments when he rarely has, and overall T1 looked weaker due to the worse drafts they found themselves with.

T1 needs to find a way to take advantage of their strengths while also sticking as much as possible to the meta. Keria is still the best support in the world, so it will be up to Gumayusi to take the lead at the international stages. 

T1’s potential is still there and we believe they have equal chances to Gen.G to aim for the title. That said, their preparation and meta read will be crucial, and considering we haven’t seen much yet, we can only put them third in our MSI Power Rankings.

2. Gen.G – LCK 

Next up in the MSI rankings sits Gen,G, the biggest chance Korea has to take down JD Gaming this year. While most expected T1 to win the LCK Spring Playoffs, Gen.G did the unthinkable of upsetting Faker’s team to win their back-to-back trophies. 

With Ruler gone, Gen.G have promoted Peyz, who is proving everyone that he’s not any worse than his predecessor. He was the main reason why Gen.G dominated T1 in the finals, and despite his young age, he seems ready to dominate the world.

The reason why I think Gen.G will get stronger lies in the fact that the meta is still bot centric, but there are more picks favoring their top side of the map. With picks like Poppy and Nidalee, Peanut is ready to prove he’s got everything to take the trophy home. He and Peyz’s performances will decide their chances of victory.

1. JD Gaming – LPL

For us, JDG are the team in the best position possible going into MSI. At the start of the 2023 season, the organization decided to go all out and pick up who is probably the best ADC last year, Ruler. 

Moreover, JD Gaming have kept the rest of its lineup, with 369, Kanavi, Knight, and Missing. Ruler did a great job at fitting in immediately, and with his carry playstyle, he elevated the team to new teams. 

The rest of the players are not any worse, though. Each JDG player can be easily among the top four in their respective roles, showing high their potential is. 

Considering their lineup and the goals set at the start of the year, the pressure will be on JD Gaming. They should be expected to make it to the finals, and they are looking like the favorites to win it all.

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