For the first time, a major international League of Legends event is headed to Vietnam.
Riot Games announced the locations and dates for this year's Mid-Season Invitational on Monday, and the world's best League teams will travel to the of Hanoi, Vietnam; Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; and Taipei, Taiwan for the tournament.
MSI will begin with the play-in stage in Hanoi on May 1-7, head to Ho Chi Minh City on May 10-14 for the group stage and finish on May 17-19 where the top teams will battle it out in the knockout stage in Taipei. This will be the first major League event in Taiwan since Taipei hosted the group stage of the 2014 League of Legends World Championship at the National Taiwan University Sports Center, although the 2017 League Champions Korea, League of Legends Pro League (China) and League Masters Series (Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau) Rift Rivals tournament was held in Kaohsiung.
Taipei is also home to the LMS and the Garena Esports Stadium.
Ho Chi Minh City hosted the 2018 League Continental League, Turkish Championship League and Vietnam Championship Series Rift Rivals tournament. Ho Chi Minh City is also home to Vietnam's domestic league, the VCS.
Vietnam has recently risen to League of Legends prominence thanks to the performance of the GIGABYTE Marines at MSI in 2017 and the 2017 World Championship, earning the region their own league separate from Southeast Asia's Garena Pro League with their own qualification to major events.
