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MSI 2016 knockout stage schedule, Worlds No. 1 pool stage seeds decided

There was a clear separation between the top four and bottom two teams in the round robin stage. Now, we're treated to what should be an excellent semifinal round.

By Pete Volk
Riot Games

The semifinal field at the 2016 League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational tournament has been set. China's Royal Never Give Up will face Korea's SK Telecom T1 and North America's Counter Logic Gaming will face Taiwan's Flash Wolves in a pair of best-of-five series, with the winners of each playing in the MSI finals.

The four teams also earned No. 1 pool stage seeds at Worlds for their regions. China will have one Pool 1 team and two Pool 2 teams, as will Korea, while North America will have one team each in Pools 1, 2 and 3. The LMS will have one Pool 1 team and one Pool 2 team.

Royal Never Give Up earned a No. 1 seed with an 8-2 group stage record, winning its first seven games of the tournament. China won the inaugural MSI last year in Tallahassee, as Edward Gaming defeated SK Telecom T1 in five games. SK Telecom T1 finished in fourth place after a poor start to the tournament that included a loss to RNG, but beat RNG on the final day to finish 6-4.

Counter Logic Gaming finished in second place as the surprise of the tournament so far, recording at least one victory over every team in the field and two against the Flash Wolves. CLG won its last three games of the group stage, finishing with a 7-3 record. Flash Wolves nabbed the third spot after beating SKT and putting forward a strong group stage, but lost to CLG on the final day of round robin play.

Europe's G2 Esports finished in fifth place with a 2-8 record, one game ahead of Turkey's SuperMassive eSports. That fifth/sixth distinction was important: by finishing in fifth, G2 earned two Pool 2 seeds for Europe at Worlds rather than just one. Nevertheless, coming home from Shanghai without a Pool 1 seed for their region will be a massive disappointment.

All games will be streamed live at Lolesports.com and on Twitchand YouTube. The schedule for the knockout stage, all times Eastern:

Semifinal 1 - May 13:

Royal Never Give Up vs. SK Telecom T1, 1:30 a.m. (Best-of-5)

Semifinal 2 - May 14:

Counter Logic Gaming vs. Flash Wolves, 1:30 a.m. (Best-of-5)

Finals - May 15:

TBD vs. TBD, 1:30 a.m. (Best-of-5)

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