Top players to watch at MSI 2025

With the Spring splits coming to an end across all major leagues, the League of Legends esports scene will turn its eyes to the second international tournament of the 2025 season, the Mid-Season Invitational. 

The tournament, which will take place in Vancouver, Canada, will see the top two teams from each major region square off to determine which team will be the first to qualify for Worlds 2025. It’s not just about regional pride, though, as players will have the chance to prove their worth in front of millions of fans. 

We will be exploring the best players heading into MSI, explaining why they are in great form, and how they have been crucial to the teams’ results to lock in a qualification to the tournament. 

While Elyoya went a bit under the radar at the start of the season, he has made a great comeback in the LEC Spring Split by leading Movistar KOI (MKOI) to a title win. 

The Spanish jungler has been one of the big names in his role ever since his debut in 2021, but his Finals performance, which earned him the MVP award, was close to perfection. If MKOI manages to pull off a good run at MSI, there is a big chance it will be thanks to his strong impact in the early-mid game.

Speaking of European junglers, the LTA probably got their hands on the best Western jungler of the past year or so. After joining FlyQuest (FLY) last year, the Polish jungler has been a crucial factor in all of FLY’s successes, both domestically and internationally. 

Aside from his smart early-game pathing, a known characteristic among EU junglers, Inspired can pilot a wide variety of jungle champions, a big bonus point in the current era of Fearless Draft mode. 

Even though he hasn’t had the greatest of splits, Bin is still considered one of the strongest top laners in the world when it comes to the pure laning phase. Considering the pool of top lane players at MSI, he is still probably the one with the highest ceiling and carry potential. 

If the meta were to favour his pocket picks or increase the agency of top laners, he would be a win condition BLG can consistently rely on. 

A new face is stepping onto the Rift at MSI. AL Shanks is making his first international appearance after winning the LPL Split 2 and giving the Chinese team its first domestic title. 

While he might not be a flashy player, Shanks has been the most consistent mid laner in the league throughout the 2025 season so far, finishing in the top ranks among most metrics such as KDA, damage dealt, and kill participation, according to data from Games of Legends.  

You might be surprised to see the GOAT placed this low in the standings, but the truth is that Faker is no longer the one dominating mid laners left and right like he did a decade ago. 

He has been a consistent factor in T1’s run to MSI, though, and you can never count out the added value he brings to the table outside of just pure game performance. Based on these two factors alone, it’s more than enough to put Faker in every top ranking at any international tournament, including this one. 

Speaking of T1, the real carry of the team this year has been, without a doubt, Oner. If T1 was still keeping up with the top teams of the LCK when it was slumping, the credit must go to their jungler. 

Aside from his ability in early-game skirmishing and impact on the map, Oner has been making a name for himself as a clutch player. Whenever T1 needs to pull off a big play to win, Oner has more often than not lived up to the moment with impeccable execution.

He may not stand out in the current lineup due to the presence of so many big names on the Gen.G roster, but when it comes to carrying in the late-game fights, Ruler is always there to make a difference. 

With the highest farm and highest damage dealt per minute among all ADCs in the LCK, there is no doubt he is the best marksman in the world. 

If AL is known for being a good team with consistent players, then jungler Tarzan is the one who is able to raise the team’s ceiling by a tier or two. The Korean player has often been bashed for poor performance in high-stakes matches such as Worlds 2023, but things are looking much different this year. 

With great versatility in draft and the ability to fulfil different roles based on team compositions and champions picked, Tarzan is the all-around jungler any team would love to have. If the LPL wants to take down the Korean dominance of the past two years or so, then Tarzan is likely going to be one of the main protagonists.

If HLE Zeus was the one standing out from the pack heading into First Stand, then Chovy is the one to do the same thing heading into MSI. 

Gen.G’s mid laner was gapping the rest of the mid laners in the LCK, topping in terms of gold and damage per minute, and being a constant threat for the enemy team, regardless of the game state.

Chovy has finally been able to take off the nameplate of the laning-phase-focused player in the past two years, carrying Gen.G one game after another. With the team looking like the favourites, this might be the second consecutive MSI trophy Chovy takes home.

MSI 2025 will see many veterans making their return like Ruler, Faker, and Bin, but also some new faces who never made it to the tournament, such as AL Shanks and Tarzan. 

Junglers and mid laners have been the ones standing out in terms of impact in the current 2025 season, which explains why the rankings featured several players from these roles. 

Unless the meta changes dramatically with the release of the new patch, expect these players to shape their team’s fate at the tournament.