Riot Games plans to host two big esports tournaments in Reykjavik, Iceland, the studio announced on Monday.
The first will be League of Legends’ Mid-Season Invitational (MSI), which was canceled last year due to COVID-19. MSI is one of League of Legends’ marquee tournaments, pitting top teams around the world against each other. The event will begin on May 6th and end on May 23rd.
One day later, on May 24th, Riot will kick off Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) Masters Reykjavik, which the studio says is the first live international tournament for the game. Ten teams will compete to earn points toward qualification for Valorant Champions 2021, the global tournament that concludes the Valorant esports season.
Like many other esports, League of Legends and Valorant have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with teams competing virtually at times for safety. Not all competition has been online, though: Riot hosted last year’s League of Legends World Championship in person in Shanghai with strict safety protocols.
For both upcoming events in Iceland, teams will be required to quarantine when they arrive, and there won’t be an in-person audience, according to Riot. All MSI matches and VCT Masters Stage 2 matches will be broadcast online, however.
Both events will be held in the Laugardalshöll indoor sporting arena.
