League of Legends MSI 2021: Scores and standings after Group stage Day 1

Mid-Season Invitational 2021, League of Legends' first international tournament of the year, has started. Fans saw all 11 participating teams in opening-day action.

All the eleven regional spring champions are battling it out in Reykjavík, Iceland for fame, glory, and also an extra slot at Worlds 2021. Riot has brought in a few significant changes to the MSI format this year.

Till last year, teams from developing regions like Oceania, Brazil, Latin America, Turkey, etc. used to play a “Play-In” qualifier stage to progress to the next round while teams from the top four regions namely, China, Korea, Europe, and North America seeded directly into the final stage.

The #MSI2021 Standings after Day 1! pic.twitter.com/WkM4DxmzMO

— LoL Esports (@lolesports) May 6, 2021

From this season, Riot has scrapped the “Play-In” stage of the tournament and split all participating regions into four tiers based on the results of all international tournaments held in the last two years. 11 teams have been segregated into three separate groups and here's how things stand after the first day of play.

Results and standings of League of Legends MSI 2021 after Groups Day 1

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The results of Groups Day 1:

• Pentanet.GG 0-1 Royal Never Give Up
• Pentanet.GG 0-1 Unicorns of Love
• İstanbul Wildcats 0-1 PaiN Gaming
• MAD Lions 1-0 PSG Talon
• DWG KIA 1-0 Cloud9
• Gillette Infinity 1-0 DetonatioN FocusMe

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Group-wise standings after GD 1:

Group A

1. Royal Never Give Up (1-0)
2. Unicorns of Love (1-0)
3. Pentanet.GG (0-2)

Group B

1. PaiN Gaming (1-0)
2. MAD Lions (1-0)
3. PSG Talon (0-1)
4. İstanbul Wildcats01 (0-1)

Group C

1. DWG KIA (1-0)
2. Gillette Infinity (1-0)
3. DetonatioN FocusMe (0-1)
4. Cloud9 (0-1)

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Mid-Season Invitational 2021 Day 1 saw some interesting draft picks

The first day of the 2021 League of Legends MSI concluded with all expected results without any upsets. All six matches were action-packed and full of exciting content.

These are our Picks & Bans for our first Game at #MSI2021!!📽️https://t.co/KnHc4WflA2#goMAD #MADWIN pic.twitter.com/zu2h42gyOT

— MAD Lions LoL English (@MADLions_LoLEN) May 6, 2021

Fans got to see old League of Legends meta rulers like Lee Sin, Kai'Sa, and Xayah back in competitive action, with new jungle flexors like Morgana and Rumble showcasing a strong presence in their respective games. Day one of the 2021 Mid-Season Invitational successfully shot expectations sky-high for the remaining days of the tournament.