Daejeon hosts – Daejeon will host the League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational 2026 at the Daejeon Convention Center from May 28 to June 12, with top LCK teams like Hanwha Life e-Sports and T1, drawing an expected 80,000-plus visitors and prompting citywide “Fan Festa” progr
Daejeon is gearing up for a global stage run from May 28 to June 12, with the League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational 2026 set to take over the second exhibition hall at the Daejeon Convention Center.
The event. announced by the Daejeon Metropolitan Government on the 25th. arrives after the city’s growing push to brand itself as an esports hub. Organizers describe MSI as an international competition held in the middle of the League of Legends season—widely viewed as one of the most prestigious esports tournaments after the World Championship held later in the year.
Last year, MSI 2025 was held in Vancouver, Canada, with the top 10 teams from each regional league taking part in a 16-day showdown. This year’s MSI 2026 will include 11 teams from six regions, including Hanwha Life e-Sports and T1, which were selected as representatives of Korea’s LCK.
The tournament format will run through a sequence of play-in stage, bracket stage, and final, culminating in the selection of the best team.
League of Legends is also a key draw for audiences worldwide, the city notes, with the game accounting for 27% of esports viewership globally. For MSI 2026, the competition is scheduled to be broadcast live in more than 100 countries, with more than 100 million cumulative viewers expected.
City leaders are counting on that attention to bring real foot traffic. Daejeon expects more than 80,000 visitors from around the world during the competition, projecting an economic effect of more than 100 billion won.
To match the scale of the event. the city says it is preparing programs and convenience facilities so visitors can treat the DCC area like a festival space rather than simply a place to watch. A “Fan Festa” for esports fans will be held at Hanbit Square in Expo Science Park near the DCC’s second exhibition hall. The programming will include a champion-themed tunnel, a game arcade, and an LCK 10th anniversary exhibition.
Daejeon also plans to highlight the region through promotional videos broadcast on the game screens, showcasing advanced scientific infrastructure and urban landscapes across the city.
The MSI announcement follows a broader run of high-profile esports bookings that the city says have reinforced its momentum. Daejeon recently succeeded in attracting the regular season of the “Eternal Return Masters Final” and the “Battleground Mobile Pro Series (PMPS)” in 2026. Both events are described as popular fast-growing games in Korea: Eternal Return won the Korean Game Awards Popular Game Award in 2021. and PMPS demonstrated its global competitiveness by being adopted in esports events at the Aichi and Nagoya Asian Games this year.
The city also points back to the completion of the “2023 LCK Summer Final,” held August 18–20, 2023, as further proof that it can host major esports moments.
“This MSI 2026 is a good opportunity to announce that Daejeon is a global e-sports city and a city leading the high-tech cultural content industry. where young people from all over the world are enthusiastic beyond the science capital of Korea. ” a Daejeon city official said. “We will do our best to prepare domestic and foreign visitors to Daejeon to experience the various charms of Daejeon.”.
Daejeon MSI 2026 League of Legends esports Daejeon Convention Center Fan Festa Hanwha Life e-Sports T1 LCK