League of Legends MSI 2026 Pick’Ems and Crystal Ball format, guide, predictions

Wasif Ahmed Published 22/06/2026

The Mid-Season Invitational Pick’Ems have opened. This game allows players to predict MSI matches in order to earn rewards in League of Legends.

The ultimate prize for a perfect Pick’Ems is very rare, but there’s still a strong incentive to try to land in the top 25%, so here are our Pick’Ems predictions and a guide to the format.

The 2026 MSI Pick’Ems format and dates

The predictions for this tournament are split into two categories, the results and Crystal Ball, each with their separate ranking. Correct results earn points for the category.

Play-in predictions

Play-in predictions open June 17 and lock on June 27-28 (based on time zones) as the matches start. For this stage, predict the outcome of every match in the bracket – all at once. The matches deeper in award more points, but they require more and more correct picks.

Match	Prediction	Confidence level	Reward
Round 1: T1 vs TLAW	T1 > TLAW	Very high	5 pts
Round 1: KC vs DCG	KC > DCG	Very high	5 pts
Upper finals	T1 > KC	High	10 pts
Lower semifinals	TLAW > DCG	Very high	10 pts
Lower finals	KC > TLAW	Medium	20 pts
Finals	T1 > KC	High	40 pts

Image source: Riot Games

Knockout predictions

Knockout predictions open June 30, after the penultimate play-in match. There will then be a three-day window to make picks for the bracket before that stage begins on July 3. Once again, you must call the outcome of every match, all at once.

(Knockout predictions will be added once the stage’s Pick’Ems opens).

Crystal Ball predictions

Instead of betting on match results, Crystal Ball is about guessing more precise statistics. This category is divided into champion, player, team, and event picks, and gives a separate way to score points.

Crystal Ball picks will lock on June 27-28 alongside play-in ones.

Category	Prediction	Reasoning	Reward
For MSI Play-ins: which champion will be picked the most?	Rumble	Rumble was picked in all but one playoff series globally (in which he was always banned). He should remain a staple pick despite the upcoming nerf.	50 pts (top 3)
Which champion will have the highest winrate? (minimum 5 games played)	Shen	Shen is mostly picked as a counter by winning teams.	50 pts (top 3)
Which champion will have the lowest winrate? (minimum 5 games played)	Miss Fortune	Teams seldom convert MF leads into wins, especially against the best.	50 pts (top 3)
Which champion will have the most kills?	Mel	The favorite teams have amazing Mel players who can take over games.	50 pts (top 3)
For MSI Play-ins: which pro will have the highest KDA?	Peyz	T1 should win play-ins, with the ADC topping the KDA.	50 pts (top 3)
Which pro will earn the highest CS in a single game?	Peyz	Toss-up with Gumayusi	100 pts
Which pro will get the most First Bloods?	Oner	HLE has the best early game among the LCK and LPL teams, but T1 gets extra matches through play-ins.	50 pts (top 3)
Which pro will finish with the highest average damage per game?	Gumayusi	Toss-up with Viper and Knight, with BLG and HLE being the two fight-heaviest teams.	50 pts (top 3)
For MSI Play-ins: which team will win the shortest game (duration)?	Karmine Corp	KC vs DCG should give the shortest game, T1 shouldn’t face DCG.	100 pts
Which team will kill the most Elder Dragons?	T1	T1 has play-ins and lots of unclean games.	50 pts
Which team will get the least kills in a single game?	TLAW	TLAW got almost no kills against FlyQuest, they can do it again.	50 pts
Which team will play the most unique Champions (largest champion pool)?	T1	They play the most champions and might play the most matches.	50 pts (top 3)
For MSI Play-ins: what will be the highest number of kills in a single game?	31-45	None of the four play-in teams scraps that much.	50 pts
How many unique champions will be picked?	100-114	The LPL had 104 champions in 68 games. MSI will have 60-100 games.	50 pts
Will Teemo be picked?	False. Never.	The odds are at their highest for a Teemo pick, and they’re still very low.	100 pts
Which champion will be banned the most?	Varus	Even after patches, he should remain most banned.	50 pts (top 3)

Pick’Ems points and rewards

Every correct or partially correct pick awards points. Then at the end of the event, players will receive rewards in League of Legends based on where they ranked compared to the others.

There are two separate ladders, one for match picks and the other for Crystal Ball. Match picks can yield up to 370 points (90 from play-ins and 280 from knockouts), and Crystal Ball ranks out of 950.

This year, Riot dialed down on rewards for MSI Pick’Ems. Up until now, the reward for perfect Pick’Ems was every ultimate skin in the game. Last year, however, 4,222 people fully predicted the MSI results – quite the jump from the previous record of eight at Worlds 2020.

Riot concluded that they didn’t want to hand out all ultimate skins to that many players again. As such, the reward for perfect MSI 2026 Pick’Ems is only the newest Broken Covenant Jhin skin.

On the other hand, there’s an emote for simply participating.

Image source: Riot Games

Besides the Pick’Ems, the MSI 2026 gives plenty of opportunities for League of Legends betting. Check out our list of sites like BC.game on which you can place your wagers.

Match rewards

Perfect: Broken Covenant Jhin skin (plus Jhin)
Top 25%: Clean Up Emote
Top 50%: Settle The Score Icon
Participation: Pinfall Emote

Crystal Ball rewards

Top 100: Broken Covenant Jhin skin (plus Jhin)
Participation: Doesn’t Look Good Emote

Make sure to stay tuned for more coverage of MSI 2026, starting June 28.

Featured image source: Riot Games

Wasif Ahmed

About Wasif Ahmed

Wasif Ahmed is the Lead Esports Editor for WIN.gg. He has been covering esports for nearly eight years, although his gaming journey started much earlier, when he was just four years old and was introduced to Road Rash on a dusty PC. Hit him up on X to talk about esports, why partnership models are the best fit for esports games, or if Halo 7 has finally been announced.

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