League of Legends MSI 2026 Pick’Ems and Crystal Ball format, guide, predictions
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 are now open. Once again, you must call the outcome of every match, all at once.
| Match | Prediction | Confidence level | Reward |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upper bracket round 1: BLG vs T1 | BLG > T1 | Low | 5 pts |
| Upper bracket round 1: LYON vs FUR | LYON > FUR | Very high | 5 pts |
| Upper bracket round 1: HLE vs TSW | HLE > TSW | Very high | 5 pts |
| Upper bracket round 1: G2 vs TES | G2 > TES | Moderately low | 5 pts |
| Lower bracket round 1, match 1 | T1 > FUR | Very high | 10 pts |
| Lower bracket round 1, match 2 | TES > TSW | Very high | 10 pts |
| Upper bracket round 2, match 1 | BLG > LYON | Very high | 10 pts |
| Upper bracket round 2, match 2 | HLE > G2 | High | 10 pts |
| Lower bracket round 2, match 1 | T1 > G2 | Moderately high | 20 pts |
| Lower bracket round 2, match 2 | TES > LYON | Very high | 20 pts |
| Upper bracket finals | HLE > BLG | Low | 20 pts |
| Lower bracket round 3 | T1 > TES | High | 40 pts |
| Lower bracket finals | BLG > T1 | Low | 40 pts |
| Grand finals | HLE > BLG | Low | 80 pts |
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
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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