Summoning Insight Last Free Nation

Richard "RichsWrath" Wells joins the show to discuss the ongoing walk-out saga from the LCS Players' Association and the current financial realities of player salaries within the League of Legends ecosystem. They dive into Doublelift's on-stream responses to the player walkout and his potential sabotage of the collective negotiating efforts. Other topics of discussion include Sjokz's surprise announcement that she'll be taking a break from the LEC broadcast for the Summer Split, the staleness of the meta as LPL kicks off once more, and the ethics of being a scab player for LCS teams.

Monte and Thorin are joined by eight classic Summoning Insight guests to share memories of League of Legends esports as a celebration of 200 episodes of the show! Taking turns on the podcast are Edward "Edward" Abgaryan, Nick "LS" De Cesare, Jakob "YamatoCannon" Mebdi, Maurice "Amazing" Stückenschneider, Yoon-seop "Locodoco" Choi, Erik "DoA" Lonnquist, Will "Chobra" Cho, and Christoph "nRated" Seitz. Learn the truth behind the Gambit Pringles sponsorship, the definition of a toxic cesspool of negativity, and stroll down memory lane from 10 years of League of Legends esports.

MSI ends with an all-LPL final and a convincing win for the JDG super team, and Summoning Insight is here to break down all the details. What went wrong for T1 and Gen.G? TSM announces their departure from the LCS for another region, which ends the TSM holy war in a final victory for Monte and Thorin. The North American academy system is in trouble as the teams vote to end the challenger team requirement and the players' association makes demands, but does this make sense financially in League of Legends?

T1, JDG, and Gen.G all have strong claims to become the next MSI champion, but who do Thorin and Monte predict will claim the title? Spanish and French fans are crossing a line with player criticism and deserve to be called out, even though player performance from Europe has not been up to its usual international standards. T1 roars back after losing their Korean crown to GenG and we're here to break down why fortunes reversed and the teams evolved since their last best-of-five showdown in the LCK finals. JDG seem like the team to beat with spectacular teamfighting and a favorable meta that enables their superstar ADC, Ruler, but they showed some flaws in the LPL that have yet to be revealed on the MSI stage...

On the cusp of MSI playoffs, Thorin and Monte preview each match and discuss why the Western teams have slim odds of an upset and how each team matches up stylistically with their opponents. MAD Lions and Golden Guardians have been borrowing strategies from T1 and GenG, but how can they win as they face the real thing? G2's wacky team compositions won't be enough to topple the macro gods of GenG, especially if they continue to play without a teleport in top lane. Analysts have been talking a big game about NA's performance at play-ins at international tournaments, but Monte and Thorin are here to dispel that delusion and question how satisfied North American fans should be.

MSI is almost upon us! Monte and Thorin are very excited about the format and chat about their expectations for the teams as they head to London. They recap the LEC finals and celebrate MAD Lions' epic run through the lower bracket while remaining a bit wary about their tendency to throw. Evil Geniuses appear to be cutting their budget and releasing their player, but why not fire the management as well?