Discover the format of League of Legends: EMEA Masters 2024

This Wednesday, Riot Games revealed on its site the format of the two segments of the EMEA Masters 2024, the competition. League of Legends Among the best teams in the region’s national league. While the competition will hardly change in the spring, several changes have been made for the summer with the aim of increasing the representation of the smaller ERLs.

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Riot Games announced the format of the EMEA Masters this Wednesday, a competition of League of Legends Between the best teams of the national league of the region for the two divisions of the year 2024. There will be no surprises in the spring as the competition will start again with a play-in phase of 16 teams, divided into the first four groups. As has been the case so far, the four spots for the main event will be filled during the play-offs that will follow this group stage. Just like last year, the main event will begin in the group stage followed by play-offs, which will be played in BO5 (best of five rounds) in the direct elimination bracket.

However, everything changes for the summer segment. The EMEA Masters first grows from 28 to 38 teams. Play-ins become last chance qualifiers between 24 clubs… for three tickets only. The main event will therefore welcome three qualifiers and 13 ERL’s champions. The 16 teams will be divided into four groups of four and will now meet in BO3 during this phase. The first two will qualify for the play-offs, in a tree, this time with double elimination. The first in the groups will thus qualify in the top tree and will therefore have two chances, the second in the group will go directly lower bracket

And their backs will be against the wall. As has long been the case, the play-offs will be played in BO3, with the bottom tree final and the Grand Final (played in Munich), which resides in BO5.

A format that questions

The announcement of this format caused a lot of backlash at the networks, especially because it gave the smaller ERL a prominent position. Given the level of these ERLs, according to some players in the scene, many, many still far from the major ERLs. Because as a result, the strongest leagues – Spain, Germany, Turkey, even France – can only have one representative in the main event in case of problems during the LCQ. The second and third places in each of these leagues, often better than the champions of the much smaller ERL, will have to fight for their place in the competition’s main event. On paper, this format therefore risks flattening the opening of the main event, while making the LCQ an ultra-competitive tournament.