Riot Games revised the format of the EMEA Masters in response to player feedback, ahead of the summer event. The competition, which runs from July 31 to August 30, will now feature more teams participating in best-of-fives.
After the mixed reception of the format introduced earlier this year, Riot is revamping the tournament’s format, which now promises a more engaging and competitive experience for participating teams and spectators alike. Riot hopes to address community complaints by expanding the pool of teams, introducing a Swiss Stage, and making changes to slot distribution.
Riot has also changed the slot distribution to provide a more “fair” representation across all regions. Accredited ERLs will now be allocated six slots apiece, with the top three teams advancing directly to the Swiss Stage and the remaining three teams joining the Last Chance Qualifier. Non-accredited ERLs will qualify four teams, with the distribution determined by their performance at recent EM tournaments.
The 2018 summer event will feature a 60-team tournament, providing additional opportunity for regional players to demonstrate their abilities—beginning with LCQ matchups.
The LCQ begins on July 31 and will include teams competing in single-elimination brackets, with regional protection in place to prevent straight clashes thus early in the competition. The LCQ will go until August 2 and will include best-of-three matches in the early rounds, progressing to best-of-fives in the final round to determine qualification for the Swiss Stage.
The addition of best-of-five matches at all rounds of the tournament adds another layer of intensity to the event, but the addition of a Swiss Stage is possibly the most significant move yet.
This new stage, which includes the top four teams from the LCQ and the 28 teams who automatically qualified, will see teams compete for four wins to advance to the Playoffs while risking elimination if they lose four times. Matches will begin in a best-of-one format before switching to best-of-threes throughout the qualification and elimination rounds.
In the Playoffs, the final 16 teams will compete in best-of-five single elimination matches to gain a spot in the 2024 EMEA Summer Finals on August 30, which will take place alongside the LEC Season Finals in Munich. More details about the broadcasts, co-streams, and possible surprises will be revealed closer to the event.