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On November 18, 2022, League of Legends LEC officially unveiled the changes to its format for the 2023 season. Riot Games seems to be restructuring the LEC and will now be called the EMEA Championship.
This article will provide full details regarding the same, including how organizers will conduct the tournament, how the games will work, and how the competing teams will qualify. These changes are targeted toward enhancing the level of competition, which will help enhance the quality of the teams.
The tournament dates are yet to be provided, but the changes will apply from the beginning of 2023. In short, things will get really exciting within Europe in the coming year.
Full details regarding the brand-new League of Legends EMEA Championship
Before proceeding any further, it is important to mention that League of Legends LEC will now be renamed EMEA Championship. The tournament will be the pinnacle of the European League of Legends. Every player or organization from the region will continue to target the same as a sign of excellence.
However, there have been many more changes to the EMEA Championship than just the name. The entire format of the tournament has been restructured, and the same has been provided below.
League of Legends EMEA Championship explained
The League of Legends EMEA Championship will be divided into three different Splits, unlike the previous years, where there were only two Splits. The three Splits will be called the Winter Split, the Spring Split, and the Summer Split. The three Splits will take place in January, March, and June, respectively.
The Winter Split and Spring Split will be conducted before the League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational. The winner of the Spring Split will determine the European representative for the Mid-Season Invitational.
However, the Summer Split will take place as usual, between the Mid-Season Invitational and the World Championship. In any case, in each of these 3 Splits, the regular season will last for three weeks.
The regular season will have standard best-of-one games, of which eight teams will qualify for the second stage. In the second stage, there will be best-of-three games, of which only four qualify.
The final four teams will play best-of-five games to determine the Split Champion. Apart from that, the best-of-five games will also have a double-elimination bracket. The Winter, Spring, and Summer Split winners will directly qualify for the LEC Season Finals.
The six best teams from Europe will participate in the LEC Season Finals, with three being the winners of the specific Splits. The other three teams will be selected based on Championship Points.
These six teams will then compete for the title of the best LoL team in the region. The best-performing teams in the LEC Season Finals will qualify for the League of Legends World Championship.
Thus, the EMEA Championship is bound to be quite exciting. Riot Games is trying to make Splits smaller, leaving much less room for error but making things a lot more competitive.
Teams and players will now need to work harder and put in even more effort in order to find success.
However, it is vital to mention that these changes in EMEA are being regarded as a pilot program for the entire LoL esports ecosystem. There will be more changes in 2024, and if things go well, further regions could see development along the same line.
