INTRODUCING

EMEA 2023

A NEW CHAPTER IN LOL ESPORTS

LEVELING UP OUR PLAYFIELD

After ten incredible years of League of Legends Esports in Europe, we’re honoured to announce our plans for the future of the region heading into 2023. Whether you’ve been with us for ten years or one, we’re determined to bring you a bigger, better, bolder vision of LoL Esports in the region, and continue innovating to keep the LEC and wider ecosystem at the forefront of a new generation of competitive play.

Today, we're proud to announce we’re expanding our region, with Türki̇ye, CIS and MENA merging with Europe to become one competitive and united region. Welcome to #EMEA23.

We want EMEA to be a region that brings fans together across multiple continents, competing for regional pride and international success. With this change, we’re creating pathways for players to reach the pinnacle of League of Legends esports in the region and opportunities to unite fans across EMEA to cheer for the teams they love.

Every series, every game, every moment matters. Whether it’s shining the spotlight on emerging talent in the newly rebranded EMEA Masters, or fighting to be crowned champions of EMEA in the LEC, we’re focused on showcasing the very best of competitive EMEA League of Legends, year-round.

It’s been an unforgettable journey so far for EMEA League of Legends, but the last ten years were only the beginning. We’re hoping to create a region that will continue to inspire fans and players alike far into the future of the LEC and our regional leagues, and that will continue to show up on the international stage for years to come.

WINTER SPLIT

6 WEEKS

Winter Split Begins

JAN

Winter Playoffs

FEB

SPRING SPLIT

6 WEEKS

Spring Split Begins

MARCH

Spring Playoffs

APRIL

SUMMER SPLIT

6 WEEKS

Summer Split Begins

JUNE

Summer Playoffs

JULY

LEC 2023

FORMAT CHANGES

The LEC is changing – adding more matches, more chances for players to compete, and more opportunities for fans to cheer on their favourite teams

The competitive year will now be divided into three six-week splits: Winter, Spring, and Summer, culminating in an LEC Season Finals

Splits will consist of one ten-team BO1 round-robin, followed by an eight-team BO3 double-elimination group stage, and concluding with a four-team, double-elimination, BO5 playoffs.

The Champions of LEC Winter, Spring, and Summer will automatically secure themselves a spot in the LEC Season Finals, with the remaining places and overall seeding decided by Championship Points.

The LEC, now the League of Legends EMEA Championship, will undergo an exciting format change as the pinnacle of competitive League of Legends in EMEA.

Competition will take place across three splits: Winter, Spring, and Summer, and will culminate in the Season Finals. Winter Split and Spring Split will both fall prior to MSI, while Summer Split and the LEC Season Finals will take place between MSI and the World Championship.

The Spring finals won’t just be a fight for EMEA dominance – it’ll also decide the LEC’s MSI representative.

We want to make our season more action-packed. We are introducing shorter splits, where best-of series will test players to the limits of their competitive ability. This change offers players even more opportunities to compete and hone their skills on the biggest stage in the region, and gives fans even more reasons and opportunities to tune in for the best competition EMEA has to offer.

Each split will consist of a single BO1 round robin taking place over three weeks. After those three weeks, the top eight teams will be separated into two groups, where they’ll compete in a BO3 double-elimination group stage, before concluding with a four-team, double-elimination BO5 playoff stage. Of those four, only one can be crowned Champion , and secure themselves a spot in the all-important LEC Season Finals.

The crown jewel of the LEC calendar will be the LEC Season Finals, a culmination of the competitive year in EMEA featuring the best six teams the region has to offer. The champions of LEC Winter, Spring, and Summer will automatically secure themselves a spot in the LEC Season Finals , with the remaining places and overall seeding decided by Championship Points. Those six teams will then battle it out to prove their regional dominance, and for a chance to represent EMEA on the international stage at the League of Legends World Championship.

This format is being rolled out in EMEA as a pilot program as LoL Esports considers broader changes to the competitive calendar and season structure in 2024 and beyond. If the format finds success with fans, teams and pros, we could see a version of it deployed in more regions in the future. If it does not, we will continue to iterate to find the best format for our fans across the globe.

OVERVIEW OF ERLS

ACCREDITED ERLS

Superliga

Spain, Andorra

La Ligue Française

France, Monaco

Prime League

Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland

Ultraliga

Estonia, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine, Israel

NEW: TCL (TÜRKİYE Championship League)

Türki̇ye, Azerbaijan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan

NON-ACCREDITED ERLS

Northern League of Legends Championship

UK, Ireland, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Malta, Iceland

PG Nationals

Italy: Holy See (the), San Marino

EBL

Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Kosovo, Moldova

Greek Legends League

Greece, Cyprus

Elite Series

Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, (incl. Caribbean Dutch Islands, Aruba, Curacao)

Hitpoint Masters

Czech Republic, Slovakia

Liga Portuguesa de League of Legends

Portugal

NEW: Arabian League

Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates

EMEA ECOSYSTEM RESTRUCTURE

Introduction to the new structure and Europe, CIS, Türki̇ye and MENA merging to become one, united competitive region: EMEA.

LEC, LEAGUE OF LEGENDS EMEA CHAMPIONSHIP

The LEC is just one part of our vision for the future of EMEA LoL. Europe, and EMEA as a whole, has always been a region driven by its pathways to pro play, which have continually produced some of the world’s most iconic players. This new ecosystem will combine Europe, Türki̇ye, CIS and MENA to become EMEA – a united competitive region for League of Legends esports.

EU MASTERS BECOME EMEA MASTERS

The TCL (Türki̇ye Championship League) and AL (Arabian League, previously Intel Arabian Cup) will join the EMEA Regional Leagues. They’ll compete in EMEA Masters, which will bring together the best of the best across the EMEA regional leagues.

They’ll compete alongside the existing ERLs, making EMEA Masters a truly intercontinental tournament where players from across the region will be able to prove their skill on one of the biggest stages of their careers. EMEA Masters will now host 13 regional leagues after the addition of the AL and TCL.

TCL AND IAC WILL BECOME PART OF ERL

The LCL will remain suspended until further notice, but may be included in this ecosystem structure in the future. The CIS region will become part of the EMEA ecosystem even in the LCL’s absence, meaning that CIS players will be offered the same residency status as any other player in EMEA.

RESIDENCY STATUS CHANGES TO PLAYERS

Over the last several years, we have seen incredible success in our talent development ecosystem with players constantly moving up through the ERLs & EM to ultimately get a shot at playing on the LEC stage.

We want to continue facilitating the growth of the incredible talent we have here in the EMEA region and help nurture a new generation of LEC stars who’ll represent the region internationally for years to come. In 2022 alone, five of the ten finalists in both Spring and Summer splits were graduates of the ERL system – we’ve seen time and time again just how important the ERL talent pipeline is in growing the next generation of LEC stars.

To support this goal, players from across EMEA will be able to compete in the LEC as resident players, and will not be subject to the Interregional Movement policy when participating in the LEC.

EMEA REGIONAL LEAGUE

CHANGES

  • TCL (TR)

    Under the EMEA banner, the TCL will become an accredited ERL – which will mean it’ll play host to a first and a second-division league, the latter of which will be introduced at a later date, following Spring 2023. The TCL first division will consist of a minimum of eight teams in two double round-robin splits per year, with the top six regular-season teams competing in the region’s playoffs. Those playoffs won’t just be for regional dominance – it’ll be a chance for TCL teams to battle it out to become the first-ever TCL representative at EMEA Masters.

    As we incorporate the TCL into the EMEA Masters ecosystem, we want to make sure Turkish fans can follow all the excitement of competitive EMEA LoL– and so we’re happy to announce that, alongside a Turkish broadcast for EMEA Masters, we’ll be debuting an official Turkish broadcast of the LEC for 2023. Alongside this, we’ll continue to offer Turkish-language broadcasts for MSI and Worlds.

    Producing iconic LEC stars like BrokenBlade and Armut, alongside a whole host of incredible domestic talent, the TCL has a remarkable history in League of Legends Esports. We’re excited to watch that legacy continue to grow under the EMEA Regional League banner.

  • LCL (CIS + RUS)

    The LCL will remain suspended until further notice, but may be included in this ecosystem structure in the future. The CIS region will become part of the EMEA ecosystem even in the LCL’s absence, meaning that CIS players will be offered the same residency status as any other player in EMEA.

    We will continue to monitor the landscape and assess the possibility to include the LCL in the expanded ERL ecosystem at a later date.

  • AL (MENA)

    The formerly named Intel Arabian Cup will be officially renamed to the Arabian League, or AL, as the region joins the EMEA Regional League circuit. The AL will start as a non-accredited ERL, meaning they’ll be awarded a spot in EMEA Masters play ins, and the tournament’s format will remain the same for the 2023 season.

    We’re excited to incorporate the AL into the world of EMEA League of Legends and watch it continue to grow as part of the EMEA ecosystem. Bringing together teams from across the MENA region, the competition in MENA has consistently improved since its inception in 2020. We can’t wait to see how the AL will match up against representatives from across EMEA in their EMEA Masters debut.

  • ERLs

    The TCL and AL will join the existing 11 ERLs under the EMEA banner.

    Our accreditation system will remain the same, too. The regional leagues are divided into two categories, accredited and non-accredited. The key difference between accredited and non-accredited ERLs is in their size: non-accredited leagues are home to eight teams, while accredited leagues host ten.

    The leagues also run different playoff formats. Non-accredited leagues run with a four-team knockout stage, whereas accredited leagues use a six-team, double-elimination format.

    We will be seeing some changes to slot distribution for EMEA Masters with the addition of our new competitors. More information on that, and what it means for the existing ERLs, will be revealed later this year.

LOGO CHANGES

The LEC’s crown logo will remain the same as we go from Europe to EMEA – but as EU Masters becomes EMEA Masters, we’ve given its logo an update fit for ERL royalty.

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