League of Legends: what are the EMEA Masters?

Since 2018, the EU Masters has brought together the best teams from the 13 national League of Legends leagues in the European region twice a year for an end-of-split tournament. From 2023 onwards, and with the expansion of the region to include Africa and the Middle East, the competition has taken on a new name: the EMEA Masters. This competition will crown the 'champion' of the European Regional Leagues (ERLs), Europe's Tier 2.

It is also the best stepping stone to the level above: the LEC. With no official second division for the regional elite, the EMEA Masters is the perfect opportunity for those who want to try their luck on the highest stage. Many players from the winning teams have had opportunities in the LEC. This has been the case since the competition's first edition: four of the five members of MAD Lions (who only played in the Spanish league until 2020) were promoted after winning the EUM in summer 2018.

Since then, one to three players from each roster that has won the competition has joined the LEC in the following split (with the exception of the Istanbul Wildcats, winners in spring 2023). In fact, only one team has won the EMEA Masters more than once in its history: Karmine Corp. As soon as it arrived in the French league in spring 2021, the Prestigious lifted the regional trophy before repeating twice and achieving the back-to-back-to-back.

Finally, in the summer of 2023, Lucas 'Saken' Fayard and his coach Rehareha 'Reha' Ramanana triumphed a fourth time in the blue jersey, in front of a conquered Montpellier crowd. In total, the LFL (France) has won the competition seven times (see below). The LVP (Spain) has won it three times, compared with two for the Prime League (Germany) and one each for the Ultraliga (Poland) and the TCL (Turkey).

While the format has remained broadly similar for five and a half years, in 2024 Riot Games have broken new ground. The first version of the summer edition format was widely criticised by the community. The League of Legends publisher has then rectified the situation, and the latest format is highly innovative for the ecosystem as it is the first competition to bring together 60 teams on the same stage.

Twenty-eight of them have automatically secured their place in the main tournament thanks to their performances in their respective leagues:

- the top 3 of the 'accredited' ERLs: LFL (France), LVP (Spain), Prime League (Germany) and TCL (Turkey)

- the top 2 of seven non-accredited ERLs: Arabian League, LIT (Italy), NLC (Nordic League), Ultraliga (Poland), LPLOL (Portugal) GLL (Greece) and EBL (Balkans)

- the champion of the Hipoint Masters (Czech Republic) and ESLOL (Benelux)

With lower rankings in their national championships, the 32 other teams have to go through a Last Chance Qualifier. The LCQ is divided into four groups, which are played in knockout stages. After two BO3s (best-of-three-round matches) and a BO5, the winners of each of the four groups join the 28 other teams in the Main Stage. This one begins with a Swiss Stage phase, a new feature apparently inspired by the recently revamped Worlds format.

In this Swiss Stage, four wins mean qualification for the play-offs, while four defeats mean elimination. After the first round, each team challenges a team with a similar record: after two rounds, for example, teams with a 2-0 record play each other in the third round, as do teams with a 1-1 record and teams with a 0-2 record. Matches are played in BO1, with the exception of qualifying and elimination matches, which are played in BO3. A 3-0 team can therefore have up to four BO3 matches to play if it struggles to qualify. Each team can play up to seven matches during this phase.

Finally, the sixteen teams who qualify for the play-offs takes on the last phase of the competition in BO5, which elects the champion of the national leagues in the EMEA region after four wins. The final is played out on stage, on the eve of the last two matches of the LEC Season Finals. In summer's 2024, BDSA was crowned champion in front of the German public, in Munich.