WSCI forces EMEA Masters Summer format change

With the last-minute announcement of the World Star Challengers Invitational, a brand-new competition bringing together the best Tier 2 League of Legends teams from around the world, the EMEA Masters are set to take place at the same time, between late September and early October. As a result, for the three European teams traveling to South Korea for the competition, the EMEA Masters Swiss Stage will not be played, and they will instead have to go through a Knockout Stage to have a chance of making the playoffs.

Indeed, announced to take place from September 9 to October 2, the World Star Challengers Invitational has logically become a priority for the teams taking part, including the three EMEA teams heading to South Korea. For now, only Solary, the Winter winners, and Galions, the Spring winners, are guaranteed a spot in South Korea. As for the third team, a qualifier will be held on September 13 and 14 between the best team from LES, the Spanish league; the best team from Prime League, the German league; and TCL, the Turkish league, a distribution that has understandably drawn its share of criticism.

As a result, these three teams could potentially remain in South Korea until October 2, creating a clear issue for the EMEA Masters, especially as the competition had awarded direct slots to the two LFL teams that won the previous two splits. To address this, the three teams will enter the competition after the Swiss Stage and face the teams ranked 14th, 15th, and 16th in a best-of-five Knockout Stage. At the end of these matches, the winners will join the other 13 teams qualified for the playoffs, while the three losing teams will see their seasons come to an end.

It is worth noting, however, that this Knockout Stage will take place on October 4, just two days after the WSCI concludes on October 2. This could potentially force a European team that makes a deep run or even reaches the final to rush back to Europe in order to compete or even withdraw from the EMEA Masters altogether. The playoffs will then proceed as normal from October 6, with the dates for the finals yet to be confirmed. Given the schedule, it seems possible that, as in 2025, the EMEA Masters final could be played as a LAN event in Paris during Paris Games Week, France's largest convention dedicated to video games.