As
previously reported by
Sheep Esports, the
EMEA Masters Winter Split 2026 will be connected to the Esports World Cup. The tournament will indeed serve as a qualifier to determine the two best ERL teams before a second phase, with LEC teams. A total of
36 teams will take part in the competition, spread across the 13 ERLs. Per sources, the slots have been allocated as follows:
- Four Slots: LFL, PRM, LES, NLC
- Three Slots: TCL, AL
- Two Slots: LIT, HLL, RL, HM, ROL, EBL, LPLOL
Several teams are already qualified for the competition. In the Ligue Française de
League of Legends (LFL), three teams are locked in:
Galions and Solary, both in the Upper Bracket Final, and Karmine Corp Blue. Having participated in the LEC Versus, KCB did not play in the LFL Invitational, but will enter as the LFL’s fourth seed. Unlike KCB, Los Ratones will not take part in the competition
following the club’s shutdown, announced by Marc “Caedrel” Lamont on February 12.
The top four from the LES will be MKOI Fénix, Barça eSports, UCAM Esports, and Team Heretics Academy. From Turkey, it will be Misa Esports, S2G Esports, and the Bushido Wildcats. The Arabian League will send FN, Baam, and 3BL Esports. LIT’s finalists are HMBLE and Colossal Gaming, while the ROL will be represented by Frites Esports Club and The Bandits.
The Format
As previously reported by Sheep Esports, the EM Winter will be divided into three phases. First is the Champions Round, which will pit the eight champions from the top ERLs, based on the 2024–2025 EMEA Masters ranking, against each other. The four winners will qualify directly for Phase 3, the Playoffs, while the losers will move on to Phase 2, the Group Stage.
The Group Stage will take place from March 10–14 for Groups 1–4 and March 11–15 for Groups 5–8. Teams from the same league will be kept apart in the draw to avoid early matchups. Each group will play four rounds over four days, with two to four matches happening simultaneously, and only the top team from each group will advance to the Playoffs.
Academy teams can’t qualify for EWC
While academy teams can obviously compete in the EMEA Masters, they will not be able to qualify for the second EWC qualifier — which will consist of a twelve-team tournament against LEC teams. KCB, Team Heretics Academy, and Movistar KOI Fénix will therefore not be eligible for Phase 2 of the EWC Qualifiers process, even if they win or reach the finals of the EMEA Masters.
