Format of the Ascension Tournament EMEA 2023
With the establishment of franchised leagues, the overall format of the competition has changed somewhat compared to last year. The main novelty is the appearance of the Ascension tournament. It offers a unique opportunity for the best teams from different Challengers to enter the leagues in the following season. We explain in detail how this competition works, with a focus on the EMEA region.
VCL France is just one of the leagues in the EMEA region. Each has its own operation, but all reward the teams with VCL points. The better the players perform and rise to the top of their circuit rankings, the more points they earn. At the end of the Challengers Split 2, the top 9 teams of the VCL are selected for the Ascension tournament.
Play-ins format, the pre-Ascension tournament
In an effort to give more teams a chance to prove themselves, Riot Games has decided to introduce the Play-In tournament. This offers a chance for all teams who finished second in their VCL to enter the Ascension tournament. The stage will include a total of 9 teams and will include two times : a group phase on 22nd and 23rd June and playoffs on 26th and 27th June.
During the group stage, teams will be divided into three groups of three. Each team will play the other two members of their group in the format single round-robin. All matches are BO1.
In each group, a ranking will determine the winning teams. These teams will go directly to the semi-finals of the playoffs. Those finishing third will be eliminated. The teams that finish second will compete again in the same format. The best team will get the fourth slot in the semi-finals.
Then the four teams that qualified for the playoffs will play each other in BO3, except for the Grand Final, played in BO5. The winners will join the 9 teams that qualified for the Ascension tournament.
Ascension format, the promotional tournament
The promotion tournament will include 10 teams, the 9 automatically qualified and the winner of the play-ins. Once again, the stage will be divided in two stages : the first stage will take place from 30th June to 4th July, the second from 13th to 16th July.
For the group stage, the teams will be divided into two groups of five teams. The format is identical to that of the Play-ins, i.e. each team will play all the other members of its group. This time around, the matches are BO3 and not BO1. Only the top two in each group advance to the playoffs.
The next step will use a double elimination bracket. As a result, players will have the right to make mistakes and possibly take advantage of the lower bracket to prove their worth. All matches are BO3, with the exception of Loser and Winner Grand Finals. For these important meetings, the matches are BO5.
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