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2016 Challenger Series Qualifiers

Riot·11/24/2015, 7:08:58 PM·3 votes·125,478 views

Amendment/update: We know there were concerns around the age limit for teams, with some 16-year-old players expecting to participate in the upcoming Challenger Series.

Our original change was designed to make the CS to LCS qualification process smoother by rewiring teams to be LCS eligible not just at playoff time (as previously) but for the whole CS split. Ultimately, this was too restrictive. We'll be moving to a middle ground where a good portion of a qualifying team would be able to move directly into the LCS if the team is promoted, but where younger players can also belong to an org and level up their skill in a structured environment. 

To address this change immediately, we will be amending our 2016 ruleset to allow up to 2 starting players to be 16-years-old, and to extend their eligibility throughout both the regular season and playoffs. Any player who would be 17 by the start of the next LCS split doesn't count against the cap, so teams should have a lot more flexibility across their roster.

TL;DR: We’ll be making some changes to the way teams qualify into the Challenger Series for 2016 including Open Qualifier Tournaments and National Leagues within Europe.

Now that we’ve entered the offseason, there are some changes on the horizon for teams looking to earn a spot in the 2016 Challenger Series (CS). For CS Qualifiers, we’ll be moving away from Ranked Teams and introducing Qualification Tournaments to determine eligible teams.

What are the Qualification Tournaments?

Challenger Series Open Qualifier in NA and EU

For the 2016 Season, we’re moving away from Ranked Teams, and running an open tournament through League of Legends Battlegrounds to determine competing teams in the Challenger Series Qualifiers.

After sign-ups close for the Open Qualifier, all successfully enrolled teams will be drawn into a bracket to play for a spot at their region’s CS Qualifiers:  

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National Leagues in EU

As part of this new season, we’re working with ESL Meisterschaft in Germany, ESL Mistrzostwa Polski in Poland, and LVP’s División de Honor in Spain to reward the winners of their national events with a place in the CS Qualifiers.

With the diversity of cultures and countries in Europe, this is a big step for more amateur teams to compete at a semi-professional level.  By strengthening the path to pro within local countries, teams will be able to represent their nation and bring pride to fans that have followed their journey along the way.  Successful teams will have a chance to represent their country in the Challenger Series, with the strongest potentially joining the LCS during the 2016 Summer Promotion tournament.

Why is CS now using Qualification Tournaments?

Previously, we’ve used the Ranked Team Ladder to directly pull teams from the NA, EUNE, and EUW servers into the CS Qualifiers bracket.  While Ranked 5s had its benefits, the new Qualification Tournaments allows teams and players to be recruited based on the winning results of the tournament instead of Ranked Team ladder status.  

What are the CS Qualifiers?

After the Open Qualifier and National Leagues in EU, teams advance to the CS Qualifiers to fight for a spot in the 2016 Spring Challenger Series. Here’s the format for the NA and EU CS Qualifiers:

North America:

  • 2 lowest CS teams from 2015 Summer Split vs. top 2 teams from the NA CS Open Qualifier
  • 5th Place CS team picks their opponent from the NA Open Qualifier

With a single source of potential Challenger teams, NA will rely on the Open Qualifier and will use a promotion tournament format that mirrors the NA LCS.  The NA Qualifiers Finals will be Best of 5 and the winner of each Finals will secure a spot in the 2016 NA Challenger Series Spring Split.

Europe:

Teams:

  • 2 lowest CS teams from 2015 CS Summer Split
  • 3 National League winners
  • 3 teams from the EU CS Open Qualifiers
    • EUW & EUNE winners
    • Winner of one-off match between the EUW/EUNE 2nd place seeds

Format:

  • Teams are split into two single-elimination brackets with four teams per bracket
  • Seeding into brackets is random, but each of the 2 CS teams, as well as the top team from EUW and EUNE, will be drawn into different brackets.

Below is an example of the EU CS Qualifiers with one of the randomized outcomes:

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The EU CS Qualifiers Bracket Stage matches will be a Best of 3 with the Finals being a Best of 5. The winners of each bracket will secure a spot in the 2016 EU Spring Challenger Series.

When does it all start?

Qualification Tournaments

The Open Qualifier for NA and EU will take place on December 10-18 and January 4-10.  

The EU National Leagues conclude on:

  • LVP - December 6
  • ESL DE - December 6
  • ESL PL -  October 4

CS Qualifiers

CS Qualifiers will take place on January 12-20.

How do I participate and sign-up for the CS Qualification Tournaments?

For information on the eligibility, sign-up information, and schedule of the National Leagues in Europe, visit the following sites for:

For the Open Qualifier, visit League of Legends Battlegrounds. Sign-ups will be open for a week from December 1 - 8.

We’ll share more information about the Open Qualifier registration and eligibility information on November 30, but individual players must:

  • Hold an active Solo Queue ranking of at least Diamond 3 to participate in the tournament
  • Anyone under the age of 18-years-old must have signed permission from a legal guardian to participate in the tournament. The eligibility form will be released when sign-ups start.

In addition to these rules, teams who become eligible to participate in the CS Qualifiers will be required to join or form organizations capable of meeting all the expectations and responsibilities of an LCS team. Throughout the season and playoffs, teams can play with up to 2 starting players who won't be 17 by the start of the next LCS split, but they must have turned 16 by the day of their first CS match. Players who will turn 17 by the start of the next LCS split won't count against that cap. Teams are also required to be compliant with the Interregional Movement Policy.

Will there be more changes coming to Challenger? How about changes to the format?

We’ll share more information about upcoming changes, full schedule, and format for the new season of the Challenger Series and LCS in December.

40 Comments

Ale non è male11/24/2015, 8:43:57 PM3 votes

Why are the changes kicking off from Spring and not from Summer? Don't you think this is going to screw orgs that invested lot of energies in S5 summer on grinding ladder 5 like Enigma or k1ck did? And why some countries orgs/players are going to have an automatic entry in CS and others will not and will have to fight through Open Qualifier? Why Spain and Germany yes, but France, Uk, Italy no?

This new system is kinda meh, imho, if not even completely disappointing

BAGTim11/29/2015, 10:30:32 PM3 votes

Isn't this very unfair towards teams that don't come from Spain, Germany or Poland? While they need to win the open qualifier tournament, thus be among the best in europe, teams from Spain, Germany and Poland can just "relax a bit" and only need to be the best of their country to be able to participate. Not only is this unfair towards teams from the rest of europe, this will also mean that less skilled teams are going to participate in the qualifiers for CS. This is not only unfair by the way, it is also discrimination on nationality, which for as far as i know is still forbidden in europe.... All in all, it would be best to only look at international stage instead of national, since the best teams from europe will then participate instead of the best teams from Spain, Germany and Poland. Leading to a higher skilled CS in the end.

I am RCA11/24/2015, 9:25:21 PM3 votes

How does a team from NA sign up for tournaments?

dthomash11/25/2015, 9:34:48 AM2 votes

I don't like how there are two separate brackets to determine the two teams that enter the Challenger Series. A double elimination bracket similar to the Expansion Tournament would likely be better. Since the teams that make it to the Challenger Series are presumably going to be there for a while, it would be better to make sure that you have the best two teams. With two separate brackets both teams could get stuck in the same bracket. Having a double elimination bracket would prevent that problem as the winner of the winner's bracket and the winner of the loser's bracket would be the two teams to advance to the Challenger Series.

TrollFan0111/24/2015, 9:06:47 PM2 votes

Good on Riot putting more effort into trying to help the CS grow.

BAGTim11/29/2015, 10:30:06 PM1 votes

Isn't this very unfair towards teams that don't come from Spain, Germany or Poland? While they need to win the open qualifier tournament, thus be among the best in europe, teams from Spain, Germany and Poland can just "relax a bit" and only need to be the best of their country to be able to participate. Not only is this unfair towards teams from the rest of europe, this will also mean that less skilled teams are going to participate in the qualifiers for CS. This is not only unfair by the way, it is also discrimination on nationality, which for as far as i know is still forbidden in europe.... All in all, it would be best to only look at international stage instead of national, since the best teams from europe will then participate instead of the best teams from Spain, Germany and Poland. Leading to a higher skilled CS in the end.

BAGTim11/29/2015, 10:30:26 PM1 votes

Isn't this very unfair towards teams that don't come from Spain, Germany or Poland? While they need to win the open qualifier tournament, thus be among the best in europe, teams from Spain, Germany and Poland can just "relax a bit" and only need to be the best of their country to be able to participate. Not only is this unfair towards teams from the rest of europe, this will also mean that less skilled teams are going to participate in the qualifiers for CS. This is not only unfair by the way, it is also discrimination on nationality, which for as far as i know is still forbidden in europe.... All in all, it would be best to only look at international stage instead of national, since the best teams from europe will then participate instead of the best teams from Spain, Germany and Poland. Leading to a higher skilled CS in the end.

BAGTim11/29/2015, 10:30:38 PM1 votes

Isn't this very unfair towards teams that don't come from Spain, Germany or Poland? While they need to win the open qualifier tournament, thus be among the best in europe, teams from Spain, Germany and Poland can just "relax a bit" and only need to be the best of their country to be able to participate. Not only is this unfair towards teams from the rest of europe, this will also mean that less skilled teams are going to participate in the qualifiers for CS. This is not only unfair by the way, it is also discrimination on nationality, which for as far as i know is still forbidden in europe.... All in all, it would be best to only look at international stage instead of national, since the best teams from europe will then participate instead of the best teams from Spain, Germany and Poland. Leading to a higher skilled CS in the end.

BAGTim11/29/2015, 10:31:00 PM1 votes

Isn't this very unfair towards teams that don't come from Spain, Germany or Poland? While they need to win the open qualifier tournament, thus be among the best in europe, teams from Spain, Germany and Poland can just "relax a bit" and only need to be the best of their country to be able to participate. Not only is this unfair towards teams from the rest of europe, this will also mean that less skilled teams are going to participate in the qualifiers for CS. This is not only unfair by the way, it is also discrimination on nationality, which for as far as i know is still forbidden in europe.... All in all, it would be best to only look at international stage instead of national, since the best teams from europe will then participate instead of the best teams from Spain, Germany and Poland. Leading to a higher skilled CS in the end.

BAGTim11/29/2015, 10:31:05 PM1 votes

Isn't this very unfair towards teams that don't come from Spain, Germany or Poland? While they need to win the open qualifier tournament, thus be among the best in europe, teams from Spain, Germany and Poland can just "relax a bit" and only need to be the best of their country to be able to participate. Not only is this unfair towards teams from the rest of europe, this will also mean that less skilled teams are going to participate in the qualifiers for CS. This is not only unfair by the way, it is also discrimination on nationality, which for as far as i know is still forbidden in europe.... All in all, it would be best to only look at international stage instead of national, since the best teams from europe will then participate instead of the best teams from Spain, Germany and Poland. Leading to a higher skilled CS in the end.

BAGTim11/29/2015, 10:31:15 PM1 votes

Isn't this very unfair towards teams that don't come from Spain, Germany or Poland? While they need to win the open qualifier tournament, thus be among the best in europe, teams from Spain, Germany and Poland can just "relax a bit" and only need to be the best of their country to be able to participate. Not only is this unfair towards teams from the rest of europe, this will also mean that less skilled teams are going to participate in the qualifiers for CS. This is not only unfair by the way, it is also discrimination on nationality, which for as far as i know is still forbidden in europe.... All in all, it would be best to only look at international stage instead of national, since the best teams from europe will then participate instead of the best teams from Spain, Germany and Poland. Leading to a higher skilled CS in the end.

BAGTim11/29/2015, 10:31:20 PM1 votes

Isn't this very unfair towards teams that don't come from Spain, Germany or Poland? While they need to win the open qualifier tournament, thus be among the best in europe, teams from Spain, Germany and Poland can just "relax a bit" and only need to be the best of their country to be able to participate. Not only is this unfair towards teams from the rest of europe, this will also mean that less skilled teams are going to participate in the qualifiers for CS. This is not only unfair by the way, it is also discrimination on nationality, which for as far as i know is still forbidden in europe.... All in all, it would be best to only look at international stage instead of national, since the best teams from europe will then participate instead of the best teams from Spain, Germany and Poland. Leading to a higher skilled CS in the end.

BAGTim11/29/2015, 10:31:46 PM1 votes

Isn't this very unfair towards teams that don't come from Spain, Germany or Poland? While they need to win the open qualifier tournament, thus be among the best in europe, teams from Spain, Germany and Poland can just "relax a bit" and only need to be the best of their country to be able to participate. Not only is this unfair towards teams from the rest of europe, this will also mean that less skilled teams are going to participate in the qualifiers for CS. This is not only unfair by the way, it is also discrimination on nationality, which for as far as i know is still forbidden in europe.... All in all, it would be best to only look at international stage instead of national, since the best teams from europe will then participate instead of the best teams from Spain, Germany and Poland. Leading to a higher skilled CS in the end.

BAGTim11/29/2015, 10:31:48 PM1 votes

Isn't this very unfair towards teams that don't come from Spain, Germany or Poland? While they need to win the open qualifier tournament, thus be among the best in europe, teams from Spain, Germany and Poland can just "relax a bit" and only need to be the best of their country to be able to participate. Not only is this unfair towards teams from the rest of europe, this will also mean that less skilled teams are going to participate in the qualifiers for CS. This is not only unfair by the way, it is also discrimination on nationality, which for as far as i know is still forbidden in europe.... All in all, it would be best to only look at international stage instead of national, since the best teams from europe will then participate instead of the best teams from Spain, Germany and Poland. Leading to a higher skilled CS in the end.

Bravoh3/14/2016, 11:09:12 PM1 votes

Why are there only 6 teams in challenger? Your not growing the sport, your preventing it from growing.

Not only are there no incentives for teams to play ranked other then bragging rights, your only choosing from a pool of what, 12 teams from each region as "The Top Teams" that deserve to compete. You have to look at what previous leagues have done to grow the leagues and you are not doing that.

For instance, you log into CEVO or ESEA and check out their pages. You will see that there are several divisions, with each division having fewer teams then the rest. Here you guys only have 2 divions, Invite and Premier. With instead of having more teams, with more players to choose from, you have 6.

You have a brand new plant and instead of taking it out of the pot to let it grow, your just gonna leave it in there and let it die.

Aparia11/24/2015, 8:42:13 PM1 votes

does this apply to NA too? you seem to say both regions will have this new format, but we have no information about NA.

HalfAnOreo11/25/2015, 12:54:08 AM1 votes

No more win trading god bless ritoooo

Flemman11/25/2015, 4:51:28 PM1 votes

why do spain, germany and poland can play in both battleground and the national spot, isn't this a bit unfair to nation who can only go in battleground?

BAGTim11/29/2015, 10:29:59 PM1 votes

Isn't this very unfair towards teams that don't come from Spain, Germany or Poland? While they need to win the open qualifier tournament, thus be among the best in europe, teams from Spain, Germany and Poland can just "relax a bit" and only need to be the best of their country to be able to participate. Not only is this unfair towards teams from the rest of europe, this will also mean that less skilled teams are going to participate in the qualifiers for CS. This is not only unfair by the way, it is also discrimination on nationality, which for as far as i know is still forbidden in europe.... All in all, it would be best to only look at international stage instead of national, since the best teams from europe will then participate instead of the best teams from Spain, Germany and Poland. Leading to a higher skilled CS in the end.

GENERAL IR0H11/24/2015, 7:47:05 PM1 votes

Frist

BAGTim11/29/2015, 10:31:58 PM

Isn't this very unfair towards teams that don't come from Spain, Germany or Poland? While they need to win the open qualifier tournament, thus be among the best in europe, teams from Spain, Germany and Poland can just "relax a bit" and only need to be the best of their country to be able to participate. Not only is this unfair towards teams from the rest of europe, this will also mean that less skilled teams are going to participate in the qualifiers for CS. This is not only unfair by the way, it is also discrimination on nationality, which for as far as i know is still forbidden in europe.... All in all, it would be best to only look at international stage instead of national, since the best teams from europe will then participate instead of the best teams from Spain, Germany and Poland. Leading to a higher skilled CS in the end.