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Riot Games has today revealed the 2025 EMEA Masters (EM) format breakdown, slot distribution and other info for this year’s tournament featuring the best of the ERLs.
Riot already announced that EMEA Masters will be adopting a three-split format, around the time the NLC changes for 2025 and 2026 were announced a couple of months ago.
Now it’s confirmed that each EM event will increase in size as the season progresses, with Summer being the biggest to end the season with a bang.
The Winter season will have 16 teams, Spring will have 32, and Summer 44.
2025 EMEA Masters Winter Format
The first major event will be EM Winter, which will see a list of the region’s 16 strongest teams invited to compete. Each ERL’s Winter champion, as well as three additional second seeds, will take part.
And Fearless Draft will feature throughout the whole event, with the same version as Tier 1 competitions featuring in the tournament. Fearless draft is basically where no champion can be played more than once in a series.
The first stage of the event will see teams compete in a GSL Group Stage, with four groups of four teams battling against teams with equal records in best-of-threes. Teams that win two series will advance to the Playoffs, while a second loss for any squad will spell elimination. It’s also important to note that this stage will feature regional protection, to ensure that two teams from the same region can’t face each other in the early stages.
Playoffs will then see the remaining eight teams compete in a single elimination bracket to decide the winner of the first event of the year.
2025 EMEA Masters Spring Format
EM Spring will feature the same format as Winter but with two key differences. Firstly, there will be no Fearless ruleset, so drafting will be consistent throughout. And secondly, the tournament will double in size, with 32 teams competing, ‘giving more teams across the region the opportunity to prove themselves and fight for EM silverware’, Riot said.
The 32 teams will once again compete in regionally protected groups, facing off in best-of-threes, with the aim of winning two series in order to advance to the Playoffs.
EM Spring Playoffs will be double the size of Winter, as 16 teams compete in pure best-of-fives in a single elimination bracket. Lose a series and you’re eliminated.
2025 EMEA Masters Summer Format
Summer EM will be very similar to last year’s event, as 44 teams compete for the trophy.
Summer will once again start with a Last Chance Qualifier, but competition will be even fiercer with just 16 teams competing in a region-protected Group Stage. In four groups of four, teams will compete in a best-of-three to reach the LCQ finals where the winners will face off in a best-of-five to decide four group winners who will then qualify for the next stage.
And that stage is the Swiss Stage, which will see 32 teams compete in a gauntlet of matches and series against teams with equal records from outside of their own regions, all in a bid to claim four victories and reach the Playoffs.
For the third and final stage, region protection is removed and there will be no second chances. The top 16 teams will battle in best-of-fives through the single elimination bracket Playoffs, to ultimately crown Summer’s EMEA champions.
2025 EMEA Masters Regional Slot Distribution
Winter will feature the top seeds from each league as well as the second seeds from the three most competitive leagues based on historical performances from the past two seasons.
Spring will see six leagues offered three slots (again based on historical performances from the past two seasons) while the remaining leagues will be given two slots.
Summer will open three slots per region except for the five best performing leagues, which will be given an additional 4th seed.
There will be 13 EMEA Regional Leagues competing for spots in this year’s regional events:
- France – La Ligue Française (LFL)
- Turkey – Turkish Championship League (TCL)
- Germany, Austria, Switzerland – Prime League (PRM)
- Spain – Superliga (SL)
- Poland and Baltics – Rift Legends: Polish Championship (RL)
- UK and Nordics – Northern League of Legends Championship (NLC)
- Italy – League of Legends Italian Tournament (LIT)
- Middle East and Northern Africa – Arabian League (AL)
- Greece and Cyprus – Hellenic League of Legends Championship (HLL)
- Portugal – Liga Portuguesa (LPLOL)
- Czech Republic and Slovakia – Hitpoint Masters (HM)
- Balkans – Esports Balkan League (EBL)
- BeNeLux – Road of Legends (ROL)
Riot said: “With an influx of content creators and veterans joining our EMEA Regional Leagues (ERLs), 2025 is shaping up to be an immense year of entertainment!
“This year of ERL action could be the most exciting yet, as our region’s best young talents will be tested against the influx of big-name veterans that have recently joined teams.”
Riot is referring to the likes of Caedrel (with Los Ratones) and IWillDominate (with The Ruddy Sack) co-streaming teams in the NLC this year.
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Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
