The Esports World Cup qualifier will take place in two phases. The first phase will be the EMEA Masters Winter Split, featuring 36 teams competing from March 9 to April 21. The finalists of this edition will advance to Phase 2.
It’s also important to note that if one of these teams is an LEC academy team (for example, Karmine Corp Blue, Team Heretics Academy, or Vitality.Bee), the slot will be given to the highest-ranking non-academy ERL team, with a potential tiebreaker match if necessary.
The second phase of this qualifier will see the ten franchised LEC teams join the two ERL teams in a double-elimination bracket. Teams will be seeded based on the LEC Versus standings, with matches played from April 28–30 and May 14–17.
The top two teams from this tournament will qualify for the EWC, alongside the LEC Spring Split champion. If one of the top two teams in the EWC Qualifier also wins the LEC Spring Split, the slot would logically go to the third-place team in the Qualifier.
EMEA Masters Format
According to the leak, the format of the EMEA Masters Winter Split will begin with a Champions Round, featuring the champions of the top eight ERLs, determined by the 2024–2025 EMEA Masters ranking, facing off against each other. The winners will advance directly to the Playoffs, while the losers will move to the Group Stage.
Having participated in the LEC Versus, KCB will enter the tournament directly in the Group Stage as the LFL’s fourth seed. Additionally, Groups 1–4 will play from March 10 to 14, while Groups 5–8 will play from March 11 to 15.
The Group Stage will feature 32 teams divided into eight groups of four, played in a GSL-style format with no inter-region matchups. Only one team from each group will advance to the Playoffs. This will leave twelve teams for the final phase, which will again be a double-elimination bracket with regional protection applied in the first round.
