Ubisoft has revealed the full extent of the new European League replacing the ESL Pro League system. The new European League features three splits in a season, each with different rewards up for grabs. Furthermore, the league will restructure the amateur and semi-pro scenes into a new system focused on the National Leagues.
The New European League kicks off June 22nd with a brand new professional system and path-to-pro format. (Photo courtesy Ubisoft)
Professional play
The new European League does not differ all that much in regular play from the ESL Pro League. The usual online best-of-ones are returning. These matches reward the same three points for a win, one for a draw and zero for a loss. However, teams will now only play each other once in a round-robin system.
Also, the meta-rules of the league are changing completely. The new European League uses three splits in a season. Each split sends the top four teams from the league to the quarterly Six Major. Meanwhile, 5th-8th earn circuit points that head towards the tally top for the new European Final in December.
The top four teams each split head to the new quarterly Six Major systems revealed at the Six Invitational. In addition, the circuit points also send the top four teams in the region to the European Finals. Like the North American League, Europe gets its own December league to determine the regional champion.
An example of how the European Region format looks at the end of the season. (Photo courtesy Ubisoft)
As for the relegation matches, auto relegation makes its return. The team that finishes in last place in circuit points at the end of the season are auto relegated to the new Challenger League system. The top Challenger League team from the season will replace them in auto-promotion. As for the 9th place team, they will enter a playoff match with the second-best team in the Challenger League. This will determine who enters the next season of the European League.
The new League system plays a big part in how teams enter the Six Invitational. The top 16 teams in the world decided through the Six Major earn their right to compete in the Six Invitational. A further four teams qualify through the regional open qualifiers. This brings the SI up to a 20-team tournament that finishes off the competitive siege season.
Challenger League
The new path-to-pro system is overhauling the system completely. The European National Leagues will now send the top-performing team to the Rainbow Six Challenger League. If a team already in Challenger League or the European League win, then the next available team in the ladder heads to Challenger League. The below image represents the National Leagues with Challenger League slots up for grabs.
The National League with pathways into the new Challenger League. (Photo courtesy Ubisoft)
The Paris Studio
Europe is getting a brand-new broadcast studio for the European League. The studio will create brand new content, features and more for European broadcasting. New tools will also play a role in the league when the European League becomes operational. Moreover, the league studio will broadcast the APAC North Division and the EU Challenger League.
Teams that didn’t qualify through the National Leagues will have a shot in an open qualifier. One team will earn their right to compete as the 12th team in the European Challenger League. The remaining two teams rounding out Challenger League are Defuse Kids and PENTA. Both teams make their way into the league from the hangover of the old system.
The Challenger League kicks off in the fall. Teams are seeded into two groups of six and play a best of one round-robin. The top four teams of each group advance and will play another tournament to determine the top two teams in Challenger League. More news is yet to come on how the Challenger League works.
Currently, the studio is trimmed down in size due to COVID-19. An expanded studio will follow once when it is much safer to do so.
The new European League Season begins June 22nd. For more information regarding the new European League, visit the official Ubisoft blog post here.
