EMEA Masters Winter format and EWC integration revealed

Riot Games unveiled the format for its popular tier-two regional competition, EMEA Masters Winter 2026, which will now feature the top 36 teams from the EMEA Regional Leagues (ERLs).

Kicking off on March 9th, this year’s edition will have additional major implications as the top two teams will advance to the Esports World Cup (EWC) Qualifier. In that event, the teams will compete for a spot at the Esports World Cup 2026, taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, later this summer.

The top EMEA Masters finalists are set to compete alongside the 10 LEC partner teams in the EWC EMEA Qualifier, giving tier two teams a potential pathway to compete.

According to the EWC tournament rules, academy teams can’t compete at the Esports World Cup and therefore will not be able to take part in the qualifier. If an academy squad finishes in a qualifying position at EMEA Masters, the qualification slot will go to the next highest-ranked non-academy team in the final standings.

The first major tournament for the tier-two scene in 2026 will see the top 36 ERL teams compete across three stages, starting with the Champions Round on March 9th.

The Winter Split champions from the top eight ERLs will face off in a single best-of-three, based on rankings. The four winners will qualify directly for the Playoffs Upper Bracket Round 2, while losers will have to go through the Group Stage.

The Group Stage will be between March 10th and March 15th, featuring 32 teams and best-of-three series. Karmine Corp’s academy team, Karmine Corp Blue, will be seeded among the 32 teams in the group stage, receiving a direct bye after taking part in the LEC Versus as one of the two ERL teams alongside Los Ratones.

Split into eight groups of four, each group will have teams battle it out in a double-elimination bracket. Only the winner of each group will go to the playoffs.

The top eight teams from the group stage will then move to the first round of playoffs, with the remaining 12 teams competing in a double-elimination bracket. All series will be best-of-three, except the final, which will be best-of-five. This phase will be spread across March 23rd-25th, 31st, April 7th, 14th, and 21st, making EMEA Masters Winter a month-and-a-half-long tournament.

As a result, Riot Games confirmed that the Spring Splits for ERL teams will start three days later, and the last phase of the EMEA Masters Winter playoffs will run in parallel with the start of some of the spring splits.