© 2026 Riot Games. All Rights Reserved.
© 2026 Riot Games. All Rights Reserved.
TL;DR:
EMEA Masters Winter will feature 36 ERL teams and start on March 9.
The top two teams from 2026 EMEA Masters Winter will qualify for the new Esports World Cup Qualifier.
LEC Academy teams can compete at EMEA Masters, but cannot qualify for the EWC Online Qualifier.
Karmine Corp Blue will receive a bye into the Group Stage.
We have some very exciting changes coming to EMEA Masters this year, which we can finally share with you all.
2026 EMEA Masters Winter will be a defining and impactful event for the ERL ecosystem, raising the stakes and creating more opportunities than ever before. These changes are brought on because of the introduction of the Esports World Cup Qualifiers (EWC Online Qualifier), a new event bringing together 10 LEC teams and 2 ERL representatives.
The top two ERL teams, decided at the 2026 EMEA Masters Winter, will have a chance to battle against the LEC teams for a spot at this year’s Esports World Cup. This offers ERL teams a direct pathway to one of the world's biggest stages and it all starts here, at EMEA Master Winter!
This year, EMEA Masters Winter will feature 36 ERL teams who will be seeded based on their rankings and the format will be split into three stages, starting with the Champions Round.
On March 9, the Winter Split champions of the Top 8 ERLs based on the current rankings will face off in a single Best-of-Three. The four winners of the Champions Round will directly qualify for Playoffs Upper Bracket Round 2, while the losers will have to compete through the Group Stage.
The Group Stage will then take place between March 10-15 with Best-of-Threes matches. 32 teams will compete in this round which includes the Champions Round losers and Karmine Corp Blue. As KCB earned a spot in LEC Versus this year, they have a direct bye to the Group Stage. Eight groups of four will battle in a double-elimination bracket, with only the winners of each group advancing to Playoffs.
Finally, the Playoffs will be spread out across March 23-25, 31, April 7, 14, and 21. The eight teams from the Group Stage will move on to Playoffs Upper Bracket Round 1. The four winners of the Champions Round will start in the Upper Bracket Round 2. The 12 teams will face off in a double elimination bracket. Finals will be Best-of-Five, with the rest Best-of-Three.
According to the tournament rules of EWC, LEC Academy Teams can’t compete at the Esports World Cup, therefore they will not be able to qualify for the (EWC Online Qualifier). If an Academy Team finishes in a qualifying position, the qualification slot will go to the next highest-ranked non-Academy Team in the final standings.
In order to unlock this opportunity for as many ERL teams as we could, we’ve had to make the EMEA Masters Winter longer which has led to some minor scheduling changes for the ERL Spring Split.
ERL Spring Splits will now start three days later and the last phase EMEA Master Winter Playoffs will run in parallel to the start of some ERL Spring Splits. EMEA Master Winter Playoff matches will take place only on Tuesdays to avoid clashes with other ERL events.
This year’s EMEA Masters Winter will not only crown the strongest ERL team, but also serve as the first phase of the (EWC Online Qualifier), which will run in parallel with the LEC and ERL Spring Splits. Before we get there though, let’s turn our attention to the Rift as we await the two ERL teams ready to seize their moment and take their first step towards the global stage.
To stay up to date with everything related to EMEA Masters in 2026, including Winter Split slot distribution, be sure to follow X @EMEAmasters for the latest news and announcements. Then tune in to twitch.tv/emeamasters on March 9 to catch all the action live when the EMEA Masters Winter officially kicks off.
