The EMEA Masters has reworked its Spring 2026 format only days after the initial reveal. The field grows from 20 to 28 teams, the Play-In doubles in size and switches to a Swiss bracket, and two ERLs pick up a third slot. The dates do not move — the tournament still runs from June 8 to June 15.
Eight more slots, all in Play-In
The Group Stage stays at 16 teams. Every one of the eight added slots lands in the Play-In, which expands from 8 to 16 sides.
The LFL and the Prime League jump from two to three slots each, with the new berth going to Play-In. The LES and TCL keep their two direct Group Stage seeds. The Arabian League, the Hellenic Legends League and the LoL Italian Tournament retain their 1+1 split between Group Stage and Play-In. The Rift Legends, previously seeded straight into the Group Stage with a single entry, also pick up an additional Play-In slot.
At the lower tier, five ERLs — Hitpoint Masters, Road of Legends, Esports Balkan League, LPLOL and the NLC — each double their representation from one to two Play-In slots.
Twelve teams are directly seeded into the Group Stage. Sixteen fight through the Play-In for the four remaining spots.
Play-In: two days, Swiss then BO3
The Play-In has been entirely redesigned. Day 1 is a five-round Swiss stage in BO1, with eight teams advancing. Day 2 reverts to single-elimination BO3, narrowing the bracket to the four sides that join the Group Stage.
The previous version of the format relied on a single BO3 to send teams home. The new structure spreads the workload over several matches before any bracket elimination begins, reducing the weight of one draw or one off-day. It also brings EM closer in shape to the Swiss systems used at Worlds.
