BY Intel Extreme Masters
IEM Season 11 will feature more matches, more teams, and the best League of Legends players from around the world.
League of Legends is one of the pillars of Intel® Extreme Masters, and will be front and center in the IEM spotlight at Season 11 venues around the world. We are excited to share new changes for the IEM tournament format that will provide League of Legends the stage it deserves. Read on to find out more about League of Legends at IEM.
MORE TEAMS
In order to provide more opportunities for both players and fans to experience their favorite matches, IEM Season 11 will include more League of Legends teams than previous years. With the international growth of League of Legends, we want to ensure that the IEM tournaments will have the strongest lineups possible. This year, all stops will have eight teams allowing for a full tournament format.
ALL-INCLUSIVE
With a smaller number of teams in the past, there were occasional imbalances of regional representation. It has been proven time and time again that all of the regions have the chance to take victory. In order to crown the world’s best team at IEM Katowice, rosters will have to qualify based on results from the League of Legends World Championships or from their results at IEM Oakland and IEM Gyeonggi. To promote global fairness, both IEM Oakland and IEM Gyeonggi will include at least one team from each of the following regional divisions:
NA LCS – North America
EU LCS – Europe
LPL – China
LCK – Korea
LMS – Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macao
IWC – International Wildcard regions: Southeast Asia, Latin America North, Latin America South, Brazil, Turkey, Japan, Oceania, Commonwealth of Independent States
TOP-TIER PLAYERS
Many factors go into deciding the best teams, but many people always say “the stats don’t lie.” This season, teams will be invited based on their rankings in their respective leagues and their performance at Worlds. Additionally, the IWC teams will have a separate qualifier to determine which teams are representing the IWC region as a whole. Details on the invitation and qualification formats will follow next week.
MORE MATCHES
There will be no byes in the League of Legends circuit of IEM Season 11. With eight teams represented at each tournament, Season 11 will showcase a dual group stage to determine the playoff teams. The top two teams of each group will then square off in a single elimination semifinals bracket until only one team is left standing.
Stay tuned for more information on each stop, and don’t forget to grab your tickets for the first tournament at IEM Oakland on November 19-20!