SMITE Pro League
Season 4 of the SMITE Pro League ended with eUnited being crowned the world champions, and the coveted hammer being returned to North America.
Now that teams are busy preparing for Season 5, fans have been asking for details about the start of the SPL in 2018. We’ve heard your requests, and today we’ll give you all the details on what’s happening with the Spring Split of the SMITE Pro League.
First things first, let’s recap the changes coming to the SPL in Season 5:
- Partner organizations are required to provide a $30,000 minimum salary for the 5 starting players on their team.
- No relegations for the entirety of Season 5.
- New double round robin format with best-of-three matches
- Broadcast times changed
Off-Season Info
We’re currently in the off-season ahead of Season 5, which means prospective SPL players are in their free agency period. During this time, organizations will reach out to teams and individual free agent players to sign them under their brand for the new season.
This free agency period will end on March 1, 2018. All contracts for the SMITE Pro League are due by 11:59 PM EDT on March 1. Rosters for each organization and the Spring Split broadcast schedule will be made available on our webpage by the following day, March 2. So stay tuned!
Spring Split Format & Schedule
Dates: March 6 – April 13
The Spring Split will run for 6 weeks, beginning the first week of March and ending the second week of April. In Season 5, the Spring Split will be how teams qualify for the SMITE Masters event being held at the beginning of May. The top two teams from North America and Europe will qualify for the event.
The online phase will follow a new format this year. Here’s how it breaks down:
- Double round robin format
- Best-of-three matches
- 2 matches on Tuesday and Wednesday
- 3 matches on Thursday and Friday
The NA and EU regions will each be broadcast on a different day of the week. Here’s a look at the schedule:
- Tuesdays & Thursdays (1:00 PM EST) – EU SPL
- Wednesdays & Fridays (5:00 PM EST) – NA SPL
Like we mentioned above, we’ll be releasing the full broadcast schedule in a few weeks, so keep an eye out for that.
Spring Split FAQ
When is the full schedule going to be released?
The full broadcast schedule for the Spring Split will be released on March 2.
What teams are playing in the 2018 Spring Split?
We are still in the process of announcing all the teams for Season 5 of the SMITE Pro League. Keep an eye on @SmitePro for more announcements.
When is SMITE Masters?
The SMITE Masters will be the first LIVE event in Season 5. It will take place from May 2 – May 6.
What about announcements for Challenger Circuit and international regions?
We will have details on both these items later this week.
Be sure to follow @SmitePro on Twitter for all of your SMITE esports announcements and news leading up to the Spring Split!