Challengers Ascension EMEA will be split into the Play-ins and Ascension stages this year, Riot Games have announced. In total, 18 teams will play Ascension.
The Play-ins stage will see the second-best team of every Challenger League compete in two phases. The nine drafted teams will be evenly split into three groups, played in a BO1 single round-robin format, where the best team of each group moves directly to the semifinals. The remaining teams will play another BO1 single round-robin to determine the final semifinals team. The groups will be played June 22 and 23.
The semifinals will be BO3 matches, while the grand final is scheduled for five maps. The winning team will then be the Ascension's stage 10th team. The Play-ins playoffs take place on June 26 and 27.
Similarly, the Ascension stage will have a groups and playoffs phase. The ten teams will be put into two groups of five, where they'll play a BO3 single round-robin format that will see the two best teams qualify to playoffs. The decisive Ascension playoffs will be a double-elimination bracket, played mostly in BO3s. The lower bracket and grand final will be BO5, in line with other Valorant events.
Dates for the Ascension stage have not been revealed at the time of writing.
Split 2 has already kicked off in all of EMEA's leagues, who are mostly resorting to a points system. Turkey has deviated from the norm, exclusively qualifying its two best teams from Split 2 to Ascension.
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