MAKE EBL GREAT AGAIN!

More splits, more high stakes matches, unique opportunities to aspiring teams & rookies to prove themselves each split through National Leagues and more!

After 7 years, 15 splits and close to 1000 official matches – it’s time to shake things up a bit. For the previous three years, we didn’t have the option to change the rules and format because (almost) all the details were determined by Riot’s standardized rules. Now, in agreement with them, we can finally set things up the way we want. The Balkans is a huge and diverse region, and the EBL covers the largest number of countries of any European league (languages as well). It is only logical that we have to find a format that will utilize such diversity.

Teams

First things first – we’ll be scaling EBL down to 6 teams. This is something we’ve wanted to do for a long time, but the standardized format simply didn’t allow for such deviations. This doesn’t mean that EBL is getting smaller, on the contrary, we’re actually expanding our competitive system as a whole, more about that below. But since the name of the game for 2025 is sustainability, keeping the EBL part of the equation more lean will help us achieve that.

National Leagues

#MEGA cringe jokes aside, less teams = more teams? Yes, it’s simple EBL math. We’ll be working with regional and local partners to create a network of National Leagues running in parallel with EBL. These Leagues will loosely follow our own calendar and feed us their champions into the expanded EBL Playoffs bracket during each split. Our goal is to try and activate local markets in the Balkan by providing them with the highest possible competitive prize – access to EMEA Masters. But don’t worry, they’ll still get skill-checked on their way there by Balkans finest.

Format

The EBL 2025+ season is structured into three splits and a Season Finals event in September. Each split consists of a single round-robin followed by a double-elimination bracket. Six EBL teams compete in the round-robin, with the top four advancing to join four National League champions (Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Adria) in playoffs. Matches vary from Bo1 to Bo5, with best placed teams qualifying for the EMEA Masters. Also, fearless draft.

In general, there’s nothing crazy or revolutionary about it, but there’s a clear focus shift to try and better represent our diverse region and create opportunities for a larger number of players through local/regional competitions.

We still want to maintain a very clear and easy to understand format, and to be in-line with the ecosystem at large so that we don’t hurt our teams chances of being viable scrim partners.

Season Finals

Top 4 performing teams in 2025 will qualify for the EBL Season Finals event that will crown the EBL 2025 champion. This event will also be the only way to qualify for the EMEA Masters Summer, which makes it super important for teams to perform all year round.

FAQ

How will we reduce the number of teams to 6?

Unfortunately, Diamant has decided to retire from LoL esports, so the EBL currently has seven teams. Unless there are more similar changes by the end of the year, we’ll organize a playout match with the lowest ranked teams by championship points in 2024.

Can EBL teams and players play National Leagues?

Yes*, but they won’t be allowed to claim the competitive prize. The only way EBL teams can qualify to playoffs is through EBL itself. *Also depends on local TO’s regulations.

How do I qualify for EBL?

Teams from national leagues that perform best during the year will have the opportunity to compete against the lowest placed EBL team in the 2026 promo tournament.

That’s all for now, and if you have any questions or comments we can always continue the discussion via Discord or X (ex-Twitter).

That’s all fro