Tier 2 League of Legends gets a boost with World Star Challengers Invitational

Tier 2 competitive League of Legends is about to experience its largest ever international competition as Riot and TJ Sports announced the World Star Challengers Invitational (WSCI)

Revealed on Thursday, Sep. 3, the brand new international competition will bring together 16 Tier 2 League of Legends teams from across Asia, Europe and the Americas. Set to run between Sep. 20 to Oct. 2, this first-of-its-kind tournament could be a major milestone..

Tier 2 LoL tournament World Star Challengers Invitational announced for September

The tournament, organised by TJ Sports in collaboration with Riot Games, will bring together teams representing China, Korea, APAC, the Americas and EMEA, marking the first time Tier 2 teams from all League of Legends Esports regions will compete in the same international event. TJ Sports is the tournament organizer behind the LPL and other Chinese tournaments, including the Asia Masters.

Fifteen teams will qualify through regional pathways, with the reigning Asia Masters champion completing the 16-team field. The participants will be divided into three seeding pools before being drawn into four groups.

The group stage will run from Sept. 20 to 25. Teams will play a double round-robin, with each match being a best-of-one. The 48 group-stage games will be played across six days, with the top two teams in each group advancing to the knockout stage.

The tournament will then switch to a single-elimination format from Sep. 27, with quarterfinals, semifinals and the final all played as best-of-five series. The grand final will take place on Oct. 2. Additional details, such as whether this will be a LAN or online event are currently unknown. However, the Asia Masters, which the event is expanding out of, is an online event.

In their release, Riot Games has positioned the event as a test of how international competition could be incorporated into the Tier 2 ecosystem. One of the key criticisms of the current League of Legends ecosystem is the lack of a solid grassroots system which feeds the overall competitive scene, and helps keep the esports scene alive and creates paths to becoming a pro player.

This new tournament could serve as a development route for players seeking to reach professional-level competition.

Riot stated that the tournament will allow developing players to face opponents from outside their domestic competitions, potentially exposing teams to different strategies and playing styles. It also aims to give regional Tier 2 leagues greater connections with one another.

Rather than creating an entirely separate competition, WSCI expands on the existing Asia Masters structure. The event's format and results will be used to assess the viability of international Tier 2 competition and how it could contribute to player development.

WSCI matches will be available through regional Tier 2 broadcast channels. Regional co-streamers also expected to broadcast the competition, giving a boost to these channels as well.

Overall, the WSCI seems like a positive move towards a vibrant tier 2 scene. And we only have to wait until September to find out whether this is a great new format.