LoL EMEA ERL 2024 – Everything you need to know

With the 2024 LoL competitive season soon approaching, here is what you need to know about the EMEA Regional Leagues (ERL).

Image Credit: Riot Games

LoL 2024 EMEA ERL – Recap and Changes
ERLs have been a crucial ecosystem for the development of talent in the EMEA region. Throughout the past few years, many rookies and veterans have been competing in the ERLs with the hopes of making it into the LEC.

The 2023 season had a total of 13 ERLs across the EMEA region, split between Accredited ERLs and Non-Accredited ERLs. The accredited status is given to any ERL that meets the requisite guideline. One of the benefits of being an accredited league is that players will be registered in the Global Contract Database (GCD).

The Accredited status is reviewed annually to ensure that third-party tournament organizers are able to meet the quality and criteria of the accredited level. Going into the 2024, the following regions will receive the Accredited status:

Superliga (SL)
La Ligue Française (LFL)
Prime League (PRM)
Türkiye Championship League (TCL)

The Non-Accredited ERLs are:

Ultraliga (UL)
Greek Legends League (GLL)
Elite Series (ESLOL)
Hitpoint Masters (HM)
Northern League of Legends Championship (NLC)
Liga Portuguesa de League of Legends (LPLOL)
PG Nationals (PGN)
Esports Balkan League (EBL)
Arabian League (AL)

The ERLs give teams the ability to qualify and compete in the EMEA Masters – the premiere ERL competition which is right below the LEC. Given that it combines the top teams from all the various regional leagues, it’s the best chance for players to prove their worth and win the EM title. Last year, the EMEA Masters Finals were played on the same stage as the LEC Season Finals in Montpellier, in front of thousands and thousands of fans.

ERLs start dates
You can find all the start dates for each ERL below:

Superliga (SL) – January 17
La Ligue Française (LFL) – January 17
Prime League (PRM) – January 17
Türkiye Championship League (TCL) – January 18
Ultraliga (UL) – January 16
Greek Legends League (GLL) – January 23
Elite Series (ESLOL) – January 23
Hitpoint Masters (HM) – January 23
Northern League of Legends Championship (NLC) – January 24
Liga Portuguesa de League of Legends (LPLOL) – January 25
PG Nationals (PGN) – January 25
Esports Balkan League (EBL) – January 31
Arabian League (AL) – January 31

Promotion and Relegation Changes
The big change coming to the ERL ecosystem for the 2024 LoL season is the reduction of teams going into relegation from 2 to 1. This will be applied to all ERLs.

In the Accredited Leagues, the lowest-place team from the 1st Division will compete against the best two teams from the 2nd Division in a seeded double-elimination tournament for the final spot. In the Non-Accredited Leagues, instead, the last-place team from the 1st Division will have to compete with the best three teams from the 2nd Division in a similar seeded double-elimination tournament.

While there aren’t any updates on EMEA Masters, Riot confirmed it will give us news in the New Year. Meanwhile, fans can enjoy the ERL action as well as the LEC Winter Split, which is confirmed to start on January 13.