Here’s all you need to know about the European Challenger League 2020, which will begin on September 8 with the Open Qualifiers.

Through its new regionalized program, Rainbow Six Esports regional scenes in Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia-Pacific, draw their strength from their pool of highly skilled players competing in the National programs.

In Europe, top teams from the local scenes will have the opportunity to face each other in the European Challenger League, the entry point to the European League, with hopes to accede to the highest level of Rainbow Six Esports in the region.

participating teams

12 teams will compete in this year’s edition of the European Challenger League, which will start with the Open Qualifiers on September 8.

For this inaugural 2020 season, the 12 slots available for the Challenger League will be allocated as such:

• 9 slots dedicated for teams qualified from the European National programs:
  • GSA League: Divizion
  • Spain Nationals: Team Heretics
  • Nordics Championship: Granit Gaming
  • Russian Major League: Winstrike Team
  • UK Ireland Nationals: MnM Gaming
  • Italy Nationals: MACKO Esports
  • French League: BeKind
  • Benelux League: Sector One
  • Polish Masters: Izako Boars
• 2 legacy slots based on the performance of the teams in the Challenger League Season XI:
  • LowLandLions
  • PENTA
• The winner of the Qualifiers will have the last seat in the competition.
  • One last chance for teams to battle their way through the Qualifiers to become the final team to make it to the Challenger League.

registration to the open qualifiers is open

The remaining seat is up for the taking. Participating teams will compete in Open Qualifiers for a chance to qualify for the Closed Qualifier. Open Qualifiers are open to everyone to the exception of teams already qualified in the European Challenger League or the European League. The Open Qualifiers will run on the following dates.

• Open Qualifier 1: September 8-9. Register here
• Open Qualifier 2: September 15-16. Register here
• Open Qualifier 3: September 19. Register here
• Open Qualifier 4: September 20. Register here

The top 4 teams in each Open Qualifier will accede to a Closed Qualifier, composed of 16 teams, who will battle it out in Best-of-three matches, from September 22-23, in a Single Elimination Bracket. The winning team will earn its spot for the European Challenger League 2020 alongside the 11 already qualified teams.

the european challenger league

The 12 teams qualified for the Challenger League will start the competition on September 25 with the Group Phase. They will be divided into two groups of 6 teams and face each other in a Single Round Robin every Friday.

The top 4 teams in each group will accede to the playoffs which will kick-off on October 26. All 8 teams will battle it out in a Direct Elimination Best of 3 tournament with hopes of acceding to the Relegation Playoffs will see the top 2 teams battle it out in a Best of 3 match.

The winner will directly qualify for the next season of the European League. The loser of the match will have another chance to make it to the European League in a Best of 3 promotion/relegation match against the 9th ranking team in the European League. The winner of this match will earn the last spot to the European League.

The Relegation Playoffs will happen during the European Finals where we will also crown the best European League team of Season 2020. More information on the European Finals will be shared later on.

where to watch?

The Challenger League playoffs will be broadcast on Twitch and YouTube.

To stay connected with all things Rainbow Six esports, follow Rainbow Six Esports as well as our Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific and Latin America regional accounts on Twitter. For behind-the-scenes coverage, follow Rainbow Six Esports on Instagram. Check out our other Rainbow Six Esports news on our website.