The Teamfight Tactics: Reckoning life cycle has just hit the quarter point. When it comes to each regions’ road to Worlds, many have not stated their plans. Regions like North America and Oceania on the other hand are already in full swing in their seasons. On June 9, Riot officially announced the TFT Reckoning EU Qualifiers. However, the news isn’t what EU players wanted to hear.
The TFT: Reckoning EU qualifiers will consist of three weeks of ladder play into a 64 player tournament that will decide which four players will be representing the EU region at the TFT Reckoning Championships in China later this year. Many top players in EU have voiced their displeasure with how hastily this announcement was put together and a poor timeframe.
The Format
The format for the ladder stage is similar to what EU had last year. Competitors across the EUW, EUNE, CIS, and TR regions will be fighting for the top spots on their region’s ranked ladder. At the end of each week, a snapshot will determine points based on ladder placement. Players with the most points from each region will move onto the knockout stage. There will be three weeks of snapshots, just like last season.
This season’s first snapshot will be taken on June 24, with the last one being taken July 8. At the end of the three weeks, the top-34 players in the EUW server, the top-16 in the EUNE server, the top-four in the CIS and the top-10 in TR will move onto the top-64 knockout stage.
The top-64 elimination stage will be split into two phases. Phase one of the event will take place at the end of July. It will see the top-64 players duke it out over a two-day event. Day one of the event will have competitors play six rounds against each other in a Swiss-style format. After six rounds, the top-32 players will move onto day two. Day two will NOT have points reset and the 32 remaining players will play six more Swiss-style rounds, with the top-16 moving onto phase two.
Phase two will take place over two days in mid-August and will have the final 16 players split into two groups with points reset. Each group will play five games with the top-four players in each group advancing to the finals. The finals will have the final eight players fight each other with points reset. The final lobby will play six games. At the end of the six games, the top four players will represent EU at Worlds in October.
The Backlash
Th format for the TFT Reckoning EU qualifiers is almost identical to the one used during the TFT Fates season. Players last season voiced their displeasure with only having one tournament to decide who represents EU at Worlds due to the RNG nature of the game. Riot said they were listening and would do their best to make changes.
“We heard your feedback regarding Reckoning EU Qualifiers and we’re working on it and will announce details in early June! But in the meanwhile, you can start climbing the ladder now to rank up for the Reckoning EU Qualifiers,” the TFT account tweeted on May 18.
We heard your feedback regarding Reckoning EU Qualifiers and we're working on it and will announce details in early June! But, in the meanwhile, you can start climbing the ladder now to rank up for the Reckoning EU Qualifiers! 🪜🌟 pic.twitter.com/A9IKDoa5lq
— Teamfight Tactics (@TFT) May 18, 2021
With an entire six month season decided by one tournament in a game known to have balance issues and a heavy RNG influence, top level EU players don’t think that this format is going to be able to send EU’s best to compete on the global stage. Top level players also have concerns about the small prize pool for the EU regional finals. But one of the biggest issues is that the announcement comes just two weeks before the first snapshot, giving players little chance to prepare.
One of the best players in the EU region, Deisik, voiced his concerns on Twitter.
part of what I think about it: pic.twitter.com/QE0xkZFDkq
— Egor Popov (@Deis1k) June 9, 2021
TFT Fates Championship finalist, PasDelBol, also took to Twitter to voice his opinions.
Encore un chef d'Å“uvre de Riot dans l'organisation des worlds.
Délai de prévenance de 2 semaines, moins de slots qu'avant pour l'Europe notamment.
Je pensais pas qu'on pouvait atteindre un tel niveau d'incompétence.
Je suis écÅ“uré, mais je dois quand même tryhard… https://t.co/F4PetcmH5b— AEG PasDeBol (@PasDeBolTFT) June 9, 2021
Even though the format is not what EU wanted, the top players will not boycott the event, as this remains their one opportunity to go to Worlds. At the time of publishing, Riot has not responded to the grievances. Stay tuned here for updates as they happen.
