Announcing the College League of Legends Fall Invitational

We’ve heard loud and clear that students, schools, and conferences want more opportunities for high-level League of Legends competition beyond the Season and Championship. Today, we’re announcing and opening registration for the College League of Legends Fall Invitational, with registration open now. We’re trying some new things to differentiate this event from the Season and Championship, and what we learn from this event will inform how we approach non-Season competition in the future. 

We know this is a uniquely challenging time for many students, and some of you might not be in ideal circumstances for competition. Participation in this event won’t affect your team’s standing in the 2021 Season, and we’re not tying any prizing or scholarships to this event. Please register to compete only if you’re safely able to do so.

What is it?

Running from late September to mid-November, the Fall Invitational will culminate in an NA-wide, 32 school, single elimination tournament. Schools will earn spots in the Invitational through qualifying tournaments, one for each College League of Legends regional conference and participating partner conference.

Who is it for?

Any eligible school can register one team, but unlike the College League of Legends Season, spots are limited.

For regional conferences (i.e. North, South, East, West), the top 16 schools that register from each conference will be selected to participate in a double elimination qualifying tournament. Schools will be selected based on the ranks of their team members (more below). School registration is open now through September 21.

For participating partner conferences, member schools will compete in conference-specific qualifiers. Participating partner conference schools will be automatically placed in the correct qualifier, and will register as normal. Any member schools who are not participating in a partner conference qualifier are eligible to register in the respective regional conference qualifier, subject to the same selection criteria.

How does it work?

Qualifier Tournaments

• One per regional conference or partner conference
• Up to 16 teams, double elimination
• All matches best-of-three
• Registering teams will be seeded by the solo queue division of their top 5 players at the time of registration closing
  • For regional conferences, this same criteria will be used for selection in addition to seeding
  • In the event of a tie, the tie will be broken by ranking the division and LP of the top player on each team
• Partner conference schools that do not participate in their conference qualifier are eligible to apply for open qualifiers, but may not participate in both
• All rostered players will receive all champions through League Unlocked for the length of the competition

Participating Partner Conferences

• BIG EAST Conference
• East Coast Conference
• Eastern College Athletic Conference
• Esports Collegiate Conference
• Landmark Conference
• Midwest Esports Conference
• Mountain West Conference

Advancing to Invitational

The number of invited teams per conference is based on conference rankings and number of participating schools. Final seeding and number of berths per conference will be determined after registration.

• Regional conferences – 5-6 teams per qualifier
• Partner conferences – 1-2 teams per qualifier

Invitational Tournament

• 32 team single elimination
• All matches best-of-three

What else do I need to know?

• The competition will be operated by PlayVS
• Individual schools, conferences, or community members are free to host their own broadcasts of any qualifier or invitational matches
• As this is a tournament format, no rescheduling will be available – all dates and times are final
• Results will not impact team or conference standing in the 2021 Season in any way
• We are not offering prizes
• All rostered players will receive every champion through League Unlocked for the duration of the competition
• The 2021 College LoL season will be operated by Battlefy, as in previous years
• Like the College LoL Season, the Fall Invitational is free for all participants

When do I register and compete?

Registration: September 3 – September 21
Qualifier Matches: September 29 – October 20, Tuesdays (plus one match on Saturday, 10/3)
Invitational Matches: October 31 – November 17, Tuesdays (plus one match on Saturday, 10/31)

To register, learn more about detailed rules, or to keep up with the action, visit the PlayVS League of Legends landing page.