Riot Games announced that they will bring back the EMEA Champions Queue for MSI, adding all the players from the participating teams.
Image Credits | Riot Games
Champions Queue will be back at MSI 2023
With the LEC Spring Playoffs entering the final stages, Riot brought some exciting news regarding Champions Queue. Riot not only announced that it will reopen the special queue for pros, but it will also include the players that will compete in London in May, to create the MSI CQ environment.
For those who are not familiar, Champions Queue is an invite-only, adaptive competitive system that allows professional and developmental players to practice in an organized environment. Players will essentially play in a separate queue, and they will be allowed to communicate through voice chat. All eligible players will be given access to a server that will schedule, track, and organize games between players.
MSI Champions Queue will officially open on April 30th and will remain active until May 21st (subject to early closure if fewer teams are available). It will be available for approved players every day, opening at 20:00 CET, and remaining online until 02:00 CET, with the off-roll queue opening at 01:00 CET.
How does Champions Queue work?
Considering that there will be a lot more players coming in at MSI, Champions Queue will be organized in a different way from the one we’ve seen so far in EMEA.
First, Riot announced that the tournament server will move to the server close to the MSI, in Frankfurt, with the goal of having as much as low latency possible, and it will support zero-delay streaming by any player or spectator with CQ access. Admins will be on-hand and act as the main point of contact for players if they encounter any issues, and make sure their experience is seamless.
Photo Credits | Wojciech Wandzel/Riot Games
MSI Champions Queue will follow the same patch cycle as MSI 2023, which means that it will start on Patch 13.8. Champions disabled in MSI 2023 will also be disabled in MSI CQ. Players will be able to pause games for technical issues and emergencies, but after 10 minutes, they must resume play if one team wants to unpause.
Given the high skill level of all players and the small queue population, matchmaking prioritizes time in queue when generating matches. Once a match is formed, teams are balanced against MMR.
Read also: Tracking the LEC Pros – which are the best solo queue pros?
Who is invited to CQ?
Riot updated the requirements that must be met to be eligible for the MSI 2023 CQ. A player will be admitted if he/she fulfills at least one of the criteria below:
MSI 2023 players (including substitutes)
LEC starting lineup players
ERL players and LEC substitutes who are currently Challenger rank in 2023 on live servers (this does not include their peak, it must be their current rank)
Players from MSI-qualifying leagues who are boot camping in EMEA
ERL and Ex-Pro players who are vetted and approved by the EMEA CQ
Player Council (Ex-Pro players are those who have played in at least two Splits in an LoL MSI-Qualifying region)
Streaming of Champions Queue
For the occasion, the spectator/co-stream pool of MSI CQ will be offering streaming access to select content creators globally.
Riot mentioned that players are highly encouraged to stream MSI CQ matches, but they may not stream during the MSI broadcast. Stream delay is not required, and there is a limit of 15 in-game spectators per game.
With some of the best players in the world playing in Champions Queue, it will be a golden opportunity for both fans and pros to witness the highest level of competitive League.
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