For 2015, the LoL Esports scene is projected to contain four major international events:

IEM Katowice / World Championship – March

International Wild Card Invitational (IWCI) – April, Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) – May

2015 Season World Championship (WC) – October, plus potential international qualifiers in September

2015 Season All-Stars – December

The major change of the 2015 season was the splitting of the All-Stars event into two: a formal invitational tournament during the mid-season, and showmatches in the offseason. Subsequently, the current biggest gap in the international schedule lies between MSI and WC, a roughly five-month period in which teams from the five premier leagues (EU LCS, NA LCS, LCK, LPL, LMS) will not face each other.

Three of the year’s four seasons feature Riot-sanctioned international competition: Spring (IEM / IWCI / MSI), Fall (WC), and Winter (All-Stars). To fill in this gap, this article proposes a one-weekend invitational tournament to be added to the calendar during the summer. This tournament would be during at the halfway point of the summer split’s regular season, similar to IEM Katowice in Spring.

(Re-) Introducing the Battle of the Atlantic

The most notable omission from the 2013/2014 WC cycle to the 2015 cycle is the Battle of the Atlantic (BoTA) tournament held in the off-season, which was replaced by the LCS expansion tournament and All-Stars in 2014 and 2015 respectively. Reinstating the competition between NA and EU would increase viewer interest and help satisfy the growing demand for international competition. Unlike its first iteration, the BotA will feature a bracket stage.

The format of the revived BoTA tournament is a simple single-elimination tournament hosted over two days. Four teams would participate: two each from NA and EU. The #1 seeds from NA and EU would pay the #2 seeds of the opposing region in the semifinals. Qualification for the invitational tournament can revolve around Spring Split playoffs winners and/or current placement in the Summer Split regular season. Venues would alternate between eastern NA and western EU. Tournament expansion is possible if the Brazilian, Latin American, Turkish, and CIS regions develop further.

Introducing the East Asian Invitational

The other three leagues – South Korea’s Champions (LCK), China’s LPL, and Taiwan’s LMS could schedule a mid-season tournament as well, tentatively referred to as the East Asian Invitational (EAI). Due to less disparity between time zones, EAI could be hosted over five or six days in contrast to the BotA. As such, eight teams would be invited to this event: 3 from LCK, 3 from LPL, and 2 from LMS. The format of EAI would resemble that of the IEM/WC – two groups of 4 into a two-round Bo5 bracket stage. Venues would alternate between Korea, China, and Taiwan. Tournament expansion is possible as Southeast Asia’s GPL, the OPL, and Japan’s LJL develop further.