For 2015, Riot transformed the Challenger Series (CS) into a new format that “better mirrors the LCS with a six team league with eight weeks of competition (including three weeks of qualifiers).” As with any format, this system has several pros and cons:

Stability for existing teams: 4 out of 6 CS teams are guaranteed to be promoted or return to the next split of the CS. All CS teams are paid a salary.

4 out of 6 CS teams are guaranteed to be promoted or return to the next split of the CS. All CS teams are paid a salary. Viewer-friendly schedule: The split consists of 3 weeks of qualifiers, 5 weeks of round-robin play, and 2 weeks of playoffs. This schedule mimics the current LCS and prepares teams for a Bo5.

The split consists of 3 weeks of qualifiers, 5 weeks of round-robin play, and 2 weeks of playoffs. This schedule mimics the current LCS and prepares teams for a Bo5. Less opportunity for ladder teams: If a Ranked 5s team is not one of the 2 new teams to enter the CS, they must wait several months for their next chance to do so. It could be argued that the CS will stagnate because low-placing LCS / CS teams are not relegated faster.

This article discusses a radically different format, i.e. Swiss format, that eschews all the existing attributes of the current CS. Note that the Swiss format has different pros and cons compared to the existing format – it is up to the reader to conclude which format is best for the scene.

The Swiss-System Tournament Format

The Swiss system is a non-elimination format: every team plays in each round of the tournament, ensuring that all participants get ample playing experience. In each round, teams with identical records are matched against each other; unlike a round-robin system, teams do not play against every competitor. Under the Swiss format, a CS split would consist of two 4-week, 16-team tournaments: the first in Weeks 1-4 of the LCS split and the second in Weeks 6-9 of the LCS split. Each tournament consists of 5 teams from the previous tournament and the 11 highest-ranked teams on the ladder, and is structured as follows:

Week 1: Each of the 16 teams plays a Bo3 series against another opponent. After the first round, there are 8 teams with one series win each, and 8 teams with 0 series wins each.

Each of the 16 teams plays a Bo3 series against another opponent. After the first round, there are 8 teams with one series win each, and 8 teams with 0 series wins each. Week 2: The 8 teams with a series win are matched against each other, while the other 8 teams with no series wins are matched against each other. After the second round, there are 4 teams with 2 series wins, 8 teams with 1 series win, and 4 teams with no series wins.

The 8 teams with a series win are matched against each other, while the other 8 teams with no series wins are matched against each other. After the second round, there are 4 teams with 2 series wins, 8 teams with 1 series win, and 4 teams with no series wins. Two additional rounds are played using the same matchmaking system. At the conclusion of Week 4, there is 1 team with 4 series wins, 4 teams with 3 series wins, 6 teams with 2 series wins, 4 teams with 1 series wins, and 1 team with 0 series wins. Challenger Series points, similar to Championship points, would be awarded based on placement. The top 5 teams automatically qualify for the next split.

A team that participates in both tournaments of the split thus plays 8 Bo3 series, which would serve as adequate preparation for the CS playoffs and the LCS. All matches would be played offline at the teams’ discretion under the official supervision of a Riot employee, with DDOS prevention in place. The Swiss format would not allow for all matches to be live-casted with commentary, but the current system does not allow for that anyway. The Wednesday broadcast of the CS would become a recap day of the previous week, with one match of the week highlighted with commentary. Alternatively, Riot can seek out third parties, e.g. League One, to assist with the running of the CS. The winner of the second tournament, along with the next three teams with the highest number of CS points are entered into the CS playoffs, which run Week 10 and 11. Playoffs are identical to the existing format: the winner is automatically promoted to the LCS, while the second- and third-placing teams play in the promotion tournament.