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It's time to kick off the ECL '26: Winter - Elite & Pro Qualifiers, and in this article, we'll cover everything you need to know about the structure and schedules for the qualifiers of these two highest levels of play in the European Championship League. The ECL Elite Qualifier consists of five (5) teams competing for two (2) open ECL Elite spots. The five teams meet in a group stage where every team plays each other twice - meaning each team will play 8 games. The TOP 4 teams go into a final round where #1 of the group stage plays #4 and #2 plays #3. The winners of these two matchups will win the promotion to Elite. The losers of the final round, along with the bottom team of the group stage will play in ECL Pro for the ECL '26: Winter season. ECL Elite Qualifier Schedule Group Stage: 11-20.11.2025 Finals (BO7): 23.-26.11.2025 #1 vs #4 & #2 vs #3 Click here to find the standings and schedule Stage 1: Twelve promotions The ECL Pro Qualifier consists of twenty-four (24) teams competing for seventeen (17) open ECL Pro spots. The group stage consists of four (4) groups of six (6) teams where every team plays each other twice - meaning each team will play ten (10) games.Teams have been snake-seeded into Stage 1 groups based on previous ECL ranking. Wild card team seeds have been randomized. The top 3 of the group stage in each group is directly promoted to ECL Pro. The rest of the teams move into Stage 2. Please note that every game matters in Stage 1. If you're outside of the TOP 3 in Stage 1, you will take with you all the points you were able to win against the other teams you played that are going into Stage 2. Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Team 1 Team 2 Team 3 Team 4 Team 8 Team 7 Team 6 Team 5 Team 9 Team 10 Team 11 Team 12 Team 16 Team 15 Team 14 Team 13 Team 17 Team 18 Team 19 Team 20 Team 24 Team 23 Team 22 Team 21 Stage 2: Four promotions Groups 1 and 2 will merge into one group (A), and Groups 3 and 4 will merge into a second group (B). The points earned among the teams who already met in Stage 1 will be added to the standings and the teams will only play the three (3) teams they haven't met before. Once the games have been played and the standings have been tallied up, the top two (2) teams of both groups A & B will be promoted to ECL Pro. The two (2) teams finishing third in the groups will compete in a BO7 series for the final Pro spot. Teams finishing 4-6 in both groups will play in ECL Lite for the ECL '26: Winter season. Group A: 1+2 Group B: 3+4 Team 16 Team 14 Team 15 Team 13 Team 17 Team 19 Team 18 Team 20 Team 24 Team 22 Team 23 Team 21 Stage 3: One promotion The two (2) teams finishing 3rd in groups A and B of Stage 2 meet in one final best-of-7 matchup and the winner of the matchup will be promoted to ECL Pro. Group A #3 vs Group B #3 The loser of the final round will play in ECL Lite for the ECL '25: Winter season. ECL Pro Qualifier Schedule Pro Qualifiers | Stage 1: 12-19.11.2022 (All teams) Pro Qualifiers | Stage 2: 20-24.11.2025 (12 teams) Pro Final Round (BO7): 25.11.2025 (2 teams) Click here to find the standings and schedule If teams are tied in points at the end of the group stage, the following tie-breakers* will be applied in the order that they are listed: Group placement Points per game (PPG) Wins (including OT-wins) Head-to-head record (points in mutual games) Goal difference (across all games played) Scored goals (across all games played) *In the event of the tie-breakers being applied to teams from differing group sizes, ‘wins’ will be represented as a percentage, head-to-head will naturally be disregarded, goal-difference will be made into an ‘average per game’ amount, goals scored will (like goal difference before it) be converted into an ‘average per game’, then finally, if all else fails to break the tie between two teams, a coin flip will decide. Good luck to all teams!