Riot Games has come out and announced the league format for the Wild Rift League-Asia which is set to begin on 8 April and will run until 23 July.

The upcoming Wild Rift League-Asia is a tournament ecosystem that will feature a total of 20 teams. Twelve of these teams will be from WRL CN, while the remaining eight will be from WRL APAC. Teams from WRL APAC can earn a chance to compete in the WRL APAC Open Qualifier by taking part in regional tournaments. If they qualify, they’ll be able to compete in Wild Rift League-Asia.

WRT Challenger Tournament

The WRL Challenger tournament will not take place. However, teams can still compete in the WRT Challenger tournament (WRTC). Teams from WRL CN can advance to the WRT by participating in their region’s Wild Rift National League (WRN).

Wild Rift Tour

The Wild Rift Tour is back for its third instalment, and this time it’s going to be a year-long event. The second-level WRL CN pro teams will be competing in up to six separate tournaments to determine the 2023 champion, with the top three teams being determined by the points they earn in each tournament.

This exciting new format is designed to cultivate new talent in the WRL CN professional ecosystem and to introduce a series of player policies throughout the tournament that will help promote the development of the entire professional Wild Rift esports system.

2023 Season Timeline

The Wild Rift League-Asia (WRL A1) will be held from April to July for its first season, followed by the WRL A2 from September to December for the second season. These two seasons will last for a total of eight months, giving fans plenty of exciting esports content to enjoy.

The official transfer window is set to occur between August and September of this year, and there will be a short break in January and February of 2024. Additionally, there are two other thrilling tournaments to look forward to: the WRT3 for WRL CN taking place from April to November of this year, and the regional events for WRL APAC taking place from June to November.

WRL APAC Open Qualifier & WRL A1 competition system

The WRL APAC Open Qualifier has already started, with teams from Vietnam, the Philippines, and Southeast Asia competing in the first stage earlier this month. From each region, two teams will move on to the second stage of the qualifier, along with two seeded teams from each local region.

The top two teams from each local region will advance to the WRL A1, with the final team being determined by the Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ). One team from South Korea will also be invited to participate in the WRL A1.

The eight teams selected for the WRL APAC are Vietnam (2), the Philippines (2), Southeast Asia (2), South Korea (1), and LCQ (1). The lowest-ranked teams will compete in the WRL APAC relegation events for future seats in the league. The WRL A1 will consist of three stages: regular season, playoffs, and finals.