The full competitive calendar, every format, every host city
Fourteen tournaments on the active calendar across three regional circuits, two closed majors and a global final. Filter by season, region, format or host city. The desk covers them all.
Currently active
Four tournaments are mid-flight this week.
Crown Open Season 14
Eight invited sides, four qualifier winners, four host cities. The flagship event of the season.
Continental Major
The closed qualifier for the global final. Sixteen sides, four days, two slots per region.
Regional Open · EU
The European feeder. Open bracket → closed qualifier → regional final.
Regional Open · Americas
The Americas feeder. Same format, different map pool, different cast rotation.
Full Season 14 calendar
Fourteen events. Three regional circuits. One global final.
| Week | Event | Region | Format | Host | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Open Qualifier · EU | EU | Single elim · Bo1 | Online | Closed |
| 1 | Open Qualifier · NA | Americas | Single elim · Bo1 | Online | Closed |
| 2 | Open Qualifier · APAC | APAC | Single elim · Bo1 | Online | Closed |
| 2 | Closed Qualifier · EU | EU | Double elim · Bo3 | Online | Closed |
| 3 | Closed Qualifier · NA | Americas | Double elim · Bo3 | Online | Closed |
| 3 | Closed Qualifier · APAC | APAC | Double elim · Bo3 | Online | Closed |
| 4 | Regional Open · EU | EU | Group → bracket | Berlin | Group stage |
| 4 | Regional Open · NA | Americas | Group → bracket | São Paulo | Group stage |
| 5 | Regional Open · APAC | APAC | Group → bracket | Singapore | Group stage |
| 6 | Crown Open · Group A | Global | Round robin · Bo3 | Online | Group stage |
| 7 | Crown Open · Group B | Global | Round robin · Bo3 | Online | Group stage |
| 8 | Continental Major | Global | Closed → Bo5 | Seoul | Bracket |
| 9 | Crown Open · Playoffs | Global | Double elim · Bo5 | Berlin | Upcoming |
| 10 | Global Final | Global | Single match · Bo7 | Tokyo | Upcoming |
How the desk covers a tournament
The week-by-week editorial rhythm that runs alongside every event.
Week one — the open bracket
The open bracket is the most volatile week of any tournament. Lower-seeded sides come in with one map prep, upper-seeded sides come in trying to read the meta. The desk's coverage of the open bracket leans heavily on VOD review because the broadcast is usually limited to the later rounds.
Expect four to six short reads a day during the open bracket week. Format stories, upset reads, and the occasional deep-dive on a qualifier winner nobody saw coming.
Week two — the closed qualifier
The closed qualifier is where the season's form starts to crystallise. Eight invited sides, four qualifier winners, double-elimination brackets. Coverage shifts from VOD review to live analysis and the cast rotation gets its first real test.
The desk publishes a daily bracket reader and a daily upset read. By the end of the closed qualifier we have a clear power ranking for the group stage.
Week three — the group stage
The group stage is the most writer-friendly week of the calendar. Three matchdays, six Bo3s per group, enough downtime between matches for proper analysis. The desk publishes a group preview on the eve of the group draw, a daily group recap, and a daily upset read.
The group stage is also when the macro story of the tournament starts to take shape. We try to name that story by day two of the group stage and then write to it for the rest of the week.
Week four — the playoffs
The playoffs are the only week of the calendar where the cast rotation goes deep. Two former IGLs and a current coach join the analyst desk. The desk's coverage shifts to a pre-match preview and a post-match recap, with one long-form feature per day on the deeper story of the bracket.
The grand final is the only match of the year where coaches, managers and analysts appear in the post-match press conference. The desk covers every press conference in full.
Reader questions about the tournament calendar
How often is the tournament calendar updated?
The desk updates the calendar within an hour of any official change. Regional organiser feeds, the global league feed, and the desk's own confirmation calls. The calendar page is the single source of truth for our coverage.
Do you cover the open bracket?
Yes — usually four to six short reads a day during open bracket weeks. The open bracket is the most volatile part of the calendar and we lean heavily on VOD review because the broadcast is usually limited to the later rounds.
What about regional qualifiers outside EU, NA and APAC?
Coverage is currently scoped to the three regional circuits we cover (EU, Americas, APAC). The desk does not currently cover the LATAM, MENA or Oceania regional qualifiers. We may expand if and when the league structure changes.
Where do I get the full bracket for a specific tournament?
Each tournament page on the desk has the full bracket embedded. The bracket is updated within an hour of any official result. Past tournaments are archived under the winners ledger.
Read like the broadcast reads.
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Regional circuits, explained
The three regional circuits the desk covers, and how the closed qualifier feeds into the global final.
EU circuit
The European regional circuit covers EU West and EU East. The two regional opens feed into the European closed qualifier. The European closed qualifier sends two teams to the global final. The European circuit is the most densely covered of the three — six teams across two regions, weekly matches, and the deepest cast rotation in the league.
Americas circuit
The Americas regional circuit covers NA and LATAM. The regional open feeds into the Americas closed qualifier. The Americas closed qualifier sends one team to the global final. The Americas circuit is the most volatile of the three — a single upset can shift the seeding for the next month.
APAC circuit
The APAC regional circuit covers APAC North, APAC South, Korea and Japan. The two regional opens feed into the APAC closed qualifier. The APAC closed qualifier sends two teams to the global final. The APAC circuit has the deepest map pool of the three and the slowest macro pace.
Format glossary
The eight formats the desk covers, with the desk's read on what each one rewards.
Single elimination
The simplest bracket. One loss and you are out. Used in the open qualifier where the field is large and the format rewards a single peak performance. The desk covers single-elimination brackets as upset-reads — the format is volatile enough that a lower-seeded side can take out a higher-seeded side on one map.
Double elimination
One loss sends you to the lower bracket. Two losses and you are out. Used in the closed qualifier and most playoff brackets. The format rewards consistency — a team that loses early can still win the bracket, but they have to play more matches to do it. The desk reads double-elimination brackets as macro stories.
Round robin
Every team plays every other team. The top two advance, the next two go to a play-in, the rest are eliminated. Used in the group stage. The format rewards adaptation — a team that can read and counter every other team in the group wins. The desk reads round-robin groups as form stories.
Swiss
Teams are matched against teams with the same win-loss record each round. Three wins and you advance, three losses and you are out. Used in some open brackets. The format rewards consistency and punishes tilt. The desk reads Swiss brackets as psychology stories.
Best of one
One map, winner takes the match. The most volatile format. Used in the early rounds of the open qualifier. The desk does not run a power ranking on Bo1 results because the format is too noisy.
Best of three
First to two map wins. The most common format for the closed qualifier and the early group stage. The format rewards depth — a team that can win on at least two of the three maps in the veto has a clear edge.
Best of five
First to three map wins. Used in the late group stage and the playoffs. The format rewards map pool depth — a team that can win on four of the five maps in the veto has a clear edge. The desk reads Bo5 series as the truest test of a team's form.
Best of seven
First to four map wins. Used only in the grand final. The format rewards endurance and depth. The desk covers the grand final with a dedicated pre-match, live, and post-match arc — there is no other match in the calendar that gets the same treatment.