Contender Division
Teams in the Contender Division must consist of players who have Contender Eligibility, which includes those who have played in previous stages at a high level or have achieved a high competitive rank (Immortal 3 or higher). Teams with five Contender Eligible players are guaranteed placement in the Contender Division. Successful performance in the Contender Division can potentially lead to promotion to the Invite Division, depending on the tournament structure and outcomes.
Invite Division
The Invite Division is the top-tier division within Premier, representing the highest level of competition. Unlike lower divisions, teams in the Invite Division are never in a provisional state, meaning their status as top competitors is firmly established from the outset. This division is composed of the most elite teams, often including those with significant competitive achievements and consistent high-level performance. Similar to the Contender Division, only players with Contender Eligibility can be added to teams in the Invite Division, ensuring a high skill level.
Team Creation
Contender Teams: You can invite anyone as long as your team is still Provisional and you haven’t played a match in the Contender Division yet. With your team's first match behind you, you can only invite players who are eligible Contenders
Invite Teams: You can only invite Contender Eligible players.
Contender Eligibility
You are considered Contender Eligible if in the current OR previous Stage you achieved one of the following:
- Played a weekly or playoff match on a team in Contender or Invite
- Reached Immortal 3 or higher peak rank in Competitive
- Played a playoff match in Elite 5
Changing Zones
Teams in the Invite Division cannot change their zone at any time. They're placed into the correct zone when promoted from the Contender Division.
Queue Windows
The waiting period is 15 minutes, and the queue will have a countdown timer indicating when you can expect to be matched. You don't have to wait in the queue for the full 15 minutes, but make sure you're in the queue when the waiting period ends to secure your spot. The schedule will appear in your Team Hub upon Premier's launch. Generally, you can expect one evening per week with two Weekly matches and playoffs on the last day of the Stage.
Matchmaking
Rematch protection is very strict—you'll never face the same team twice in a Stage. If there isn't an opponent available for your team, you'll receive a Bye, which grants a match victory and 100 Points but no round score.
Premier Scores
Teams earn 100 points for a Weekly match win, and 0 points for a loss. Tournament matches do not award points.
Playoff Tournaments
Place in the top teams on the standings at the end of Weekly matches to qualify for playoffs.
Rounds 1 and 2 are Bo1. Finals are Bo3.
How does a Best of 3 work?
- Map pick and ban takes place before each game in a match starts.
- Once a map is played, it's removed from the pool in subsequent games in the match.
- There's a 5 minute rest period between games in a match.
- Games use standard Premier rules for Overtime and timeouts.
Standings Tiebreaker
Premier Score is used as a tiebreaker on standings.
Ties are broken by Premier Score → Total Matches Played → Round Differential.
Earning a Promotion
Your team needs to end the Stage as one of the top teams in your division to earn a Promotion. The number of teams Promoted from Contender and Invite Division varies based on zone. 24 hours after playoffs end, results lock in and standings will indicate what teams have qualified for promotion. Teams will be notified that they've earned a promotion upon visiting the Premier Hub after standings lock in.
Promotion Emails
If your team has what it takes to earn a promotion from the prestigious Invite Division, your Team Owner will receive an email from us with official next steps. Just note that this email may not include the "Riot Domain," so you can confirm with Player Support if you're unsure of the original.
And remember: Riot will never ask for your bank info or personal info in these emails! If you get an email claiming to be from Riot that asks questions like this, giving Player Support a heads up can help us crack down on bad actors.
Qualifying for Challengers League
The top team(s) from each Invite Division earn the opportunity to make it into a Challengers League.
To get to the top of the standings, your playoff result is what’s most important. So teams who get first place in their bracket rise to the top for the Stage, and teams that play in the playoffs will be ranked above ones that did not. After that, we use the following tiebreakers in order:
- Premier Score (higher is better)
- Number of Weekly matches played (more is better)
- Weekly match round differential – Rounds Won minus Rounds Lost (higher is better)
If you’re wondering which Challengers League your Premier zone connects to, see below:
Have Other Questions About Premier?
Check out the Premier Guide for more information.