Riot Games is letting more players into Champions Queue ahead of the main event of the 2022 League of Legends World Championship but also adding more specific requirements that must be met to join.
Zack “Whoopley” Elliot, the academy director for Riot, explained the new conditions and the expansion on League’s subreddit. From now on, former pro players from a Worlds qualifying league (like LEC, LCK, etc.), alongside former players from LCS Academy, will be allowed to enter Champions Queue. But they will need to meet three demands before they can join.
If a player wants to join Champions Queue, they must have reached Challenger in solo queue this season, be located in North America, and “be approved by the CQ Council after thorough review.” Players who meet these conditions may apply by reaching out to their local esports office.
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These changes were made after Riot reevaluated the state of Champions Queue a few weeks after it was launched for Worlds. “While we think the current CQ population is healthy in terms of competitive players, we also view CQ Worlds as an opportunity to be more experimental with access,” Whoopley explained. Riot received feedback from participating pro players, which allowed them to expand the system.
While this ultimately means that more players will likely be added to Champions Queue, Whoopley underlined that it’s still a place to practice your abilities and not “for content purposes.” He said it’s a “high quality practice environment and anyone who undermines that goal is not meant to be in Champions Queue.”
