Tournament organizer ESL has published a schedule of qualifying matches, according to the results of which teams will be able to qualify for the IEM Rio Major, and also spoke in detail about their format. A total of eighteen open qualifiers will be held in seven regions (Europe, South America, North America, China, Oceania, Middle East and Asia). They will be followed by four closed qualifying tournaments, which will determine the final list of participants in the November major.
The first matches of the open qualification will start on August 15. Four qualifying tournaments will take place in Europe, as a result of which twenty teams will advance to the regional RMR event, where they will compete for a place at the major with participants in the Legends stage of PGL Major Antwerp. Most matches will be played in the best-of-1 format. A similar format will be used in North America, where two teams from each of the three qualifying events will advance to the regional tournament. Teams from South America will receive a total of seven places.
Qualifying games for teams from Asia, Oceania, China and the Middle East will be held in a different format: two tournaments will be held in each region, the leaders of which will take part in closed qualifying matches. The best teams from all four regions will gather for a single Asia RMR, the two leaders of which will go to Rio.
