While the cream of the European Call of Duty World League crop will soon be fighting for the title in the Pro Division, it’s also time for the best four teams from the Challenge Division to prove their skills. Facing the bottom four teams from the Pro Division in relegation, they will have a chance to claim a spot for themselves and become part of Stage 2 of the Pro Division.

Until they make it to the relegation matches at the Stage 1 European finals, the top 16 teams from the Challenge Division will have to face each other once more. In four groups of four, the top 16 teams of the Challenge Division by CWL points will need to place first or second in the round-robin groups in order to advance to the single-elimination bracket. Here it will only be the final four who move on to play the bottom four from the Pro Division.

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Starting this Saturday at 15:00 CET, the group stage kicks off and provides us with eight teams making it into the decider matches of the single elimination bracket. These decider matches, which take place at 21:00 CET determine the teams that qualify for relegation. Following that on Sunday, we define the final seeds and therefore the matchups of the relegation.   

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The opponents for these challengers are ready and waiting for their chance to defend their spots in the Pro Division. Pulse will have to go up against the best team from the Challenger Division bracket, while LDLC, Giants and Vitality will clash with the second, third and fourth team in the rankings respectively.

For more information on the relegation format visit the official CWL website, while you can find the official cup homepage here and full bracket information here.

The expert opinion

Commentator Philip "Momo" Whitfield had the following to say about the upcoming qualifiers:

“Coming into the group stages of the Call of Duty World League qualifiers, things are about to get even more intense. Group A, for me, is the hardest group as FABE and Supremacy will both really want to make it out alive. However, with the new change in Team Spud I am favoring them to come out alongside FABE.

That said, don't be surprised to see some upsets early on. Following on from this, Group B seems to have a very clear favorite in Tempo and a fight for second place between Hypergames and Killerfish, but I have gone for the French in this group due to their performance at a recent offline event (EGL). Group C also has a clear favorite in Exertus, and I think Ironide will clinch second place but it won't be easy with the best Finnish team battling for their spot.

Finally, Group D is also a stacked group with Baskonia, Enraged and Orbit all fighting for that number one spot. I believe Baskonia will take this followed closely by Enraged. However, anything can happen! You may see I have left out one team per group - it’s because I genuinely believe they lack the composure, hunger and raw talent to compete with the others. However, there is nothing I like more than a underdog."

Group standings

• Group A: FABE (1) Spud (2)
• Group B: Tempo (1) HyperGames (2)
• Group C: Exertus (1) Ironide (2)
• Group D: Baskonia (1) Enraged (2)

Decider matches/quarterfinal online qualifier

• FABE vs. Enraged
• Tempo vs. Ironide
• HyperGames vs. Exertus
• Baskonia vs. Spud

Semifinals online qualifier

• FABE vs. Tempo
• Exertus vs. Baskonia

Final standings online qualifier (seeds for relegation matches)

• Exertus (1)
• Tempo (2)
• Baskonia (3)
• FABE (4)

Relegation matches (Cologne)

• Exertus vs. Pulse (Exertus)
• Tempo vs. LDLC (Tempo)
• Baskonia vs. Giants (NO COMMENT)
• Fabe vs. Vitality (Vitality)

Get ready for action!

If you go to see the Call of Duty World League Stage 1 European finals running from the 25th to the 27th of March in person, you will not only get to watch top Call of Duty teams fight for the title but also the final relegation matches. Make sure to grab your ticket while they last to find out first hand who takes the title and whether some new faces will be making it to the Pro Division for Stage 2!

Don’t forget to follow ESL Call of Duty on Facebook and Twitter for more news, highlights from the matches and more!