StrikeLeague Squidroidia

StrikeLeague - Squidroidia
Current season, competition or edition:; StrikeLeague Squidroidia Season 7
Game	StrikeForce
Founded	2024
Owner(s)	Studio Polaris
No. of teams	32
Country	Squidroidia
Venue(s)	Various
Most recent; champion(s)	FunStar Esports (1st title) ; (Season 6)
Most titles	Grizzco Games Club (2 titles)
Qualification	Promotion System
TV partner(s)	StrikeLeague TV
Level on pyramid	1

StrikeLeague Squidroidia (SLS) is the main domestic league for StrikeForce esports in Squidroidia. Contested by thirty-two teams, the league runs three major splits and one qualification split per year, serving as the direct qualification route for the annual StrikeLeague Squidroidia Finals. The SLS is owned and operated by StrikeForce developer Studio Polaris, who also run various other StrikeForce competitions within Squidroidia.

The competition was founded in 2024 after StrikeForce's release, aiming to give Squidroidia a serious Tactical FPS esports league and to capitalize on younger Squidroidians who would prefer watching competitive gaming. Initially starting with twelve teams in Season 1, by Season 6 it would expand to 32 teams, encompassing a 4 tier promotion and relegation system.

Format

Splits

StrikeLeague Squidroidia seasons consist of 4 splits, 3 majors, Finals Qualifying and the Finals. The first 3 splits determine qualification for the 3 Majors (Newton, Midnight and Calamari County), while the final split determines qualification for the Finals as well as Finals qualifying. The teams are split into 4 mini-leagues, named League A, League B, League C and League D. Leagues A and B play their games via LAN play at the StrikeLeague Studios in Inkopolis, while Leagues C and D use online play to conduct their fixtures. Each team plays every other team in their league with best-of-three map matches twice in round-robin play, after which qualification, promotion and relegation places are allocated.

For all 4 Splits:

The seventh and eight-placed teams of Leagues A, B and C are relegated to the lower leagues for the next split.
The winners and runners-up of Leagues B, C and D are promoted to the upper leagues for the next split.

For Majors splits (Splits 1-3):

All eight League A teams qualify (Top four are allocated to Pot 1, fifth and sixth are allocated to Pot 2, seventh and eighth are allocated to Pot 3),
The top six League B teams qualify (Winners and runners-up are allocated to Pot 2, third and fourth are allocated to Pot 3, fifth and sixth are allocated to Pot 4).
The winners and runners-up of League C qualify and are allocated to Pot 4.

For the Finals qualifying split (Split 4):

The winners of the three Majors regardless of league or position as well as the highest ranked League A team automatically qualify for the Finals and are allocated to the Seeding Group.
If one team wins more than one Major their Seeding Group spot goes to the highest ranked team in League A that hasn't qualified.
All remaining teams enter Finals Qualifying for the eight spots in the Finals. The teams ranked from first to seventh overall are allocated to Pot 1, the teams ranked eight to fourteenth overall are allocated to Pot 2, etc. It is important to note that the winners and runners-up of the league above are prioritized in the rankings over the seventh and eight placed teams in the leagues below.

Promotion, relegation, league titles, and Major and Finals Qualifying pot allocations that end in a tie after all conventional tiebreakers are exhausted (Wins, map difference, maps for, head-to-head map difference, head-to-head maps for and head-to-head wins) are decided by a best-of-five map playoff, with Red team allocation (Which includes two map bans and picks for maps one, three and five) based on who won the last match between the two teams. If three or more teams are involved in the tie, a single round-robin mini-league with best-of-three map matches is held.

Majors

The Majors are made up of two stages - The Group Stage and Knockout Stage. In the Group Stage, the teams are drawn from their pots into four groups of four. The teams play each other in a double round-robin format with best-of-three map matches, with the top 2 teams advancing to the Knockout Stage. If group stage qualification spots (Winners and/or runners-up) are tied after all tiebreakers are exhausted, a best-of-three map match will be played between the two teams involved in the tie. Like the Splits, if three or more teams are tied, a single round-robin mini-league with best-of-three map matches is held.

The eight remaining teams are then drawn out of two pots for the Knockout Stage (Winners seeded, runners-up unseeded), with groupmates unable to rematch in the Quarter-Finals. The Majors Knockout Stage is single-elimination with best-of-five map matches. Whoever wins the final match is crowned Major Champions and qualify automatically for the Finals.

All Majors utilize LAN play for all matches.

Finals Qualifying

The twenty-eight teams that didn't qualify for the Finals automatically are drawn from their pots into seven groups of four. Like the Majors, the teams play each other in a double round-robin format with best-of-three map matches. The group winners qualify for the Finals, while the best two or more group runners-up (Based on wins, map difference and maps for only, with tiebreaker games discounted) advance to the Qualifying Playoff for the eighth spot in the Finals.

Like the Majors, should the group winners or runners-up spots be tied after all tiebreakers are exhausted, a best-of-three map match will be played between the two teams involved in the tie. Should three or more teams be tied, a single round-robin mini-league with best-of-three map matches will be held.

For the Qualifying Playoff, the top two or more (Depending on unbroken ties) teams will face off for the last spot in the Finals. There are multiple scenarios that are viable:

Should the first and second ranked runners-up not be involved in any unbroken ties or are involved in a two-way tie themselves, they will face each other for the eighth Finals spot with a best-of-five map match. Red team allocation will be decided by a coin flip if first place is tied.
Should there be a tie between three or more teams for the top two spots, a single round-robin mini-league with best-of-three map matches will be held. The top two teams will then play in a best-of-five map match for the last spot in the Finals.
Should two teams be tied for second place, a best-of-five map match will be held to decide who face the first ranked team in another best-of-five map match. For the first match, Red team allocation will be decided by a coin flip.
Should three or more teams be tied for second place, a single round-robin mini-league with best-of-three map matches will be held. The top ranked team will play the first ranked team in a best-of-five map match for the last spot in the Finals.

All matches utilize LAN play, with games held in Ichimoto.

Finals

The four teams already qualified for the Finals before Finals Qualifying are placed into a Seeding Group, with the teams playing each other in a double round-robin format with best-of-three map matches. For this group only, no position will be tied; positions tied after all tiebreakers are exhausted will go into best-of-three map matches like described above.

The eight teams that made the Finals via Finals Qualifying are placed into two pots of four by their position in Split 4, with promoted teams ranked above relegated teams. For teams tied in position that can go into either pot, a drawing of lots will be held. The teams are drawn into two groups of four to play a double round-robin format with best-of-three map matches. Like before, any tie that involves group winners and/or group runners-up will be broken by best-of-three map matches (Single match if two teams, single round-robin if three or more teams).

The Knockout Stage draw, unlike the Majors, is decided by a team draft; the Seeding Group winners pick one of the two regular group runners-up and the Seeding Group third place team pick one of the two regular group winners. The matchups for the First Round are as follows:

Seeding Group 1st vs chosen group runner-up
Seeding Group 4th vs remaining group winner
Seeding Group 2nd vs remaining group runner-up
Seeding Group 3rd vs chosen group winner

The Knockout Stage is a double-elimination bracket, with all matches in both the Winners and Losers brackets being best-of-five map matches. The Grand Final, where the Winners Bracket champions play the Losers Bracket champions, is a best-of-seven map match with no resets. The winner of the Grand Final is crowned StrikeLeague Squidroidia Champions and, at least until an international competition is established, are recognized by Studio Polaris as the "multiversal" champions.

All matches utilize LAN play, with the Group Stage held at the StrikeLeague Studios, the Knockout Stage (Up to the Losers Semi-Finals) held at the Grizzco Soundstage, and Championship Weekend (Winners Final, Losers Final and Grand Final) held at Mako Arena, all in Inkopolis.