Draw Preview: 2021 Lower League eCup Presented by Offside Marketing

In preparation for the Group Stage draw on Tuesday night, the draw procedure for the 2021 Lower League eCup Presented by Offside Marketing has been announced.

The 2021 eCup features 119 entrants across five divisions representing 74 different clubs, supporters groups, and media organizations. Entrants represent organizations from nearly 20 leagues across the country. Play will take place across five divisions, the Playstation, Xbox, and PC Premier Divisions, along with the Playstation & Xbox Smallworld Second Divisions.

Before the draw, teams in the Playstation and Xbox Premier Divisions have been allocated to Eastern and Western Pots based strictly on time zone considerations. Entries from the Eastern time zone are placed in the Eastern Pot, entries from the Mountain and Pacific time zones have been placed in the Western Pot, and entries from the Central Time Zone were allocated via random draw between the two pots. Several exceptions were made for extenuating circumstances and constraints.

The Group Stage draw for the 2021 Lower League eCup Presented by Offside Marketing will be held on Tuesday, December 29th at 9:45 p.m. Eastern Time. The draw will be streamed live on Twitch (twitch.tv/lowerleagueEcup) and will conclude at approximately 11:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Group Positions and Order of Group Stage Matches

All groups will play a single round-robin format, in which teams will play each opponent in their group once. All teams in groups of three will play a crossover match against a team in another group of three, regardless of division. As a result, all entrants will play three matches during the group stage.

Teams will be assigned positions one through four within their own group to determine the order of group matches. Team positions will correspond to the order in which teams are drawn into the group. For instance, the first team drawn out of Group A will be assigned number A1, the second team A2, etc. Teams that are drawn into Groups of Three will play their crossover match against the same number team from their group's assigned crossover group (ex. E1 v F1, E2 v F2, E3 v F3).

*Note - XC donates group crossover match.*

Group Stage Draw Procedure - Playstation Premier Division

The 46 clubs, supporters groups, and media organizations represented in the Premier Division will be drawn into twelve groups. All Groups except Groups E and F will consist of four teams, while Groups E and F will consist of three teams. The top two teams from each group, along with the top eight third-place finishers (as determined by the tournament tie-breaking procedure), will advance to the knockout stage.

Groups A-G = Eastern Pot

Groups H-K = Western Pot

Group Stage Draw Procedure - Xbox Premier Division

The 35 clubs, supporters groups, and media organizations represented in the Premier Division will be drawn into nine groups.  All Groups except Groups A will consist of four teams, while Group A will consist of three teams. The top two teams from each group, along with the top six third-place finishers (as determined by the tournament tie-breaking procedure), will advance to the knockout stage.

Groups A-E = Eastern Pots

Groups F-I = Western Pot

Group Stage Draw Procedure - Playstation SmallWorld Second Division

The 16 clubs, supporters groups, and media organizations represented in the Premier Division will be drawn into four groups.  All Groups will consist of four teams. The top two teams from each group will advance to the knockout stage. There are no pots for the two Second Division draws.

Group Stage Draw Procedure - Xbox SmallWorld Second Division

The 13 clubs, supporters groups, and media organizations represented in the Premier Division will be drawn into three groups.  Groups A and B will consist of four teams, while Group C will consist of five teams. The top two teams from each group will advance to the knockout stage, along with the top two third-place finishers. There are no pots for the two Second Division draws.

Group Stage Draw Procedure - PC Premier Division

With only eight participants in the PC Premier Division, entrants will be divided into two groups of four. The knockout stage format will be released at a later date. There are no pots for the PC Premier Division.