Knockout Stage Schedule and Format Announced

    The knockout stage for the 2020 Lower League eCup presented by Protagonist Soccer and Hotspot Conferencing will take place between Thursday, May 7th and Tuesday, May 26th. Both the PS4 and Xbox One brackets will consist of the top 48 teams, and the PC bracket will consist of the top four teams. A separate knockout round draw will be conducted at the conclusion of the group stage.

    For both the PS4 and Xbox One brackets, the 48 competitors will be divided into four brackets of twelve, with the winners of each bracket advancing to Championship Weekend, matchups will be determined by a mixture of seeding and random draw, in a draw procedure to be announced at a later date. The knockout stage draw is tentatively scheduled for Monday, May 4th, at 8:30pm eastern, and will be streamed live.

    In the PS4 bracket, the top three teams from each of the thirteen groups will automatically advance to the knockout stage. In addition, the fourth place teams from Groups L and M, the groups of seven, will advance to the knockout stage. The remaining fourth place finishers will be ranked one through eleven, with the top seven qualifying for the field of 48. Group winners and the top three runner-ups will receive a bye to the second round.

    In the Xbox One bracket, the top four teams from each of the twelve groups will automatically advance to the knockout stage, completing the field of 48. Group winners and the top four runner-ups will receive a bye to the second round.

    In the PC bracket, the top four teams from the group of eight will advance to play in the semifinals. Rather than a draw, the semifinal pairings will be determined using traditional seeding, with the one seed playing the four, and the other semifinal being played between two and three seeds.

   Players will play their first and second round games back to back. For example, a player may play their first round at 8:00pm Saturday, followed by a second round game at 8:30pm Saturday. 

    Consolation brackets of between 4-6 players will be organized for any players who wish to participate and do not qualify for the knockout stage, or lose on the first weekend of the knockout stage.

Knockout Stage Dates

• Knockout Stage Draw: Monday, May 4th

• First and Second Rounds: Thursday, May 7th to Sunday, May 10th

• Round of 16 and Quarterfinals: Thursday, May 14th to Sunday, May 17th

• PC Semifinals: Friday, May 22nd

• Xbox One and PS4 Semifinals: Saturday, May 23rd

• Finals: Tuesday, May 26th

Dates and times are subject to player availability.