How a season works
A season is 9 weeks: three weeks of group stage, then six weeks where the Championship Playoffs and the Relegation Group run side by side. Four seasons run per year. Every match is played on FACEIT, and everything operational — fixtures, scores, standings, rosters — lives on hub.kanaliiga.fi, not here.
The shape of a division
Section titled “The shape of a division”A division holds 14 teams, split into two groups of 7 for the regular season.
| Stage | Who | Format | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Group stage | All 14, in two groups of 7 | Round robin, 6 games | 3 weeks, 2 matches/week |
| Championship Playoffs | Top 4 from each group (8 teams) | Double elimination | 6 weeks, 1 match/week |
| Relegation Group | Remaining 6 teams | Single round robin, Bo3 | 5 weeks, 1 match/week |
Why nobody’s season ends in week three
Section titled “Why nobody’s season ends in week three”This is the part that differs most from how these leagues usually run. In a normal 14-team bracket, the six teams that miss the playoffs are finished after three weeks and then sit idle for two months, having paid for a full season.
Here they go into the Relegation Group instead: a single round robin against the other five teams that missed the cut, every match best-of-three, running in parallel with the Championship Playoffs. Staying in your division is treated as carrying the same weight as winning it, so the matches are formatted the same way.
Championship Playoffs
Section titled “Championship Playoffs”Eight teams, double elimination. You have to lose twice to be out. That is deliberate for an amateur league — one bad night with a stand-in shouldn’t decide a whole season.
Relegation Group
Section titled “Relegation Group”Six teams, single round robin, every match best-of-three, one match a week over five weeks.
No qualifiers
Section titled “No qualifiers”There are no pre-season qualifying or ranking matches. Group and division placement is worked out from data before the season starts — see Division placement.