Hello Lumia Island survivors,

We want to express our sincere gratitude for the overwhelming interest and support shown during the Esports events held throughout Season 6—especially the Masters Season 6 Finals!

The highlight of the finals was the moment the winner was decided by the newly introduced VLS system—a fresh mechanic that made a real impact on the competitive stage and brought an exciting twist to the action. Big congratulations once again to Team FN SEJONG for an incredible finish and taking home their second trophy!

With Season 6 officially wrapped, Eternal Return Esports now heads into Season 7: Academy. Let’s dive into what’s new and what’s changed for this season’s competitive scene.

§ Eternal Return Season 7 Masters Schedule

With the introduction of the Knockout Stage format in S6 Masters, more teams than ever were able to take part in the qualifiers and had more opportunities to compete in the main event. Fortunately, both fans and players responded positively to the new structure, and we believe the Knockout Stage format is finding a solid place within Eternal Return Esports.

While we've received some feedback that the number of rounds in the Group Stage felt a bit low, increasing them without extending the overall tournament schedule is currently a challenge. We’ll continue exploring long-term solutions to improve this aspect moving forward.

This is Season 7’s Masters schedule. Unlike previous seasons, the phases will take place back-to-back. This is due to the upcoming 2025 Esports Regional League (tentative name) opener scheduled for mid-May. With a shorter gap between Phase 1 and Phase 2, fans can look forward to a packed Masters calendar throughout April and May.

§ Enhanced 3-Pick-Ban Format

The 3-Pick-Ban system used in the Masters has remained largely unchanged for a long time. However, there are some characters who consistently appear whenever they’re not banned, leading to repetitive team compositions and limiting the viability of certain picks.

This season, we’re making some adjustments to the 3-Pick-Ban to encourage more variety and allow a wider range of characters to shine on the competitive stage. 

For Season 7 Masters, we’ll be testing a new system called the Enhanced 3-Pick-Ban format. Unlike previous formats, this version will likely require teams to adapt their pre-planned comps in real time, responding more dynamically to bans and opponent picks.

Under the current Masters structure—four rounds per match, except for the Checkpoint-based Finals—this new format will introduce restrictions if a character proves too dominant. For instance, if a character is picked by five or more players in Round 1, that character becomes unavailable for the rest of the match. This opens the door for characters that might otherwise be overshadowed and pushes teams to move beyond simply mastering the meta picks. In this new format, having a unique strategy or "hidden tech" could be the key to success.

When designing pick/ban formats, our top priority is to reward teams that can play a wide variety of characters, while still allowing off-meta picks and team-specific specialties to shine as viable secret weapons. We’ll be closely watching how this system plays out. If we find that too many characters are being restricted in Phase 1, leading to a drop in gameplay quality, we may adjust the rules in Phase 2 to strike a better balance.

§ New Point Matrix 

As we enter Season 7, a major shift has come to Lumia Island—no teams will be eliminated up until Day 2. With this new structure, the traditional Point Matrix also needed an update to better reflect the evolving tournament environment.

Previously, the Point Matrix distributed a total of 23 points across placements from 1st to 8th place. First place earned the equivalent of 8 kills in points, while finishing in 7th or 8th granted no points at all. This scoring system was based on a roughly 1:2 ratio between placement points and kill points per round. However, with the overall number of kills per round increasing, it became clear that the system needed a revision.

The new Point Matrix will now distribute a total of 39 points across the top 8 placements—about 1.7 times more than before. The original matrix was designed with the assumption that around 40 kills occurred per round shortly after official release. But over time, game systems and the meta evolved. By the Season 6 Finals, rounds were averaging around 53 kills, showing significant kill inflation. Based on various indicators, the average kills per team is expected to increase by about 2, prompting this adjustment to placement points. In this environment, the Checkpoint threshold will be set at 80 points.

We’ve explored the idea of separating kill points earned before Day 2 and after Day 3, but for now, we've decided against it. The main reason is simplicity—it's easier for both viewers and players to calculate and follow the scoring in real time. That said, we are continuing to develop a version of the matrix that separates kill points, as it may become a viable option in the future.

At the competitive level, losing a teammate—or getting wiped entirely—during the early phase of a round is expected to result in heavier penalties, leading teams to play more cautiously. However, if early-game kills start to overshadow placement points, we’re prepared to adjust the placement point values upward to restore balance.

The updated Point Matrix will be applied starting from Phase 1 of Season 7 Masters, and we’re looking forward to receiving feedback from both players and viewers as the new score system takes shape.

As always, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to all the fans who continue to support Eternal Return Esports. We’re doing our best to bring the most entertaining competitive events for you, Esports fans, to enjoy!

So, we’ll see you soon in our upcoming events!

Sincerely, 

Eternal Return Esports Team