The group stage of the VCT 2022 Stage 2 EMEA Challengers is over with the playoffs upon us. Six teams have made it to the playoffs and only three of them will get tickets to Masters Copenhagen. Let's take a look at what happened in the last week of the group stage and the schedule for the playoffs.
Fnatic, Acend and FunPlus Phoenix qualified for the playoffs via Group A, while Guild Esports, Team Liquid and M3 Champions qualified via Group B. The eliminated teams are as big as they can be: G2 Esports, OG LDN UTD, FOKUS, BBL Esports, Natus Vincere and BIG, missing out on Masters Copenhagen.
EMEA Challengers Week 5
Acend faced FunPlus Phoenix to decide which team would secure second place in Group A. starxo's Raze gave Acend a 13-6 Bind win, while FPX responded with a 13-9 win over Breeze. Second place in Group A was decided on Split, where MONSTEERR played a monster-like Cypher. His performance allowed Acend to win.
Team Liquid faced M3 Champions in a fast-paced match. This incredibly important series for M3C was lost 0-2 after Jamppi played the series with an average combat score of 289. NAVI vs. Guild followed, and the last two maps ended 13-11, but NAVI managed to get the win and ended their run in the group stage with 2-3. As M3 Champions had defeated them earlier, this win was not enough for NAVI to reach the playoffs.
FOKUS made their mark in the last game of the group stage against OG LDN UTD. After OGLU started with a 13-7 win on Breeze, FOKUS decided they had nothing to lose and evened the series after 13-11 on Ascent. It was another incredibly close map on Fracture, but FOKUS clinched the win 17-15 in overtime. JUGi's 41-18-6 353 ACS Neon was memorable and made the difference for FOKUS.
BBL Esports faced BIG and this match also had a major impact on the Last Chance Qualifiers table. While BBL had no chance of qualifying for the playoffs, BIG beat M3C in week four, meaning they could make it if they beat BBL. Unfortunately for them, BBL played one of their most decisive series, finally winning games in which they were ahead. Ascent was won 13-6 and Haven 13-10, and BBL went out with a bang.
Fnatic against G2 Esports ended the week, with Alfajer once again leaving an impression with his 61-48 overall performance. While Fnatic won 13-9 with Enzo's 22-5 Sova, G2 evened the series with a 13-10 win on Split. The very last map of the EMEA Challengers group stage was another close one, which Fnatic won 13-11.
Playoffs are starting
Check out the full schedule of the playoffs below:
Upper Quarter-finals, June 17
Acend (1.85) vs M3 Champions (1.85) - 16:00 CEST
Team Liquid (2.30) vs FunPlus Phoenix (1.55) - 19:00 CEST
Upper Semi-finals, June 18
Guild Esports vs ACE/M3C - 16:00 CEST
Fnatic vs TL/FPX - 19:00 CEST
Lower Quarter-finals, June 19
TBD - 16:00 CEST
TBD - 19:00 CEST
The remaining matches will be played next week:
- Upper Bracket Final - June 24, 16:00 CEST
- Lower Bracket Semi-finals - June 24, 19:00 CEST
- Lower Bracket Final - June 25, 16:00 CEST
- Grand Final - June 26, 16:00 CEST
Acend will face M3 Champions in the quarter-finals of the Upper Bracket. nAts continued his great form, but it was not enough for M3C to dominate their group. In contrast, no one stood out for Acend alone, but they managed to win a lot more. starxo, MONSTEERR, and cNed could not show their superstar performances. They will decide whether it was better for the team or not.
Team Liquid will face FPX in the other quarterfinal match. ScreaM is as good as you know averaging 237.2 ACS in the group stage. FPX was definitely better in Stage 1 but they are really a worthy opponent for Team Liquid. We will see a great series from these two.
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