This Thursday marked the conclusion of the group stage of the Equal Esports Cup, one of the most important tournaments in the WNB League of Legends circuit. The twelve participating teams, split into two groups of six, competed in a single round-robin format with best-of-two (BO2) matches, vying for one of three coveted playoff spots in each group.

In Group A, the hierarchy quickly took shape. G2 Hel—widely regarded as the best team on the circuit in recent years and sharpened by their experience in the Liga Nexo, Spain’s second division—dominated the group stage, dropping only a single game out of ten. Rym "rym" Salloum and teammates fell just short of a perfect record (four wins, one draw), conceding the opening game of their final series to Rising Bees, the other powerhouse in Group A.

Vitality’s female roster was thus the only team to seriously challenge G2, finishing just behind them with three victories and two draws. Indeed, the Bees also stumbled in their opening match against Zerance Bloom, the third team to advance from Group A and the only squad from the Open Qualifier to reach the playoffs.

Three Spots in LGC at Stake

Group B took longer to resolve, with qualification spots only being secured on the final match day. Solary Académie was the first team to punch its ticket to the playoffs with a 2–0 win over Supernova Comets (SNC). Later that evening, Nexus Reapers became the second team to advance. However, Galions Pearl’s loss to SK Gaming Avarosa opened the door for SNC to overtake them in a decisive tiebreaker played on Thursday.

But in a repeat of the opening day result, Galions Pearl once again prevailed over Supernova Comets in the crucial best-of-one tiebreak, narrowly securing the final playoff berth. The remainder of the competition will follow a best-of-three (BO3) format, structured as a double elimination bracket. The top two seeds from each group have been placed in the upper bracket: G2 Hel will face Nexus Reapers, while Rising Bees are set to meet Solary Académie.

Zerance Bloom and Galions Pearl, meanwhile, have been seeded into the lower bracket, meaning they have no room for error going forward. The grand final will be played on LAN at Gamescom in Cologne on August 23. Additionally, the top three teams from the Equal Esports Cup will qualify for the inaugural edition of the League of Legends Game Changers Rising (LGC).