The second week of VALORANT VCT EMEA concluded last night, with few surprises, unfortunately for the viewers. In Group Alpha, Gentle Mates and BBL Esports are on the edge with a 0-2 record, and will face off next week in a do-or-die match to keep their playoff hopes alive. On the other side, Apeks and MKOI are bottom of Group Omega, while Fnatic and Team Liquid logically lead the standings at 2-0. Nothing is settled yet, but we might already see the first teams qualify for the playoffs as early as next week.

Apeks kicked things off again, just like last week, facing Karmine Corp. It was a reassuring match for the Danish organization, who came very close to securing their first win of the season. First outplayed on Icebox by a red-hot Dmitry “Suygetsu” Ilyushin, Apeks dropped the opening map 7-13 before tying up the series. A 13-11 win on Sunset featured a great duel between Mehmet “batujanx” Batu Özaslan and KCorp’s Russian Controller. The Turkish Initiator hit peak form on Deadlock, finishing with 25 kills and 15 deaths. Apeks and his teammates came agonizingly close to their long-awaited first win, leading 11-7 on Lotus before being reverse swept and losing 11-13.

Not many close games

Apeks is now in a difficult position in Group Omega, sitting at 0-2 just like BBL, who find themselves in the same spot after a loss to GIANTX to wrap up Day 1 of Week 2. Following a similar pattern, the Turkish organization dropped Icebox 7-13 before bouncing back with a 13-11 win on Lotus. BBL showed strong defense on Corrode, VALORANT’s newest map, going into halftime with a six-round lead, thanks largely to Burak “LewN” Alkan and Volkan “sociablEE” Yonal. However, GIANTX turned things around on their defensive side as well, only dropping two rounds in the second half. At 11-11, the Spanish club closed out the final two rounds to win the series and end Week 2 with a 2-0 record.

On Day 2, Team Liquid comfortably dispatched NAVI in the opening match.
With Ayaz “nAts” Akhmetshin on fire on Corrode and Georgio “Keiko” Sanassy unstoppable on Sunset with Raze, TL made quick work of the Ukrainian team. A 13-7 followed by a dominant 13-4 put NAVI at 1-1 in Group Omega, while Liquid moves to a clean 2-0.

The next match was far closer, between Gentle Mates and the Esports World Cup winners Team Heretics. Starting off strong on Corrode with Maks “kamyk” Rychlewski’s Viper, M8 took control on defense, winning three of the first four rounds after halftime. Having led 12-4, the French organisation crumbled once more, just as they did last week against FUT when they were 12-6 up and ultimately lost, enabling Team Heretics to stage a stunning comeback. With the score at 12-12, Mates was unable to turn things around and lost the two extra rounds. Ascent, the second map, played out in reverse, Heretics took an early lead but faltered on attack. With Sylvain “Veqaj” Pattyn leading on Sova, Lucas "Squeezie" Hauchard team tied up the series. But perhaps drained from the first two maps, they couldn’t find their rhythm on Bind, eventually losing the decider 13-5.

A quick last day

A new day brought a new stomp. This time, it was Team Vitality who crushed FUT Esports in a one-sided match. Starting on Haven, the French org gave away just two rounds, offering little room for the Turkish squad. MrFalin even ended the map without a single kill, a painful stat. Lotus was a bit more contested, but still went in favor of Vitality. Powered by a dominant Blendi “KovaQ” Kovaci on Vyse, VIT gave up just five rounds. Both teams now sit at 1-1 in Group Alpha.

In the final match of Week 2, Fnatic faced MKOI, and the series wasn’t much closer than the previous one. Led by Emir “Alfajer” Ali Beder and Austin “crashies” Roberts, who were unstoppable on Ascent, FNC gave little hope to the Spanish organization. A quick 13-7 win was followed by a more balanced battle on Haven. KOI woke up, tying the score by halftime after a solid defensive side.
But their attack struggled to find solutions, and they ultimately fell just short, losing the map 13-11, and the series.