After the third week of Stage 2 in the VCT EMEA, three teams have already secured their spots in the playoffs following their recent victories. Team Liquid, Fnatic, and Team Heretics—winners against Apeks, NAVI, and Team Vitality respectively—are now locked in for the final stages and are well on their way to potentially qualify for VALORANT Champions Paris. At the bottom of Groups Alpha and Omega, Gentle Mates, KOI, and Apeks are still searching for their first win.

A great week for Turkish teams

FUT Esports kicked off the third week with a Bo3 against GIANTX. After a tough second week marked by a heavy loss to Team Vitality, the Turkish squad returned to the Berlin studio determined to bounce back. It was the Anglo-Spanish team who claimed the first map, narrowly winning on Sunset with a 13-11 scoreline. But FUT rallied, crushing GX on Haven and then on Bind. Led by Doğukan “qRaxs” Balaban and Doğan “xeus” Gözgen, the Turkish organization regained some confidence in this third week and now sits at 2-1 in Group Alpha, just like GIANTX.

A heartbreaking story followed for Gentle Mates, once again, in a match against BBL. The Turkish team came out on top with a 2-0 victory, all but ending M8’s playoff hopes. The French organization is now in serious trouble with three losses in Group Alpha. Their VCT EMEA journey could come to an end if they lose to GIANTX in Week 4. As for BBL, there’s still hope after getting their first win, now sitting at 1-2 and keeping their playoff dream alive.

The first qualified teams

In the first match of Day 2, Apeks came close to upsetting Team Liquid. It took all the brilliance of Ayaz “nAts” Akhmetshin to secure the first point for Liquid, narrowly winning 14-12 on Ascent. Fueled by that map and a standout performance from Erik “penny” Penny on Neon, Apeks tied the series with a 13-11 win on Corrode. Unfortunately for the Norwegian squad, it all came crashing down on Lotus, where TL’s defense proved unbreakable, stringing together nearly 10 rounds in a row. A rocky start left no room for a comeback, and Apeks ultimately fell 13-6, still winless at 0-3. Meanwhile, Liquid continues to shine with a 3-0 record in Group Omega and becomes the first team to secure a playoff spot.

Next up was a clash between KOI and a dominant Karmine Corp. With five straight losses, KOI didn’t come in as favorites. Yet, they managed to take the first map on Lotus, winning 13-9, largely thanks to Ondřej “MONSTEERR” Petrů, who finished with a +7 KDA. After that, however, the Blue Wall completely shut them down, conceding only six rounds across the next two maps—two on Sunset and four on Haven. Hazem “Avez” Khaled’s dominance was evident in the final scoreboard: 56 kills to just 29 deaths. KCorp now sits at 2-1 in Group Omega, while KOI remains winless alongside Apeks at 0-3.

It took until the next day for Fnatic to also punch their ticket to the Stage 2 playoffs, after a nail-biting series against Natus Vincere. Jake “Boaster” Howlett and his teammates struck first, narrowly winning Bind 15-13. NAVI bounced back on Ascent, with Alex “alexiiik” Hawlasek leading the way to a 13-10 victory. On Icebox, despite a massive performance from Uğur “Ruxic” Güç on Viper, the Ukrainian side couldn’t close it out, even though they had control for much of the map. In the end, Fnatic took the win and booked their playoff spot, while NAVI now finds itself alone at 1-2.

To wrap up the week, Team Vitality and Team Heretics faced off in a duel that went the way of the Spanish team. Neck and neck on Haven, it was TH who edged out the win, thanks in large part to Enes “RieNs” Ecirli and Dominykas “MiniBoo” Lukaševičius in top form. Heretics took the 13-11 win and carried that momentum into Ascent, where another duo took the spotlight: Mert “Wo0t” Alkan and Benjamin “Benjyfishy” David Fish, who ended the map with +12 and +11 KDA respectively, leading their team to victory. The recent Esports World Cup champions thus become the third team to qualify for playoffs, sending Vitality down to 1-2 and to the bottom of Group Alpha.