LoL - NLC: Los Ratones clean sweep Venomcrest in the Lower Bracket and will play their next BO on May 22

After their 2-0 loss to NORD Esports in the Upper Bracket, Los Ratones dropped down to face Venomcrest, who had also fallen to NORD before defeating DMG Esports. Los Ratones bounced back with a clean 3-0 win over VNC, eliminating them from the tournament and advancing to the Lower Bracket Semifinal, where they will face the winner of Bulldog Esports vs Verdant.

In Game 1, Venomcrest had a clear plan: deny Simon "Baus" Hofverberg as many of his comfort picks as possible by drafting champions he regularly plays. They locked in Jax top, Gragas jungle, Sion mid, and Galio support—but the strategy backfired hard. It ended up being the shortest game of the series, lasting only 23 minutes and 34 seconds, with Tim "Nemesis" Lipovšek dominating on Swain to secure the win. Venomcrest’s jungler Frederik "Guubi" Mortensen finished with a rough 2/12/3 scoreline, while support Daniel "Wendelbo" Wendelbo went 1/11/6. On the other side, Martin "Rekkles" Larsson delivered a flawless performance on Rakan, ending the game at 2/1/25.

Game 2 saw Venomcrest return to blue side with a more standard draft, but the result was the same. Los Ratones snowballed cleanly, playing perfectly around Juš "Crownie" Marušič’s Zeri, who ended the game with over 34,000 damage and a dominant 11/0/8 scoreline. The final game was the most contested of the series—Venomcrest switched to red side and took full control early on. But a chaotic fight on the botside flipped the momentum in favor of Los Ratones. After 45 kills and 29 minutes, the reigning EMEA Masters champions closed out the game and secured their spot in the Lower Bracket Semifinal.

In the NLC, NORD and Rudy Sack have reached the Upper Bracket Final and will face off on May 15 for a spot in the Grand Final—also securing qualification to the EMEA Masters Spring Split. On the other side of the playoff bracket, the remaining quarterfinal between Bulldog and Verdant will take place on May 14, with the winner set to face Los Ratones on May 22.