VCT EMEA’s Stage 1 playoffs start on May 7, as the race for the Valorant Masters London spots begins in the EMEA region.
Three teams will make it to the second international of the year, and four teams will rack up those vital Champions Tour Points as they hope to make it to Valorant Champions 2026 in Shanghai.
Team Heretics eye pathway to Masters London
As VCT EMEA Stage 1 playoffs loom, the playoff picture is somewhat muddied by underperforming rosters and unexpected group stage triumphs.
FUT surprisingly starts in the Upper Semi-Finals after topping Group Alpha, meeting the winner of Team Heretics and Eternal Fire there.
ULF finished last at VCT EMEA Kickoff, but following the removal of the org from VCT and the transfer of four of those players to Eternal Fire, they are now firing on all cylinders, racking up an impressive 4-1 Group Stage record.
Still, the more seasoned Team Heretics roster will be looking at Eternal Fire and FUT as the dream pathway to Valorant Champions London, despite a middling 3-2 Group Stage showing in a bracket that feels somewhat mixed around from where commentators and analysts would have expected.
The event will be of special emphasis for British player Benjy ‘benjyfishy’ Fish, as he aims to play in front of his home crowd.
Are Fnatic ready for Playoff contention?
To make matters more confusing, the presumptive strongest team in the region, Fnatic, recently added Clément ‘CyvOph’ Millard following Sylvain ‘Veqaj’ Pattyn’s unexpected benching.
The result is that CyvOph enters the playoffs after only one showing in Fnatic orange, a 2-0 victory over BBL. While the Frenchman showed promising individual signs, it is unclear whether the team has had time to discuss additional layers like protocols, positioning, utility usage, and such.
Therefore, Fnatic’s dominance is less certain, though still expected. However, they will have to get through the winner of Vitality and Liquid.
Vitality barely scraped through to the playoffs following a 2-3 group stage record, but their individuals can never be underestimated, even with Fnatic’s strong record against Vitality.
As for Liquid, their 4-1 record in Group Alpha left them with the best map winrate in the group and the biggest round difference.
Liquid defeated Fnatic 3-0 to claim the final VCT MAsters Santiago spot, making the match another quest for vengeance for the Fnatic roster, but also a potentially tough matchup against Ayaz ‘nAt’ Akhmetshin’s men.
BBL and Gentle Mates start in Lower Bracket
Rounding out the playoffs are the top two teams of VCT EMEA Kickoff, BBL and Gentle Mates, both of whom will only get one life in the playoffs as they start from the Lower Bracket.
BBL were a revelation at VCT EMEA Kickoff, with their aggressive style taking several teams by surprise, but one wonders whether they have somewhat been figured out as the playoffs approach.
As the VCT EMEA Kickoff top two, the pair naturally have the most VCT Points in the EMEA region before the playoffs start, with BBL sitting on 5 and Gentle Mates on 3.
In addition to the top 3 making Valorant Masters London, the VCT EMEA Stage 1 playoffs will distribute the following VCT Points:
- First Place: 6 points
- Second Place: 4 points
- Third place: 3 points
- Fourth Place: 2 points
Who do you think will win VCT EMEA Stage 1? Discuss that on our Discord!
For more Valorant news, see the ticket info for the VCT EMEA Stage 2 Barcelona Finals.
Darragh is an Esports Journalist for Insider Gaming specialising in Counter-Strike. He loves to explore how esports teams work, or why they very often do not.
More from Darragh Harbinson
Comments