Team Heretics Team Heretics Europe Rank #3 MiniBoo Dominykas Lukaševičius Wo0t Mert Alkan RieNs Enes Ecirli benjyfishy Benjamin David Fish Boo Ričardas Lukaševičius and FNATIC FNATIC Europe Rank #1 crashies Austin Roberts Boaster Jake Howlett kaajak Kajetan Haremski Chronicle Timofey Khromov Alfajer Emir Ali Beder won their matches on day three of the VCT EMEA 2025 Stage 1 playoffs, earning the first two EMEA slots at Masters Toronto. BBL Esports BBL Esports Europe Rank #6 Jamppi Elias Olkkonen sociablEE Volkan Yonal PROFEK Dawid Święć LewN Burak Alkan MAGNUM Martin Penkov and Team Liquid Team Liquid Europe Rank #9 penny Erik Penny paTiTek Patryk Fabrowski nAts Ayaz Akhmetshin Keiko Georgio Sanassy kamo Kamil Frąckowiak Serial Maikls Zdanovs , after losing these games, will move to the lower bracket, and both need to win two consecutive series to qualify for Masters Toronto.

Team Heretics squeezes past BBL Esports 2-0

This series began on Ascent, with Heretics picking a double Duelist composition, something truly rare for Ascent. BBL chose something just as unique, instead opting for no Sentinel. Starting on the defense side, Heretics won the first pistol and bonus, with both MiniBoo and Wo0t feasting on BBL. However, even a strong 9-3 defense side was a bit misleading simply due to how defensive of a map Ascent is, and that showed as soon as the sides flipped.

BBL won the pistol, and while they failed to convert the bonus, they still managed to read the plays from Heretics to win five of the first six rounds in the second half. LewN on Jett had a similar defensive performance to Wo0t, dropping 15 kills on the defense, but the options on the attack side worked out for Heretics as they secured the map 13-10.

Icebox was next, and that marked the return of the MiniBoo Neon and the RieNs Gekko on Heretics. BBL instead opted for the standard Icebox composition, with Killjoy, Jett, KAY/O, and Viper, and just Tejo added in. Starting on defense, BBL gave LewN free rein to roam and supported him well, winning the first pistol and running out to a 5-2 lead.

Just as hope seemed lost for Heretics to close out the series in two maps, benjyfishy started to get crucial attack-side kills as Killjoy, and he helped pull Heretics to a 6-6 half despite nobody else on his team ending the half positive.

Heretics won the second half pistol and started their defense strong with a bonus round conversion. As Wo0t stepped up to bring the team to match point up 12-8, BBL won four rounds in a row to take the map to overtime. However, the comeback was a bit anticlimactic, as Heretics won the first two overtime rounds to win Icebox 14-12 and the series 2-0.

It was a sweep in the end, but a close one. Thanks to his standout performance on Icebox, benjyfishy was the series MVP, ending with a rating of 1.37, 45 kills, 82% KAST, and 176 ADR.

With this win, Team Heretics have secured their slot at Masters Toronto, and will continue in the upper bracket to face FNATIC for a spot in the regional grand finals. For BBL, they stay alive in the lower bracket and will face FUT Esports FUT Esports Europe Rank #12 xeus Doğan Gözgen MrFaliN Furkan Yeğen yetujey Eray Budak AtaKaptan Ata Tan qRaxs Doğukan Balaban to keep their Masters Toronto hopes alive.

FNATIC defeats Team Liquid in a banger 2-1 series

The series started on Split, with both teams opting for double Duelist compositions starring Yoru and Raze. The duels between kaajak , Alfajer , Keiko , and kamo were frequent, but the mind games between Boaster and nAts were just as obvious. Team Liquid was quick to take an early lead off a pistol win, but FNATIC tied the map at 3-3 thanks to some smart plays from Chronicle and crashies .

The rounds were a chess game of post-plants, whether Liquid could retake against the drilled gameplay of FNATIC, and Liquid entered the half with a small 7-5 lead.

FNATIC won the second half pistol to keep the game close, but could not convert the bonus round. Even with that failed bonus conversion, the defense from FNATIC was solid thanks to the Viper of Chronicle and some amazing shots from Alfajer. After fighting back to tie the game at 9-9, FNATIC were clinical and ended the map 13-10.

Even with the double Duelist matchup, it was the two Viper players that stood out on Split, with Chronicle helping his team to the map win with a rating of 1.20, 20 kills, and 167 ADR.

Next up was Icebox, with both teams selecting Gekko to assist the plants, but big differences elsewhere. Both teams ran Viper, but FNATIC put crashies on Tejo, Aflajer on Killjoy, and kaajak on Sage, highlighting a no Duelist composition. Team Liquid had Keiko on Jett, but the attack from FNATIC quickly showed it had a purpose as they took an early lead.

As the attack side went on, Liquid realized how the FNATIC composition worked, and adapted the timing on their flood retakes to tie the map at 4-4, and battled hard to keep the map tied 6-6 at the half.

Considering the lack of a true entry player, six rounds on the attack side was great for FNATIC, but Liquid won the second pistol to put more pressure on their opponents to have a great defense side. FNATIC won the bonus round to stop a steamroll, with Boaster and kaajak offering confidence in their composition. The map went back and forth, tied at 9-9, 10-10, 11-11 off a Chronicle panic knife kill, but Liquid just managed to win 13-11 thanks to a B post-plant.

Despite a heroic performance from kaajak on the battle Sage, it was nAts on Viper that led the pack for Liquid with a rating of 1.43, 21 kills, 264 ACS, and 164 ADR.

The second playoff slot came down to Fracture, with both teams going with Neon, Brimstone, Breach, and Tejo. The only difference was the Vyse pick from Liquid, while Alfajer picked Cypher instead as the sole Sentinel. FNATIC got the first pistol thanks to a great trap play at Dish, but were unable to convert the bonus. Then, as Team Liquid played aggressively, FNATIC struggled to stop their B-site executes.

It took a hero round from crashies as one of the few FNATIC players with a rifle, who got four kills to win their first gun round and revitalized the team. FNATIC still needed a comeback to qualify for Toronto in this series, down 8-4 at the half.

FNATIC needed a strong start to the second half, and Alfajer delivered with back-to-back standout rounds. After converting the bonus round, FNATIC put Liquid on their heels as they quickly erased the deficit they faced at the half. Reaching 8-8, Liquid needed a hero of their own, and it was kamo on the Neon. First, after winning a round solo anchoring A site with an Operator, he used his ultimate next round to rebuild a small lead for his team.

It took an amazing round from nAts and Serial with poor weaponry to get them to series point, but some smart ultimates and a clutch 1v1 from Boaster took the map to overtime. FNATIC showed their adaptations by finally retaking B site well against Liquid, and Alfajer won a 1v2 clutch to win the map 14-12 and the series 2-1.

Across all three maps, kaajak was the series MVP, with a rating of 1.16, 61 kills, 147 ADR, and 12 first kills.

With this outcome, FNATIC have qualified for Masters Toronto and will face Team Heretics in the upper bracket finals for better seeding. Team Liquid, after losing a close series, will face Natus Vincere Natus Vincere Europe Rank #31 ANGE1 Kyrylo Karasov Shao Andrey Kiprsky Ruxic Uğur Güç hiro Emirhan Kat in the lower bracket for their hopes of reaching Toronto.