Ascension is no more in 2026, but the VCT Stage 2 Play-Ins now give tier-two teams their shot to play against tier-one squads. If these rosters are strong enough, they'll qualify for Champions 2026 in Shanghai and continue to compete at the highest level.

Each region has presented worthy competitors, but the mountain to climb is massive. The format makes the journey from tier-two to Shanghai difficult, with teams needing to finish top four in the Play-Ins to then end top two in the playoffs.

The two Chinese Play-Ins teams, KeepBest Gaming KeepBest Gaming China Rank #15 Akeman Zhang Haoran (张浩然) sibeastw0w Anton Govorukhin Tonk Ying Wang Chenxu (王晨旭) Krst1Ng and A Team A Team China Unranked monk Wang Haoyu (王浩宇) Eren Yang Zhengwei (杨曾威) Folykiki Dingwei Wei Dingwei (魏定伟) Layla Hoàng Đức Hùng , have already tumbled down that mountain by bowing out winless. However, other regions can be intriguing, with multiple play-in teams already in the win column.

Enterprise Esports enters EMEA with energy and hunger

Enterprise Esports Enterprise Esports Europe Rank #1 MAGNUM Martin Penkov iluri Ilari Puranen Lime Jacob Foster paTiTek Patryk Fabrowski kozzy Denis Stefan Aionitoaei , the top team out of EMEA Challengers, is a squad self-defined by three tenets.

“Individuality, decision-making, and hunger to play the game,” paTiTek said. “Everyone here knows their shit, from kozzy to our coaches. When I say individuality, still playing as a team, but being able to take turns to pop off.”

Controller player paTiTek basically lives in that hunger and has developed it since he joined Team Heretics Team Heretics Europe Rank #9 Wo0t Mert Alkan RieNs Enes Ecirli benjyfishy Benjamin David Fish as a substitute in 2024. Despite thinking his stint with Heretics was his last shot at tier-one, the team's run at Masters Shanghai earned him a chance with Team Liquid Team Liquid Europe Rank #5 nAts Ayaz Akhmetshin GSR Ognjen Bondžić kamo Kamil Frąckowiak trexx Nikita Cherednichenko Kicks Kimmie Laasner , as well as a regional trophy to end 2025. When he was released, he hoped for a tier-one team to sign him, but fate led him to Enterprise.

“After Liquid, I had some time to reflect on what I should be doing as a person and player,” paTiTek said. “I was waiting for a tier-one offer, but when Enterprise came to me, I thought, 'Why not?' They were an amazing tier-two team, and I joined them because I regained that hunger back, the flame to constantly improve.”

Enterprise also boasts experience in MAGNUM and head coach Itopata , but the true spark plug for this team is kozzy. paTiTek says he knows just how talented this young star is as he attempts a new frontier.

“I would say he is the best tier-two duelist for sure, but comparing him to tier-one players is hard,” paTiTek said. “Experience is a big factor, and he is only 16, but I would still put him in the top half of duelists in EMEA if you include the play-in teams. I see a lot of my younger self in him, so I want to guide him to be better than I was, with things like focusing on better sleep and working on the details.”

Lots of fans think Enterprise can shake up the hierarchy in EMEA, and as of this article, the team has already earned its first and second tier-one victories after defeating FNATIC FNATIC Europe Rank #16 crashies Austin Roberts kaajak Kajetan Haremski Cloud Kirill Nehozhin Alfajer Emir Ali Beder and Gentle Mates Gentle Mates Europe Rank #12 Proxh Yusuf Emre Tunc starxo Patryk Kopczynski marteen Martin Pátek H1ber Joona Parviainen Minny Patrik Hušek . Enterprise will next face off against another play-in team, Fire Flux Esports Fire Flux Esports Europe Rank #3 batujnax Mehmet Batu Özaslan hezacoil Berkay Doğar Kachoww Samet Arıcı DeadInk Utku Onur Aydin reazy Kaan Ürpek , for a guaranteed spot in the playoffs.

Fueled on stage by confidence and trash talk, paTiTek is committed to making a return to Champions this year. He knows the road ahead is long and arduous, but his energy was best explained by a bet he made ahead of his games.

“If I make it to Shanghai, from tier two to Champs, I'm going bald.”

M80 finally reaches tier-one after years of missing out

Moving from EMEA to NA, there is no Western team more hyped in the tier-two scene than M80 M80 North America Rank #7 Kyu Mirel Braco Hrustemovic Spaz Adam Laamoumi Boni NiSMO Marc-Andre Tayar alvinboy Alvin Hong , and for good reason. The talent on the team is immense, almost emanating experience even before a mid-season coach pickup kept the momentum going.

“I got lucky landing on such a talented team,” kaplan said. “I was very hungry to make it back to tier one and prove myself as a coach. I didn't have to go through any doubt or concern or fear with M80; I knew the team had strong leadership, and it didn't take much time for me to get impressed with every single player. Everyone gets along really well, and that was just a huge relief.”

Kaplan is one of the few head coaches in the world to have an international title, and his release from Sentinels Sentinels North America Rank #10 Reduxx Yassin Aboulalazm Jerrwin Gurjiwan Gill Marved Jimmy Nguyen stand-in johnqt Mohamed Amine Ouarid cortezia Gabriel Cortez JonahP Jonah Pulice moved him right to a team that had a similar drive. Reuniting with NiSMO from their Ghost Gaming days and keeping Kyu from his time on Sentinels helped make the move smoother, but the whole team stepped up to reach the play-ins.

“For NiSMO, it's been a long time waiting,” Kaplan said. “He plays the game to the fullest, [is] really creative on all of his agents, comes up with plenty of ideas, and works harder than most players at the tier one level.”

“As for Boni , he's just so talented; I'm surprised he wasn't part of a tier-one team this year, and I missed him when I started the year with Sentinels. I think people are gonna be impressed with his firepower and playmaking.”

After qualifying for the play-ins on his birthday, Kaplan was excited for the grind. The added bit of motivation could be to compete against his former squad in Sentinels, but he's just happy to be back in the saddle again against any tier-one org.

“I'm grateful to play against any team in tier-one,” Kaplan said. “I know the world is really excited for us to potentially play Sentinels, and I know the guys would have a lot of fun.”

Ignoring specific teams, the back-to-back tournaments are enough of a challenge on their own. All play-in teams have to fight through two tournaments to make it to Shanghai, and while that might seem like a daunting task, the Madrid winner can't wait.

“I enjoy the tournament format because of the tight turnaround; I like the pressure, and I think that's why I'm successful in those spots,” Kaplan said. “I really, really enjoy the non-stop games. I missed it, and while the games might be tighter in those back-to-backs, I'll be able to help the team a lot because of it.”

ONSIDE GAMING enters the gauntlet of Pacific

Moving across the world to the many countries in the reach of VCT Pacific, another Korean squad enters the fray to fight against the best. ONSIDE GAMING ONSIDE GAMING Korea Rank #4 Xiesta Jung Si-hwan (정시환) loan Hermes Ahn Byeong-wook (안병욱) Ray Oh Eun-hyuk (오은혁) Cloudy Koo Min-jae (구민재) Wolverine Cho Hyun-tae (조현태) , much like Enterprise and M80, has consistently been the best team in its respective tier-two scene in 2026.

The ONSIDE Gaming roster after qualifying for play-ins.

The org finished both regional Splits in first place, boasting strong up-and-coming Korean talent that earned the chance to rise to the play-ins. If you talk about Enterprise, you have to mention kozzy; if you talk about ONSIDE, you have to bring up Xiesta .

His potential is undeniable, finishing Split 2 in Challengers Korea with a 1.30 match rating, 0.13 points higher than second place (his teammate, Ray ). Sticking with Neon throughout his qualification, there is a unique clause in his loan that might come to fruition and could cost his current team a top talent for a series.

“I can't play against Gen.G Gen.G Korea Rank #3 Ash Ha Hyun-cheol (하현철) Karon Kim Won-tae (김원태) t3xture Kim Na-ra (김나라) Efina Kim Nak-yeon (김낙연) Raxcal Kim Min-seok (김민석) contractually, but I'm happy with our performance in tier-two and excited to face tier-one teams,” Xiesta said. “Right now, eagerness and effort are the biggest things driving me to stay motivated. Communication is key; just staying grounded within the team.”

Even if ONSIDE does face Gen.G, substitute Faither can fill in. However, there was another roster change just before play-ins, as former KRX player Hermes replaced Awayk . Even small roster shifts can have tremendous impacts on teams, but Xiesta was quick to compliment his experience, agent pool, communication, and cooperativeness from scrims in the past.

Yet, like Enterprise, the star talent alone doesn't carry the team. Controller Ray has also stepped up, even topping Xiesta statistically in the Challengers Split 2 playoffs. His mechanical skill is a talent he thinks his entire team possesses, which will come to fruition in the play-ins.

“Everyone shoots well, and when we do, we can turn losing games into winning games,” Ray said. “We have high variability on what the team can do.”

Also nothing out of the ordinary for another key member of the roster: head coach Hype . Game Changers fans might recognize him from his time with Mir Gaming GC Mir Gaming GC Inactive 332 Park Min-ju (박민주) HF2 BIBI h4ste Park Ju-hwi (박주희) and Ninetails Ninetails Korea Rank #25 Quest kaoru EveR Kim Ji-min (김지민) ReZet FullMoon Jeong Ye-jin (정예진) . Hype was at the helm of multiple Korean Split victories and led the first Korean team to reach GC Champs in 2025 with NTZ. Moving to ONSIDE was another challenge for him, and one he loved to face.

Hype swaps jerseys on stage before a Ninetails match.

“Rather than being relaxed, I want it more,” Hype said. “To be honest, I've always taken a challenger mindset, always looking toward the next step. I've always tried to be a challenger as much as possible, and that's no different now for play-ins.”

The gauntlet every team faces in each play-in is a chance at tier-one, but these squads face tougher opposition than the previous Ascension tournaments. Before, it was a scrappy battle between the best in tier-two, but those battles also consistently left the question of: How many of these teams could truly beat the worst in tier-one?

These play-ins provide that answer. Ascension and LCQs have morphed together into a hybrid month-long stretch, and the top of the mountain is well within reach for those who truly deserve it.