The VCT EMEA 2026 Stage 2 Play-Ins have concluded, with Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt Europe Rank #5 musashi Alessio Xhaferi azury Luca Sammer Jamelinho213 Ryad Bentot Fizzy David Figueiredo MONSTEERR Ondřej Petrů and 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 securing the final two Stage 2 playoff spots and keeping their Champions hopes alive.

Here's a rundown of each team's journey through the play-ins:

Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt Europe Rank #5 musashi Alessio Xhaferi azury Luca Sammer Jamelinho213 Ryad Bentot Fizzy David Figueiredo MONSTEERR Ondřej Petrů

With Eintracht Frankfurt's qualification, Challengers teams claimed three of the four playoff spots, leaving FUT Esports FUT Esports Europe Rank #6 s0pp Efe Tur xeus Doğan Gözgen yetujey Eray Budak KROSTALY Okan Alaçam sociablEE Volkan Yonal as the only VCT EMEA team to survive the Play-Ins.

Looking to keep its undefeated Challengers 2026: EMEA Last Chance Qualifier run alive, Frankfurt was left reeling after a rough 2-1 upper bracket loss to eventual last-place finishers GIANTX GIANTX Europe Rank #35 westside Miłosz Duda Flickless Karel Maeckelbergh ara Hanceriuc Eduard-George Jesse Adam Čtvrtníček neT Michael Bernet forcing the team to win every single match in the lower bracket. And win every single match they did. A tight 2-0 series against an underperforming Gentle Mates Gentle Mates Europe Rank #11 Proxh Yusuf Emre Tunc starxo Patryk Kopczynski marteen Martin Pátek H1ber Joona Parviainen Minny Patrik Hušek followed by another close series against 2025 Esports World Cup winners Team Heretics Team Heretics Europe Rank #8 koshmaras Martynas Namikas Wo0t Mert Alkan RieNs Enes Ecirli benjyfishy Benjamin David Fish Boo Ričardas Lukaševičius landed Frankfurt in a do-or-die match against Eternal Fire Eternal Fire Europe Rank #18 Spear Arda Burak Kartal audaz Soner Ekiz Favian Enes Yiğiter echo Ömür Serkan Şenol nekky Anıl Dağdeviren .

The German squad continued the pattern of close first maps, winning Lotus 13-11, followed by a dominant 13-7 performance on Eternal Fire's map pick of Split, earning their qualification into the playoffs.

frank Eintracht Frankfurt players celebrate playoff qualification. (Photo: Riot Games)

Tier-one journeyman Ondřej "MONSTEERR" Petrů lived up to the name with a monster performance against Eternal Fire finishing 52-23 across the two maps and averaging 208 ADR. 17-year-old Duelist Ryad "Jamelinho213" Bentot also drew attention throughout the play-ins.

Eintracht Frankfurt will face the loser of either Team Vitality Team Vitality Europe Rank #2 Jamppi Elias Olkkonen PROFEK Dawid Święć Derke Nikita Niko Sirmitev Chronicle Timofey Khromov Sayonara Ștefan Mîtcu or Team Liquid Team Liquid Europe Rank #13 purp0 Semyon Borchev nAts Ayaz Akhmetshin kamo Kamil Frąckowiak trexx Nikita Cherednichenko Kicks Kimmie Laasner 's match against Enterprise Esports Enterprise Esports Europe Rank #1 MAGNUM Martin Penkov iluri Ilari Puranen Lime Jacob Foster paTiTek Patryk Fabrowski kozzy Denis Stefan Aionitoaei / FUT Esports FUT Esports Europe Rank #6 s0pp Efe Tur xeus Doğan Gözgen yetujey Eray Budak KROSTALY Okan Alaçam sociablEE Volkan Yonal in the playoffs. The German squad will have to repeat its lower-bracket heroics in four straight win-or-go-home series to earn a spot at Champions.

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

Fire Flux Esports joins fellow Turkish squads FUT and BBL Esports BBL Esports Europe Rank #4 Crewen Ali Eren Sargin Lar0k Yusuf Kaan Kanber Loita Utku Kart Rosé Eren Erzan lovers rock Umut Pekdoğan in the EMEA playoffs. The former REBORN REBORN Inactive hezacoil Berkay Doğar Kachoww Samet Arıcı DeadInk Utku Onur Aydin batujnax Mehmet Batu Özaslan reazy Kaan Ürpek roster qualified to the play-ins after placing second in Challengers 2026: EMEA Stage 3, meeting rival playoff team Enterprise Esports twice, in the upper final and grand final.

Fire Flux opened its playoffs run with a win over winless PCIFIC Esports PCIFIC Esports Europe Rank #335 al0rante Felix Brandl qpert Mateja Mijovic NINJA Patryk Koczyba seven Johann Hernandez waddle Wadir Taraki , then made quick work of Team Heretics in a decisive reverse-sweep. In the upper semifinals with a chance to qualify for the playoffs, the Turkish organization once again met with Enterprise Esports, losing 2-0 in a tightly contested series.

The loss sent them to the lower bracket against Joblife Joblife Europe Rank #9 kamyk Maks Rychlewski doma Domagoj Fancev chiwa Egor Stepanyuk runneR Emil Trajkovski Pa1ze Mohammad Khatib UNFAKE Bartosz Bernacki , a squad making a lower-bracket run of its own. But just like in their prior encounter, Fire Flux defeated Joblife 2-0 to secure a playoff spot.

ffx Fire Flux Players players embrace after playoff qualification. (Photo: Riot Games)

Like most Challengers lineups, Fire Flux includes a mix of tier-one veterans and young guns. Kaan "reazy" Ürpek brings experience from BBL Esports, while Mehmet "batujnax" Batu Özaslan is known for his time on the Ascension-winning Apeks Apeks Inactive roster.

Flexing Controller and Sentinel player Berkay "hezacoil" Doğar brings raw talent, posting a 1.61 rating in the series against Eternal Fire.

Fire Flux, like Eintracht Frankfurt, will clash against the loser of either Team Vitality or Team Liquid's match against Enterprise Esports/FUT Esports in the playoffs.