NAVI and GIANTX have been eradicated from VCT EMEA Kickoff 2026 after shedding elimination matches in opposition to Crew Heretics and Crew Liquid, respectively.
Because of this, NAVI and GIANTX will miss out on Masters Santiago, whereas their opponents can nonetheless qualify for the primary international VCT occasion of the 12 months by the decrease bracket.
Crew Heretics Appears to be like Revitalised Versus NAVI
The day kicked off with a rematch betweenTeam Heretics and NAVI, which had beforehand confronted off within the Higher Bracket Quarterfinals. Whereas the primary encounter concluded in a 2-1 victory for NAVI, Crew Heretics delivered a dominant 2-0 sweep this time round.
NAVI had a strong begin on Crew Heretics’ map choose, Haven. Nevertheless, from spherical 4 onward, the group struggled to clear the enemy Cypher’s info-gathering utility, permitting Crew Heretics to stack websites and obtain a powerful 8-4 defensive half. This momentum carried over into the second half, leading to a 13-5 victory for the Spanish organisation.
Crew Heretics’ latest roster member, Berkcan ‘ComeBack’ Şentürk, delivered a large efficiency on Haven with a kill-death ratio (KDA) of 29/12/5 and a 455 common fight rating.
For its Breeze debut at Kickoff, Crew Heretics performed a defence-favouring Sage/Chamber agent mixture, awarding the group with one other 8-4 half. Off the again of an assault pistol within the second half, Crew Heretics took Breeze 13-4.
Crew Liquid Denies GIANTX Reverse Sweep
The second series of the day noticed final 12 months’s EMEA Stage 2 finalists, Crew Liquid and GIANTX, struggle for survival within the decrease bracket. Identical to final 12 months, Crew Liquid emerged victorious from the encounter (2-1).
Crew Liquid rapidly took management of its map choose, Breeze, due to a thrifty win within the second spherical. With wonderful attack-side calling from the roster’s in-game chief (IGL) Ayaz ‘nAts’ Akhmetshin, Crew Liquid secured a 9-3 half, which later transformed right into a 13-4 victory.
Pearl started with a ten-round successful streak for GIANTX, whereas Crew Liquid’s mid-heavy assault facet calling discovered little success. After an 11-1 half and one other pistol spherical win, it was solely a matter of time till GIANTX evened out the match rating (13-6).
The ultimate showdown occurred on Bind, the place each groups excelled on the defensive facet. Regardless of two pistol-round wins, GIANTX needed to struggle again from a 4-8 halftime deficit to pressure time beyond regulation. In the meantime, Crew Liquid gained numerous worth from its Gekko choose on each side and in the end denied an enemy comeback at 16-14.
On February twelfth at 5 PM BST, Crew Liquid will proceed its decrease bracket run at VCT EMEA Kickoff, dealing with off in opposition to Crew Heretics. Followers can tune into the elimination match through the league’s official Twitch and YouTube channels.
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