The penultimate week of play in EMEA Stage 1 saw all eight of the region's playoff spots claimed. While Group Omega has set itself up for a final-week brawl to decide seedings, Group Alpha will see the region's last pair of undefeated teams go head-to-head to decide which team takes the top seed.

Here's how the week's matches played out:

Team Vitality locked in its playoff spot with a 2-0 victory over Apeks. The series started with an easy 13-5 victory on Apeks' pick of Ascent, followed by the bees grinding out a 13-10 win on their own pick of Lotus. Vitality Initiator player Kicks had a stellar series, dropping a match-high 42 kills in the win. The series saw Vitality Duelist Derke play his first-ever map on Neon, adding a new fold to the veteran player's agent pool. With the loss, Apeks drops to 0-4 and out of contention for the playoffs. The result also locked in Group Alpha's top four by eliminating GIANTX from playoff contention before their match.

Team Liquid earned their third win of the stage with a 2-0 victory over KOI, earning them their playoff spot. A well-rounded effort saw the EMEA Kickoff runner-ups tough out a 13-9 win on KOI's map pick of Lotus and then display a dominant 13-5 on Split, which featured a double Duelist comp pairing kamo and Keiko . The loss means that KOI drops to 0-4 and out of playoff contention, while Liquid secures a top-two finish in the group.

BBL Esports also clinched a playoff spot with their 2-0 win over Gentle Mates, which saw them follow up an overtime victory on Lotus with a dominant 13-2 stomping. BBL stuck with what worked for them, playing nearly identical team comps on both maps. Turkish rookie sociablEE , who was the only player to switch agents, was the kills leader in the server with 42, which included a dominant 27 on the defending side. The loss shuts out Gentle Mates from the playoffs due to their head-to-head loss to Karmine Corp, while BBL could finish as high as first, depending on other results next week.

With virtually nothing to lose, GIANTX went the full three maps with FNATIC, but ultimately fell. GIANTX promoted a pair of players from their tier 2 affiliate team the day before the match, and while the decision did result in a strong performance for the winless team, it wasn't enough to stop the red-hot FNATIC. In-game leader Boaster recorded his first-ever ace in VCT, all while leading a near-perfect final two maps.

Boaster played GIANTX like a fiddle in this 1v3.

With their spot in the playoffs already secured, FUT managed a tight 2-1 victory over Karmine Corp to stay in contention for the group's top seed, which grants a bye in the playoffs. With IGL saadhak on his iconic pick of Harbor, Karmine Corp secured a tough 14-12 victory on Pearl. The second map of the series was played on Lotus, and while Saadhak stayed on Harbor, it did not garner the result it did on Pearl. FUT, led by star rookie xeus , stormed their way to a 13-5 win on the map, setting up for the all-important third map of Ascent. xeus, who has been one of the world's ACS leaders in 2025, went off for a high-flying 27/17 scoreline on Jett, leading the Turkish squad to a 13-11 victory. With playoffs secured, FUT could rise as high as first in Group Omega or fall as far as fourth.

MiniBoo , who alongside xeus has been one of the world's best fraggers this year, led Team Heretics to a dominant 2-0 victory over Natus Vincere. Heretics gave up just 11 rounds in the process, continuing to display comfort in their double Duelist team comp, pairing MiniBoo with Wo0t . The duo finished the series first and second in kills, with MiniBoo going a perfect 8/0 in first duels. The result sets Heretics up with an undefeated duel against FNATIC in the final match, while NAVI will take on Team Vitality to decide which team starts their playoffs in the lower bracket.

Playoff Implications

With the region's eight playoff spots secured, the final week of play will determine final seedings. The groups' top seeds enter the playoffs one win away from qualifying for Masters Toronto and fourth seeds one loss away from elimination, the playoff teams will look to secure the best seedings possible.

Group Alpha:

  • Team Heretics (4-0): Secures top seed with win against FNATIC next week, second seed with loss.
  • FNATIC (4-0): Secures top seed with win against Team Heretics next week, second seed with loss.
  • Team Vitality (2-2): Secures third seed with win against Natus Vincere next week, fourth seed with loss.
  • Natus Vincere (2-2): Secures third seed with win against Team Vitality next week, fourth seed with loss.
  • GIANTX, Apeks (0-4): Unable to qualify for playoffs.

Group Omega:

  • Team Liquid (3-1): Secures top seed with win against Karmine Corp next week. Loss, results elsewhere, and tiebreakers could see them fall to second or third seed.
  • BBL Esports (3-1): Secures top seed with win against FUT Esports and Team Liquid loss next week. Could fall to second if Liquid win, and third with loss against FUT.
  • FUT Esports (3-1): Secures top seed with win against BBL Esports and Team Liquid loss next week. Could fall to third or fourth with loss.
  • Karmine Corp (2-2): Can finish as high as third with win against Team Liquid. Will finish fourth with loss.
  • Gentle Mates (1-3): Unable to qualify for playoffs.
  • KOI (0-4): Unable to qualify for playoffs.

The final week of matches are as follows: