Team Liquid Team Liquid Europe Rank #22 nAts Ayaz Akhmetshin Keiko Georgio Sanassy kamo Kamil Frąckowiak and Giants Gaming Giants Gaming Inactive Redgar Igor Vlasov Fit1nho Adolfo Gallego nukkye Žygimantas Chmieliauskas hoody Aaro Peltokangas Cloud Kirill Nehozhin live to see another day of the Stage 3: EMEA Challengers Playoffs, evading elimination for the second time in a row.

forZe forZe Inactive SUYGETSU Dmitry Ilyushin Art1st Vyacheslav Lyadnov Coffee Nikita Antsypirovich and Guild Esports Guild Esports Inactive are out of the tournament, but they might both be LCQ contenders come October. Tomorrow, LCQ slots and Berlin slots will be set in stone.

forZe picked the first map today, choosing Bind, the same map where they reached the longest overtime in VCT against FunPlus Phoenix FunPlus Phoenix Inactive SUYGETSU Dmitry Ilyushin Zyppan Pontus Eek ANGE1 Kyrylo Karasov Shao Andrey Kiprsky ardiis Ardis Svarenieks . They looked comfortable, starting out with a 3-1 lead. forZe started to slip when Liquid took A on a semi-eco, propelling them into an advantage they'd keep for the entirety of the map, despite a tactical timeout from the Russian side. Liquid were strong on the retakes in the second half, which allowed them to secure the first map 13-7.

Dmitry "SUYGETSU" Ilyushin wooed the viewers with plays like this one.

Liquid held control of their Breeze pick for its entirety. Despite several slip-ups, the squad ended on top 13-10. Adil "ScreaM" Benrlitom carried his team for the match, ending both maps with 280 ACS. His entry fragging skills were very much on point today. The Belgian managed a 3.6 first kill to first death ratio.

ScreaM showed appreciation for the team's resilience these last few days. "Every time we lose, have our backs to the wall and have no second chances, that's when we play the best. Obviously, we have to improve that, but right now we're for sure waking up." He went on to say the team "played awesome today. I'm really proud of the boys, of the energy we put into today. We really want to qualify for Berlin and show people we're still a strong team."

Despite that, the Belgian acknowledged the team's upper bracket flaws. "I know we make you scared sometimes. Sometimes we play like shit, but we always show up when it matters."

To get to Berlin, they first need to go through Gambit tomorrow. "Gambit is a team we know well and they know us well. We've been practicing against them a lot." ScreaM believes tomorrow's match will boil down to individual skill. "If everybody hits their shots and we're playing like we're playing right now, I don't think Gambit have a chance. We'll see tomorrow. I wish them good luck, it'll be a really good game. May the best win, you know?"

The squad isn't cowering away from tomorrow's match. Confidence seems at an all-time high. "We are going to go to Berlin. Hopefully, tomorrow we're going to show our best level. I really want to go to Berlin, play the Masters and qualify for Champions. It's very important for me and the whole team. We have to do what it takes."

Tap, tap, tap.

The second match of the day was between Guild and Giants. After losing to Gambit in the upper bracket, Guild had to eliminate Fire Flux Esports Fire Flux Esports Europe Rank #14 to ensure their survival. Giants was the dark house of this tournament, with a late but great Challengers 2 run that placed them in the EMEA Playoffs. They had already eliminated Natus Vincere Natus Vincere Europe Rank #19 ANGE1 Kyrylo Karasov Shao Andrey Kiprsky , one of the contenders for LAN, but the Swedish powerhouse was still in their way.

After tying up the first half of Split, Giants chained together strong attacking rounds to secure the map 13-10, despite it being Guild's pick and second-best map statistically. Down in the series, the Swedes had a tough road ahead of them, as the next map Bind was a pick David "Davidp" Prins said people should be afraid to play them on.

Bind was defined by series of rounds from both sides. Guild took the first five but Giants countered with the next eight, edging closer to the win. Guild bit back in the next six rounds to reach overtime, with two stellar clutches coming out from William "draken" Sundin and Yacine "Yacine" Laghmari, the latter acing with only 10 seconds left on the board. Giants managed to force overtime and it looked like anyone could take it, with rounds coming down to the wire. Guild managed to win their final, needed rounds, granting the 17-15 win and the third map of this elimination series.

Reflecting on the map loss, Johan "Meddo" Renbjörk Lundborg recalled in the post-match interview that "[They] were pussies. We didn't go as a group, we didn't take the initiative." Fear settled into the minds of the players, according to their Sentinel. "We were holding, not doing anything. We fell apart due to lack of communication and initiative.

Everything looked gone for Guild, but don't count draken out.

Heading into map 3, the team had a chat. "We just talked [about how we needed] to have more balls and play the way we usually play - with confidence. That's all basically. We just had to mentally reset and go again."

Ascent was another close map between the two teams. Guild, after an early lead, just hung on to the match to force overtime, where it was Giants' to take 15-13, crushing the dreams of Guild fans.

"It feels amazing. Words can't even describe it. This feeling is insane," said Meddo. There are no doubts about tomorrow's game against G2. "I think we'll win, 100%."

When asked by Vincent "Zescht" Talmon-Gros if tomorrow is the day they surprise everyone and reach Berlin, Meddo was quick to answer. "Yeah, 100%. Our individual skill is super good. I feel like our teamwork, for the most part, is super good. So... 100%."

While both forZe and Guild have been eliminated from the EMEA Challengers Playoffs, their year is not over yet. Guild are a lock-in for the EMEA Last Chance Qualifier, at the bottom of the standings with 115 points. After the match between G2 Esports G2 Esports Inactive and Giants is over tomorrow, forZe will be knocked down to 10th with 110 points. They'll still be able to reach the LCQ if a team from EMEA wins Masters 3. FunPlus Phoenix FunPlus Phoenix Inactive SUYGETSU Dmitry Ilyushin Zyppan Pontus Eek ANGE1 Kyrylo Karasov Shao Andrey Kiprsky ardiis Ardis Svarenieks will not reach the LCQ.

Both Liquid and Giants were defeated in the first upper bracket round. Now? They're two map wins away from Berlin. Despite that, they'll have to go through Gambit Esports Gambit Esports Inactive Redgar Igor Vlasov Chronicle Timofey Khromov d3ffo Nikita Sudakov sheydos Bogdan Naumov nAts Ayaz Akhmetshin and G2 Esports G2 Esports Inactive first, respectively. These two hold the higher seed from their respective regions and are looking to reach Valorant's second-ever LAN tournament as much as any other team.