As the VCT EMEA superweek's end approaches, Team Vitality Team Vitality Europe Rank #9 trexx Nikita Cherednichenko Derke Nikita Sirmitev Kicks Kimmie Laasner Sayf Saif Jibraeel Less Felipe de Loyola Basso are the first team to end the week on a lossless record. Team Liquid Team Liquid Europe Rank #22 nAts Ayaz Akhmetshin Keiko Georgio Sanassy kamo Kamil Frąckowiak managed to fight back against FUT Esports FUT Esports Europe Rank #7 xeus Doğan Gözgen MrFaliN Furkan Yeğen yetujey Eray Budak AtaKaptan Ata Tan cNed Mehmet Yağız İpek qRaxs Doğukan Balaban , finding their first win and placing themselves 1-1 in the standings.

VCT EMEA's superweek ends tomorrow, Friday, with a bout between FNATIC FNATIC Europe Rank #3 Sayonara Ștefan Mîtcu stand-in Boaster Jake Howlett kaajak Kajetan Haremski Chronicle Timofey Khromov Alfajer Emir Ali Beder and BBL Esports BBL Esports Europe Rank #42 Jamppi Elias Olkkonen sociablEE Volkan Yonal chiwa Egor Stepanyuk PROFEK Dawid Święć LewN Burak Alkan , as well as a match between Team Heretics Team Heretics Europe Rank #1 MiniBoo Dominykas Lukaševičius Wo0t Mert Alkan RieNs Enes Ecirli benjyfishy Benjamin David Fish Boo Ričardas Lukaševičius and Karmine Corp Karmine Corp Europe Rank #31 saadhak Matias Delipetro Avez Hazem Khaled Elite Efe Teber SUYGETSU Dmitry Ilyushin marteen Martin Pátek .

Sayf at VCT EMEA Photo by Hara Amorós/Riot Games/LVP

Team Liquid vs. FUT Esports (TL 2-1)

Liquid's 2-1 loss to Vitality, despite showing major signs of improvement, was mirrored by FUT's strong start to the league, taking a 2-0 over Heretics. The team grabbed a 13-9 win on Lotus against Mixwell 's men, leading them to pick the map against Liquid. Both teams had played Lotus in the VCT EMEA, but FUT were the only ones to take a win on the map.

After putting FUT on his back against Heretics, MrFaliN kicked off the match with a 1v2 3K that put his team ahead 3-0. Liquid then fed off of a 3K from Sayf to bounce back and reach a 5-5 tie. FUT replied with two rounds of their own, switching sides up 7-5 after a 3K from AtaKaptan .

After a troublesome attack against Vitality, Liquid's offense became their strong side against FUT. FUT took two rounds, but proceeded to drop five in a row thanks to Sayf and Jamppi 's antics. Liquid found their first lead at 10-9

That was as far as they would go. A 3K from qRaxs tied the map again, and four successive retakes — two of them on B — ensured a 13-10 win from FUT.

Sayf's seven multikills showed on the leaderboard, as he took down 28 players (15 more than took him down) and had an 87% KAST. MrFaliN, despite his strong start, slumbered for the remainder of them and left qRaxs to lead the charge. The latter finished the map with a 1.49 rating, 0.02 over Sayf.

Sounds like FUT enjoyed that.

FUT and Liquid's debut on Split this year began as a highlight reel. FUT's 4-0 lead came off a Marshall 1v3 from Muj and a 3K from qRaxs. Liquid then got their foot in the door, taking five consecutive rounds due to standout plays from Jamppi (1v2 3K), nAts (two 4Ks), and Sayf (two 3Ks and a 1v1). When the dust settled, both teams were tied at 5-5. Liquid took a sixth point, and Jamppi nailed a 1v1 for a 7-5 lead at halftime.

FUT were shut down in the second half, finding just one round from a Muj 3K. Liquid found three retakes in the second half and cruised to a 13-6 win, triggering the decider. Sayf wasn't content with his Lotus performance and carried Liquid once more, downing 25 players for a 1.58 rating and 195 ADR.

Poof!

Ascent began the same flashy way Split did. After Liquid found a 2-1 start, MrFaliN and Sayf kept it interesting and combined for five multikills in five rounds. Liquid managed to break away momentarily for a 6-4 lead, but MOJJ finally found the first ace of the day (after five 4Ks), and his team built back in for a 6-6 half.

The second half was also similar to Split's, as Liquid went on a tear. soulcas , Jamppi, and Sayf all found 3Ks and effortlessly reached double digits. In the rounds nobody found a significant multikill, Liquid's teamplay prevented site entries and threw them into match point. At 12-6, Jamppi took a 1v2 on a B retake that gave Liquid their first win of the year.

Despite being the shortest map of the match, it was the most eventful. Out of the 10 players in the server, eight shone in their own individual moment. Sayf had another stellar map, leading him to finish the day as the league's best player in rating (1.53), KD (1.94), KPR (1.10), and total kills (130) so far.

Today's result is a much-needed win for Liquid, who came into the VCT EMEA after a disappointing LOCK//IN performance and a rough start to the season against Vitality. They now sit beside FUT in the standings, as both teams have a 1-1 record going into the second week of competition.

Sayf was feeling it today.

KOI vs. Team Vitality (VIT 2-0)

The second bout of the day was the first of the EMEA superweek between two 1-0 teams. KOI looked comfortable in their 2-0 over Natus Vincere Natus Vincere Europe Rank #20 ANGE1 Kyrylo Karasov Shao Andrey Kiprsky , despite requiring seven overtimes to close out the match. Vitality had to take a win from Liquid in the first three-map series of the season.

Twisten and ceNder kicked off Vitality's Split pick with a 4K and a 1v2, respectively. KOI quickly gained ground, chaining five rounds off of showy plays from sheydos and Wolfen . KOI built up a 7-3 advantage, but were kept in check by BONECOLD and Twisten. The duo showed up in the final rounds of the half for a 7-5 scoreline.

ceNder and Twisten kicked off their attack with a bang, combining for eight kills in the first two rounds that tied the map at 7-7. KOI, despite two timeouts, only found rounds off of 3K plays from trexx and starxo . Vitality cruised to a 13-9 victory, which Twisten capped off in a 1v1 against trexx.

The Jetts starred on Split. Between multikills and clutches, both Wolfen and Twisten had eight highlight moments throughout the map. Twisten finished the map with a 1.35 rating and over 300 ACS, far above his counterpart. Vitality's double duelist composition bore fruits: Twisten and MOLSI combined for 11 entries alone, three more than KOI altogether.

Golden Hornets at VCT EMEA Vitality's supporters came out in full force. (Photo by Hara Amorós/LVP/Riot Games)

Despite being manhandled by Liquid on Fracture, Vitality left the map open for KOI. An aggressive push on defense gave them the pistol, but KOI replied with three of their own rounds. Vitality took two retakes that tied the map at 3-3. KOI found a brief lead at 4-3, but their opponents chained five — three off of multikills — for an 8-4 lead at halftime.

That lead was short lived; KOI quickly brought it back to an 8-8 tie. They reached double digits soon after, but ceNder's 1v2 brought the Golden Hornets back into the fight and tied the map at 10-10. KOI seemed unfazed, and pushed back on four retakes for map point. Vitality took their timeout and successfully took the A site. KOI took their own timeout, but faltered and let their opponents throw the map to overtime.

KOI were the first to score in overtime, taking A for their first round. Twisten replied with a 4K outside B which forced a second overtime, where two A holds gave Vitality the win. With a 15-13 in the bag, the squad jumped up and turned around to celebrate their lossless week with the Golden Hornets, Vitality's official supporters.

Twisten's bout with KOI ended better than it began. He managed to improve on Split's 1.35 rating to finish Fracture with a 1.42 rating, dropping 27 players and finding six entries. He again combined with MOLSI for 11 first bloods, finishing the map with a 1.93 KDA.

Vitality are, so far, the only team to finish the superweek without dropping a match. FNATIC and KCorp can still match them tomorrow. Vitality's next test is against FUT, who are 1-1, while KOI will fight for their second win against Giants.

Allez, allez, allez!

Looking Ahead

There is just one day left in VCT EMEA's superweek. FNATIC aim to end the week on a high against BBL Esports, while Team Heretics will battle Karmine Corp to avoid finishing the week winless.