Kickoff EMEA continued with the upper quarterfinals, with FNATIC FNATIC Europe Rank #4 crashies Austin Roberts Boaster Jake Howlett kaajak Kajetan Haremski Chronicle Timofey Khromov Alfajer Emir Ali Beder and Team Vitality Team Vitality Europe Rank #2 trexx Nikita Cherednichenko Derke Nikita Sirmitev Kicks Kimmie Laasner Sayf Saif Jibraeel Less Felipe de Loyola Basso playing for the first time this season. By the end of the day, BBL Esports BBL Esports Europe Rank #19 Jamppi Elias Olkkonen sociablEE Volkan Yonal PROFEK Dawid Święć vakk Vakaris Bebravičius stand-in LewN Burak Alkan and Team Vitality remained in the upper bracket, and will return to the server on January 29 while the rest of the tournament continues.

BBL Esports vs. FNATIC

The first series of the day saw FNATIC returning to VCT, up against the first EMEA team to earn a win this year. FNATIC went through a number of changes during the off-season, first trading Derke to Team Vitality and then bringing in crashies to stand-in for Leo. Fresh off a win against GIANTX GIANTX Europe Rank #150 purp0 Semyon Borchev Cloud Kirill Nehozhin runneR Emil Trajkovski westside Miłosz Duda tomaszy Tomás Machado , BBL looked to continue its run through the bracket.

BBL chose Abyss to kick off the match, and backed it up immediately with a strong defense, countering FNATIC's Tejo composition. The newest agent had a better showing in the second half, as Alfajer earned a 2.09 rating on defense and FNATIC approached a tied scoreline. BBL ultimately denied the comeback, with an eco win and three separate 1vXs ending the map 13-8.

FNATIC would not go down without a fight, however, achieving an 8-4 defense on Fracture off the back of Chronicle 's strong start and Boaster winning three 1v1s to keep BBL's economy broken. FNATIC further extended their lead with the second pistol round, and it was only a matter of time before they took their map 13-8.

A seemingly-renovated FNATIC had a running start in the decider, Split. Both teams made it clear they would rely mainly on the offense, opting for Yoru-Raze compositions. The bet paid off for FNATIC, as the Masters winners went up 9-3 by the break. BBL avoided a disaster by taking the pistol in their own attack, and it was clear the team remained confident. BBL needed ten rounds, and they won ten rounds, interrupted only by a trap-play based on kaajak 's Yoru.

With the win, BBL is the first team in the EMEA upper semifinals, and will next play against the winner of Gentle Mates vs. Team Heretics. FNATIC remains in the tournament, needing to play an elimination match against Natus Vincere.

Karmine Corp vs. Team Vitality

A French grudge match followed BBL's victory, with a first look at Vitality's new lineup, while Karmine Corp Karmine Corp Europe Rank #169 saadhak Matias Delipetro Avez Hazem Khaled Elite Efe Teber SUYGETSU Dmitry Ilyushin marteen Martin Pátek came fresh off a win against Natus Vincere. Team Vitality hit the ground running on their pick, Haven, keeping KC out of the map with a 13-5 scoreline.

Karmine Corp's Deadlock-Vyse continued performing on Bind, albeit in less dominant fashion than seen previously. The agent picks allow KC strong entrances into sites, letting them set up for comfortable post-plants which are difficult to break open. A similar concept translated to their defense, setting up strongholds and providing an option for explosive retakes should the opposite team manage to plant. In the end, KC took Bind 13-9, sending the series to the decider map.

Abyss put momentum back in Vitality's favor, with a strong start based off of direct, early site hits. KC stayed in the series, recovering in the second half and eventually reaching match point. Heroics from Vitality sent the series to overtime, mainly two multikills from Kicks and successful 1v1s from Less and Sayf . The teams continued their attacking prowess, but Vitality remained on top, putting KC on the back foot the entire overtime. In the end, Vitality was able to win the first defense round of extra time, winning Abyss 17-15 and ending the series 2-1.

Team Vitality will next play against either FUT Esports or Team Liquid, while Karmine Corp will need to defeat GIANTX to continue their Kickoff run.

VCT EMEA will continue on January 22 with the upper bracket:

• FUT Esports vs Team Liquid
• Gentle Mates vs Team Heretics