And what if Fnatic doesn't want him? Liquid is likely his best option after. TH, VIT and GX are locked. NAVI needs an IGL. nAts and Kamo with TL's coaching staff is very decent start. If he wants to leave PCF*

G2 on top like always. NRG and MIBR one event wonders

NAVI with Ruxic, Hiro, Shao, MiniBoo and Johnqt would have so much potential. Really hope he goes there but I doubt it.

There's been like 0 rumors for that. He has not appeared in any spreadsheet or anything. Only thing is his tweet of Hogwarts or something and that could mean anything.

That sounds depressing indeed. Sorry to hear that and best of luck with everything. Hopefully things will clear out.

I thought they would be dark horse team and go far even in LOCK/IN as only Wolfen was unproven on that roster and I had high hopes for him but then they ended up sucking. Kinda fun to look back and see guys like Koldamenta, starxo and Wolfen and have high hopes but as I always say, they had potential (for the time).

True, but tbf KOI wasn't super bad on paper at start of VCT. And many orgs were still kinda mid. Only Fnatic, TL and NAVI had better rosters on paper really. Teams like TH, GX, KC, VIT etc were still pretty weak or budget.

I just remember him being lowkey their best at some point. Like playing Skye on Bind or something. But that's always been Sheydos tho. He plays good support and trades well while putting good numbers without you even realizing it.

Yeah seems pretty likely that he finds a spot if the rumors of trials are true. Weird possible signing tho and not sure what to think. Like if he now joined Fnatic rn I wouldn't know would I be hyped or not. Maybe because he isn't new and had shit time on KOI, but at the same time his potential is very high as we've seen and would be nice to see him back.

Could be that too especially when it seems that they are doing it one by one like with Boaster re-signing. But Sheydos won Masters and even was on M3C (M could hint?), also purple=KOI but maybe thats too far. But tbf would be pretty quick if its true that they just started trialing.

Ye Sheydos peak is very good. Even on Gambit/M3C he had times where he was their best player especially towards the end IIRC and that's impressive when having both Chronicle and nAts on your team. Only D3ffo and Redgar were mid individually on that team.

Seems like it. Kinda surprising tbh. He was good when he played but his time on KOI was pretty forgettable and he's been out of pro scene for a while. But based on the rumors many teams are trialing him and his name hasn't disappeared so teams are likely very interested in him. What a comeback would it be for him to join FNC and become top initiator/flex again.

he used to play in EMEA and was one of the best tier 2 players before going to China

Past has no relevancy on this. That like me quoting to Champs 2021 or some shit. This year outside of Champs Americas hasn't been very strong or at most on same level with EMEA. Americas was owned by G2 and SEN for most of the year and out of those SEN got farmed by EMEA teams. Heading into Champ Americas looked like the 2nd worst region after China. NRG or MIBR having miracle runs doesn't change that.

Before Champs Americas looked like the 2nd worst region. Americas was ran by G2 and SEN for pretty much whole year from which only G2 ever showed top tier gameplay.

when has Americas ever had two strong teams?

Also there's that Cojo discord message of hint of 5th player and its picture of the killer from Scream so would fit Serial(killer). Wouldn't be too surprised as he was good in tier 2 and likely owned in scrims/trials based on the comment and TL seems cursed when it comes to 5th players even Trexx looked pretty ass.

vo0kashu's time to return to EMEA

because G2 didnt get booted back to tier 2

nAts
Kamo
globeX
DaviH
(some flex or duelist depending which role Kamo plays)

something like that could be decent but obviously its just individual players that came to my mind. Obviously guys like Lar0k would fit in as well but for some reason I feel like TL aint getting him.

Saadhak didnt do anything for whole year and Less wasn't that good either just pretty mid table sentinel with some highlights

Just see next year and how G2 is still carrying the region

Americas easiest region to farm stats after China

Maybe but no one cared about him or his Odin usage back then. Especially not outside of tier 2 NA or something. Brawk successfully uses Odin for one event in 2025 and now people think anyone using Odin is because of him.

How is that relevant? Enzo has been known for Odin since his Fnatic days and likely even before that. Crazy thinking that Brawk has any relevancy in this.

Enzo has been playing bunch of Odin way before NRG Brawk. He is likely reason why Boaster started playing it and that popularized it on maps like Lotus.

Because their whole system is likely in Turkish. Many Turkish players can't even comm in English. 2025 BBL was built as English speaking.

True but its also because there's good talent in VCT already so its harder to find clear upgrades. Also EMEA t2 has almost always been about individuals on random teams instead of who are the best team (because of sub region lock etc) so theres many promising players who wont make it to Ascension because their team is mid. Guy like Kaajak got there because Apeks was actually good tier 2 team.

Throughout year they've put similar performances to Verno. All 4 are pretty equal outside of Aspas for most part. Cortezia even had some standout games.

because organizers are lazy or low budget and wont play extra games

Yeah and looked horrible in Toronto and after didnt even qualify for Americas playoffs... teams like G2 and SEN were so ahead of them for whole year.

Need to see how teams perform. MIBR had both Aspas and Verno even before Champs and still looked pretty ass. Zekken also bit overrated especially if he needs to flex. Same for Vitality need to see how Sayonara performs in tier 1.

Only 1 team out of these has shown that they can stay on top and thats Heretics. All others have done nothing outside of single event or speculation. Teams like G2, PRX, FNC deserve spot in there over others.

Yeah it was good and especially now could have done well in Ascension. Alexiik was very good on that team and later Minny.

BFC and ULF are likely the favorites rn and especially BFC, but I wouldn't want both of them to win because having 4 full Turkish teams would be bad. Not that Turkey doesnt have talent, but going full one language limits the possibility of signing non-Turkish talent. It limits these teams, but also means there's less spots for non-Turkish players. Its no good for the region. MDR is also full French so that is bad as well, but I would imagine it being easier for them to switch to English. I would want BCF and DNSTY to qualify because BCF deserve it and DNSTY is international, but only one can get in.

likely troll and he used to play in same team with Minny iirc so makes sense for him to support them

EMEA was very competitive this year and being top 4 for most of it is an achievement. It was upset that they didn't qualify for Champs.

TL were expected to do better tho. Multiple people were counting them as one of the favourites for Champs for example and always had the chances of making it out of groups in every event and likely would have in Toronto if they didnt have visa issues. If that isnt relevant then idk what is. Qualifying to every event is consistency, and expectations of potential runs in international events is relevancy. NRG didnt have either one until Champs.

It literally makes them relevant. Team winning regionally and in general qualifying to events is relevant. Also funny you mention teams like SEN who have looked worse than Liquid, T1 that no one cares about after one flukey tournament win, GENG one event playoff this year and no other qualification. Also you talk like TL was shit in international events when they were not even close being the worse in any event outside of maybe Champs. Beat SEN, MIBR, close game vs PRX, visa issue at start of Toronto, usually eliminated by top team like PRX or G2.

Comeback just need to play with his team and not like in M8 where he felt so disconnected. But if he unlocks potential then TH could do really well because I think Comeback can easily be upgrade if we performs.

Led budget roster to top 4 EMEA of the year

W

what did you get as appetizer?

Why you talk about "my org" like I cared for shit what TL has won or not. I'm not part of any team, neither are you. Just stating the obvious that TL has been top team and relevant one for pretty much whole of 2025 while NRG was more of meme team before Champs. Team that makes it to 3 internationals in a year shows consistency. And even if they got grouped they showed in each event that they belong there by beating similar level teams or having close games vs better opponents. NRG is yet to show consistency as they've only qualified for 1 event. Consistency is what makes teams/players great, not just winning single event.

Mad or what? Fluking at end of year means nothing Rather get grouped in all 3 events than only making it in one of them. TL was more relevant team for whole year and that is just facts.

Depends on who they get to IGL them/5th player but Ruxic, Hiro, Shao, likely MiniBoo is very good and NAVI already looked pretty good at end of this year.

Sure, but same was said about GX, TH at start, this year's TL etc. Did anyone expect Verno to IGL MIBR to Champs playoffs or Ethan to lead team to Champs after this past year/last year? This M8 roster has the potential and very few teams can build rosters that instantly look top 3 on paper.

Starxo is fine. Has done well in tier 2, decent fragging for IGL, a lot of experience and even his time in VCT was decent and overlooked. They were never going to get Boaster, Boo, nAts and even Jamppi was unlikely if Vitality offered him. He is solid pick and IMO M8 fans should be excited for their upcoming roster. Bipo, Marteen, starxo, Minny + some(like globeX) is very solid and could do really well if the rookies adapt well.

In terms of consistency yes and its not even close. You could have had TL vs NRG at any point in the year and TL would have been the favorites. Same as like MIBR. They got destroyed by Liquid in Toronto and them making a run in Champ doesn't change that. At no point has NRG shown consistency beyond single event.

I mean realistically did anyone think that M8 were about to build superteam or something? Building roster that looks 5/6th was expected and actually good because these rosters usually have potential to become good.

Also I think starxo is fine addition. Joblife was doing pretty well and even before people kind of forget that KOI (with starxo, grubinho, kamo) actually looked pretty good in their last games but couldn't qualify to playoffs because they were bad before that. Starxo has decent fire power and experience and IGL is hard role because there isn't that many of them. Like I don't think he is any worse than other tier 2 IGLs. As long as they get good coaches I think this team could be good. Bipo, Marteen, Minny, Starxo is some serious firepower.