EMEA Masters Winter Playoffs Preview

The EMEA Masters Winter group stage has come to an end. Now it’s time for the real deal with the playoffs in BO5, without loser bracket. Only the best team in the span of this week – until Sunday – will claim the ERL Winter crown. Outside of the LEC, they will be considered the strongest roster in the region so far. Who will bring home the first EM trophy of 2025: the TCL #1, the NLC #1, the LFL #1 and #2, the SL #1, the ROL #1, the AL #1 or the HLL #1? Here’s my preview of the Top 8, along with my predictions.

The French Touch / A Step Too High For LR?

The LFL (the French League) is the only nation to have two teams in the top 8 this Winter: Karmine Corp Blue (#1) and Ici Japon Corp (#2). Not only that, but all French players participating in the competition have qualified for the playoffs. Thanks to the upsets of ZennIT (ROL #1) and their toplaner Mateo “Whip” Ropero, along with the second upset of the group stage with Team Phantasma (HLL #1) and their jungler Stéphane “Manaty” Dimier. While I think both teams’ run in the competition has already been very impressive, I also firmly believe that they won’t get any further than the quarter-finals. However, ZennIT deserves some respect for putting the Benelux back on the map, when the league was on the verge of death last off-season – it’s the first EM playoff qualification in the league’s history. The same goes for the Greek champions; the last time this league qualified for the playoffs was in 2018…

LAST TEAMFIGHT CANYON ENGAGE MACHINE (ce soir j'vous poste 1-2 videos explicative sur mes early j'pense ca va vous plaire) pic.twitter.com/MkodhgC236

— Manaty (next Canyon & next Baki) (@Manaty_LoL) March 19, 2025

Their journey is even more reassuring for the ERL system as a whole, not only because they have made history for their countries, but also because they are two of the youngest teams taking part in the competition. At a time when the Tier2 system in the EMEA region is tending to age as teams are increasingly looking for performance rather than talent, these upheavals bode very well for the region. So I expect the Spanish champion Los Heretics to easily come out on top of their match against TP (3-1), while KCB will most likely clean sweep their Belgian neighbors (3-0).

I also feel that the LFL’s nemesis, Geekay, is once again the biggest threat in the top of the table for IJC and KCB. But as the Arabian League champion showed some weaknesses against SUP and Barça, I still think the two French teams should be better. Unfortunately for their huge fanbase, I also don’t think Los Ratones will get any further. Even if SuperMassive is known for choking, I think the skill gap is too wide and the laning phases will probably be full of rat poison this Thursday. Especially if LR keep drafting for the late game, as they did on Wednesday, they’ll certainly be punished by a Duncan “Skeanz” Marquet that embraces aggressive junglers wonderfully. However, if the Rats achieve to survive the early of 3 BO5 rounds, they could pull off a stunning upset because of the experience and team cohesion they have in the later stages of the game.

IT'S TIME TO LOCK IN!!@EMEAmasters Quarterfinals Vs @supmassgg

BO5's here we come… pic.twitter.com/btXgelnGnS

— LosRatones (@LosRatoneslol) March 20, 2025

My predictions in a nutshell

KCB>ZennIT (3-0)

IJC>Geekay (3-2)

HRTS>TP (3-1)

SUP>LR (3-1)

Semi Finals (from there, I believe any of these teams can lift the trophy in the end):

KCB>IJC (3-1)

HRTS>SUP (3-2)

Grand Final: KCB>HRTS (3-2)