Team Liquid beats Fnatic 3-0 to join BBL and M8 as EMEA’s Masters Santiago representatives

Team Liquid have become the third and final VCT EMEA side to book their spot at Masters Santiago and will head to Chile as the region’s third seed. Unlikely runs saw BBL and Gentle Mates qualify as first and second seeds respectively, before TL crushed Fnatic 3-0 to earn the final spot.

Team Liquid beats Fnatic 3-0 for final Masters Santiago spot

Bringing to a close the first triple-elimination VCT EMEA Kickoff, Team Liquid booked their spot in Chile with a classic European clash against rivals Fnatic.

A matchup that would typically make a worthy grand final, the pair found themselves slipping down the brackets in the last couple of weeks while others progressed above them. They had already faced off in the middle bracket — Fnatic the 2-0 victors then — but their second matchup was a much different affair.

After an excruciating loss to Gentle Mates in which they were, at one point, a single round from reaching Santiago, Fnatic were understandably drained, confirmed as much by the players themselves.

So when TL started the best-of-five with a 13-5 stomp on Corrode, Fnatic’s map pick, it seemed a quick result was imminent.

NO CHILL @nAts__ss 💀 pic.twitter.com/bRJ2eExiX8

— VALORANT Esports EMEA (@vct_emea) February 15, 2026

NAts was the top fragger on the server, unusual for a regular IGL but not the TL captain. That was in contrast to Boaster, known to lead his team strategically but often struggling in-game, and the Brit was the target of his opponent when nAts rallied his troops ahead of that map.

After such a blistering opener, it seemed incredibly unlikely to see much, if any, fight from Fnatic on the day, however they found a second wind on Bind. Often one to carry his side, Alfajer began to turn up, claiming 19 kills — the most on his team — while his side started positively. The Black and Orange went into halftime 7-5, and soon after were just a few rounds away from a win at 10-7.

But then the fatigue hit again. Six consecutive round wins saw Liquid storm back in and snatch the map away from Fnatic, moving to 2-0 and one more map from Masters.

Once again Fnatic dug deep and found something extra, another opening map lead that led to a 7-5 halftime score. This time it was not so tragically thrown away as the Champs runners-up traded rounds with their opponents until the score eventually reach 12-10 in their favour.

12-10 was the score on Bind the day prior, when Fnatic were 2-1 up in the series and needed just that one more round to claim a Masters spot. Against Liquid, the round was needed to prolong the series and keep their Santiago dreams alive. Again, Fnatic would fail to close it out.

Brought back to 12-12 by Liquid, the map went into an overtime that felt as though it would never end. Each side traded rounds until Fnatic found a foothold at 15-14, but again could not convert the map. Soon after, TL clinched three round wins in a row to eventually close the map 18-16, confirming the 3-0 series scoreline and earning them a place at Masters Santiago.

NAts ended the series as he started it; the best performer. He ended with 69 kills, joint with MiniBoo, with an ACS of 264 and +22 differential.

BBL and Gentle Mates to join TL in Chile

Liquid’s qualification for Masters Santiago was the last to be confirmed in VCT EMEA Kickoff, with the unusual pair of BBL and Gentle Mates having already earned their places.

BBL was the first team to do so after sweeping through the upper bracket. The organisation ruffled feathers when they signed the entirety of last year’s BBL PCIFIC lineup, but the move has immediately paid off.

They faced tough opposition on their run, with 2-0 wins over Fnatic and the latest Team Vitality superteam, but it was Gentle Mates that proved their toughest opposition as their upper final went to five games. A 3-2 win for the Turkish org saw them progress, while Gentle Mates moved down to the middle bracket.

The French team had had a somewhat easier run with FUT, GIANTX, and NAVI their upper bracket opponents, but they’d still been a significant force and had blown away expectations to even be in with a shout for Masters.

Their five-game slog against BBL was to be repeated the following day against Fnatic. Despite starting the series 0-2, the side somehow found it in them to pull off a reverse-sweep, inspired by an incredible marteen performance that saw him blitz the worldwide VCT kill record with a ludicrous 126 frags across the five maps.

That win saw them book a spot at what will be the organisation’s first-ever global event.