Champs qualification on the line as VCT EMEA Stage 2 playoffs head into final weekend

With VCT EMEA Stage 2 set to conclude over a three-day weekend, half of the league’s VALORANT Champions representatives are yet to be confirmed. Three of the four remaining sides are still looking to book their spot in Paris, while one already-eliminated team could make it if results go their way.

VCT EMEA Stage 2: The final four

The final days of regional competition will see four teams competing. BBL Esports and Team Liquid are the final teams in the winner’s bracket, set to kick off the action with a best-of-three series to decide the first finalist in Friday evening’s opening match. Then, GIANTX will take on NAVI the same evening, with the loser being eliminated and the winner moving on to the lower bracket final.

Taking place on Saturday, the lower-bracket final will be the tournament’s first best-of-five and will decide the second team to reach the grand final. The final will then be played on Sunday, crowning the region’s latest winner and deciding who will head to Champs as EMEA’s first seed.

Team Liquid

Team Liquid has arguably been the most consistent side in EMEA this year, only joined by Apeks at the other end of the table in terms of reliability, after consistently finding themselves amongst the region’s top three in 2025.

The respective second and third-place finishes in Kickoff and Stage 1 showed that they are a top team, often being the barometer against which EMEA sides can prove they are also elite. Only the early-season high-flying Team Vitality, back-to-back global runners-up Fnatic, and Esports World Cup champions Team Heretics have finished ahead of TL in regional competition this year. With those sides all already out of playoffs, Stage 2 appears Liquid’s to lose.

BBL Esports

If Team Liquid have been the only consistent top team in EMEA, then BBL has been the consistent ‘best of the rest’. A fifth/sixth finish in Kickoff and fourth-place finish in Stage 1 were improved upon when BBL led EMEA’s EWC qualifiers, though the event itself was neither spectacular nor disastrous as they wound up in the top eight, eliminated by eventual winners TH.

Their place in the upper-bracket guarantees them at least a third-place finish — already the highest achieved by the organisation — but a mere two victories are needed to win the whole event, and with Champs qualification yet to be confirmed, top three will not satisfy at this stage.

GIANTX

Few would’ve expected GIANTX to be anywhere near a VCT title after their forgettable Kickoff and Stage 1 runs. However, like many other sides, changes to their roster brought changes to their fortunes. The additions of ara and Flickless ahead of Stage 1 had little impact on results, but GRUBINHO’s signing for Stage 2 appeared to be the missing piece of the puzzle.

The latest step on their ascent saw them overcome Stage 1 champions Fnatic in the lower-bracket, a massive upset and one that should now give the team the belief that any and all opponents are absolutely beatable.

NAVI

NAVI are another side that, like GIANTX, had a lacklustre season be completely turned around in Stage 2. They also had a single newcomer in Stage 2, duelist alexiiik, who’s performances have helped quickly elevate the side despite his admitted difficulties settling into life in Berlin, away from family for the first time.

Should NAVI make it to the top two and book a spot at Champs, it would be the organisation’s return to VALORANT’s biggest competition after last competing in 2023’s Los Angeles iteration.

VALORANT Champions qualification implications

While Team Liquid and Fnatic are already guaranteed VALORANT Champions spots, four sides are still fighting for the final two.

For BBL, victory over TL in the upper bracket would immediately secure their place at Champs as a Stage 2 finalist. If BBL lose and drop to the lower-bracket final, then they must win against either possible opponent to qualify. While they’re currently fourth in Championship Points standings, both NAVI and GX would leapfrog them to take their fourth slot if they reach the last two and BBL does not. In short, BBL will go to Champs only if they make it to the grand final.

Both NAVI and GIANTX are in a similar position. They each currently sit outside the top four on points and cannot beat BBL’s tally, however either will qualify automatically if they reach the grand final.

The last team still in contention is Team Heretics. While they’re out of playoffs already, performances in Kickoff and Stage 1 granted them enough points to put them third. While neither of BBL, NAVI, or GX can catch up on points, all still have the possibility of reaching the top two. If the grand final features two of those three teams, then TH will miss out. As long as Team Liquid reaches the grand final, one way or another, then Heretics will head to France.