Challengers EMEA Weekly Recap: All of the Action (May 20-22)

May 25, 2023

This week marks the end of some regions’ regular seasons and, most importantly, the beginning of the playoffs. As the competition grows evermore fierce and our teams get ready for the battle of their lives, here’s everything that went down in Challengers EMEA this week.

DACH: Evolution

The battle lines are set, and it’s CGN Esports vs MOUZ in the grand finals. MOUZ took down ALTERNATE aTTaX last week to secure a spot against CGN in the upper bracket, but they fell just short on Bind with a surprise Yoru pick that, unfortunately, didn’t pay off. From here, they fought through Ovation eSports to secure a rematch against CGN Esports, and we know for sure this is going to be a banger. The winner of this Grand Final will qualify for Ascension, whilst the loser will have another chance to make it through the Challengers Play-ins. Tune in on June 10 to see what happens, where the road to Ascension will begin for DACH: Evolution, offering a German team a potential chance to be the first to play in Berlin next year!

East: Surge

With Acend and Diamant Esports having secured their spots at the second phase of playoffs, this week determined who is set to join them. Anonymo Esports battled through the upper bracket, taking down GoNext Esports and Enterprise Esports to secure their semifinal spot. Enterprise, however, refused to give up - especially when their lower bracket games against Zero Tenacity ran deep into overtime. Conquering their foes, they join Anonymo Esports in the second phase playoffs semifinals, where both Acend and Diamant Esports await them.

France: Revolution

As the regular season draws to a close, Gentle Mates secured their spot as the frontrunners going into playoffs, skipping into the semifinals where they’ll face off against either WYLDE or Valiant. In the last week of play, WYLDE showed up against Valiant, with Emirhan ‘hiro’ Kat proving a force to be reckoned with on Phoenix. With one of many potential rematches looming, we can’t wait to see if WYLDE continues to bring the fire, or whether or not Valiant will finally snuff them out.

Italy: Rinascimento

As the Italy: Rinascimento playoffs explode into life, it’s no surprise that the ever-dominant GMT Esports have secured their spot in the finale, sweeping aside DSYRE despite the surprise Yoru and Chamber picks on Bind. DSYRE remain a threat, though, as they face off against MACKO Esports, who largely dominated QLASH in the lower bracket semifinal - except for last map Ascent, which ended 16-14 in overtime. Who will emerge to challenge GMT Esports? We’ll have to wait and see, but the sparks are flying!

MENA: Resilience

The MENA: Resilience playoffs will kick off on June 6, with Team RA’AD and NASR Esports representing Levant & North Africa and Team Falcons and Triple Esports Club representing GCC & Iraq.

Northern Europe: Polaris

The Northern Europe: Polaris playoffs begin on June 3, with Apeks, Les Petit Bouffons, FOKUS, and who cars? set to battle it out for the crown. Both days of play will take place live at the Red Bull Gaming Sphere in London and will be free to attend!

Portugal: Tempest

The Portugal: Tempest competition has reached its peak, with upsets galore already coming to define the Stage 2 playoffs. Frontrunners GTZ got demolished by SAW in the upper bracket final and struggled to pull out the win against EGN Esports. After a back-and-forth series that lasted all five games, they secured their chance to enact vengeance upon SAW - but can they do it? Stage 1 also saw them fall to SAW in the Grand Finals, so they’ll be doing their best to avoid the exact same outcome. The Stage 2 Grand Final will take place on June 11th on LAN and will determine which team makes Ascension - don’t miss it!

Spain: Rising

And just like that the Spain: Rising regular season is over - but there are three great teams tied for first place. Case Esports and UCAM Tokiers take the first seeds as a result of their cumulative points, with Ramboot facing off against ZETA in the quarterfinals, and Team Queso taking on KPI Gaming. With the playoffs just around the corner, Spain: Rising is one of the most competitive regions out there, and we can’t wait to see who emerges on top.

Türkiye: Birlik

The playoffs are set: Fire Flux Esports and S2G Esports lead the pack, flanked by Papara SuperMassive, Team Galakticos, Galatasaray Espor, and Digital Athletics. Only one team can emerge triumphant, and the competition is far from over - especially given how close the top-placed squads are!

VCT Ascension EMEA: Tickets

Tickets are now available for the VCT Ascension EMEA Playoffs, taking place from July 13-16, and can be found at emeatickets.valorantesports.com!