January 31 became a day of upsets at VCT 2025: EMEA Kickoff, as FUT Esports, led by Xeus, left no chances for Fnatic. As a result, the team misses out on Masters Bangkok, joining BBL Esports, which fell to Team Liquid in the second match of the day.

FUT Esports vs Fnatic

From the first round, it was clear that Fnatic was in for a tough match. Xeus, already in the pistol round, picked up a Sheriff and secured an Ace. He repeated the feat before the end of the first half. In the end, Abyss, the map pick of FUT Esports, went their way with a 13:10 score, while on Fracture, Fnatic’s pick, the Turkish team secured an easy victory—13:6. Fnatic exits the tournament, moving on to Stage 1 and missing out on the first Masters of 2025.

Team Liquid vs BBL Esports

BBL Esports' journey comes to an end despite a strong start, an impressive win over Fnatic, and an overall solid performance at the tournament, even with a forced roster substitution. However, they couldn’t overcome Team Liquid. In a tense battle that went to all three maps, Team Liquid emerged victorious, defeating the Turkish squad 2:1 (detailed stats in the image below). The “horses” advance further and will face FUT Esports in the lower bracket semifinal.

VCT 2025: EMEA Kickoff runs from January 15 to February 9 in a LAN format at the Riot Games Arena. Twelve partnered teams from the VCT league are competing for two spots at Masters Bangkok and valuable EMEA Points, which are crucial for qualification to the World Championship.