On February 7, the upper bracket final of VCT 2025: EMEA Kickoff took place, featuring two of Europe's strongest teams—Team Vitality and Team Heretics. They battled for a single slot at the first Masters 2025, set to be held in Bangkok.

A Symbolic Clash

The showdown between Team Vitality and Team Heretics was significant not only because of the tournament's most valuable reward—a Masters Bangkok slot—but also due to Team Heretics' opportunity to finally take revenge on the French squad and secure their first head-to-head victory.

The Match

Despite expectations of a close contest, the reality turned out differently. Team Heretics put up a respectable fight on Haven, their opponent's map pick, but ultimately fell short, managing only 10 rounds. However, on their own pick, Abyss, the team completely crumbled, securing just one round in total.

Over the past six months, Team Heretics have played on Abyss at least 12 times, holding a disappointing 33% win rate on the map. Team Vitality once again emerged victorious in their derby against Team Heretics, becoming the first EMEA team to claim one of the two Masters Bangkok slots.

VCT 2025: EMEA Kickoff is being held from January 15 to February 9 in LAN format at the Riot Games Arena. Twelve VCT partner teams are competing for two spots at Masters Bangkok and crucial EMEA Points, which play a key role in World Championship qualification.