The second matchup on January 31 features Team Liquid against BBL Esports. Like the Fnatic vs. FUT Esports pairing, one of these teams will be eliminated from VCT 2025: EMEA Kickoff for good. We have assessed both teams' form and attempted to predict the winner based on statistics and a bit of intuition.

Current Form of the Teams

Team Liquid

Team Liquid recently participated only in Monsters Reloaded 2024, spending the rest of the time restructuring their roster and preparing for the new VCT season. They have won three of their last five matches, all three victories coming in VCT 2025: EMEA Kickoff. So far, the only team to defeat them in the tournament has been FUT Esports.

Before the season started, Team Liquid revamped their lineup, replacing three players. Despite this, the team has shown solid performances, though all their matches have been against mid-tier teams. They have yet to test their strength against top-tier opponents like Team Vitality, Fnatic, or Team Heretics.

BBL Esports

Like Team Liquid, BBL Esports also competed in Monsters Reloaded 2024, but unlike their opponents, they won the tournament. They have won four of their last five matches, including two victories in VCT 2025: EMEA Kickoff, one of which was against tournament favorites Fnatic.

BBL Esports is playing the tournament with a substitute, as chiwawa has not been able to secure a visa yet. Despite this setback, they managed to defeat Fnatic and put up a strong fight against Team Heretics—two of the main contenders for the tournament title.

Map Pool

Predicted Bans and Picks

First Ban:

• Team Liquid will likely ban Lotus, considering their trend in recent matches. 
• BBL Esports will probably ban Fracture, as Team Liquid often picks it early, and BBL tries to avoid playing on this map.

Map Picks:

• Team Liquid is expected to pick Abyss, where they hold a 100% win rate, albeit from a small sample of matches.
• BBL Esports will likely pick Haven, as it is a map they feel comfortable on.

Second Ban:

• Team Liquid, aware of BBL’s strong performance on Split, will likely ban it.
• BBL Esports might ban Pearl, as Team Liquid frequently plays this map.

Decider:

• The remaining map will be Bind, where both teams have prior experience.

Head-to-Head Record

With their new rosters, these teams have never faced each other. However, in previous lineups, Team Liquid had a significant advantage in head-to-head matchups, winning five times compared to BBL Esports’ single victory over the past four years.

Match Prediction

Both teams are in good form, but Team Liquid has yet to face the toughest competition this season, whereas BBL Esports has already defeated Fnatic and put up a solid fight against Team Heretics.

The roster substitution in BBL could be a decisive factor, as competing at this level without a key player is challenging. On the other hand, Team Liquid has looked confident, but their wins have been against less formidable opponents.

It is expected to be a close match, but Team Liquid has a higher chance of winning 2:1, thanks to their more stable roster, whereas BBL Esports continues to play with a substitute.

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