On March 28, Team Liquid will face Gentle Mates as part of VCT 2025: EMEA Stage 1. These will be the first matches for both teams in this tournament. In this article, we will review the statistics of both teams and predict the winner of the match.

Current Form of the Teams

Team Liquid

Team Liquid started the season surprisingly well — second place at VCT 2025: EMEA Kickoff, which was a pleasant surprise for fans. Although many had higher expectations for other teams, it was Liquid who made it to the grand final, securing a slot at Masters Bangkok 2025, where they finished 5th-6th among the eight strongest teams in the world. Last five matches: two wins and three losses — to EDward Gaming (world champions), G2 Esports (top Americas), and Team Vitality (top Europe). Despite decent performances, the team decided to refresh the roster — SerialKiler replaced kamyk, and the match against Gentle Mates will be his debut on the tier-1 scene and in the VCT.

Gentle Mates

Gentle Mates did not start the year as brightly: 7th-8th place at VCT 2025: EMEA Kickoff, which led the club to a complete roster overhaul. The new roster has already played four matches, winning two and losing two — both defeats were against titled teams: Fnatic and Team Heretics. Before the start of EMEA Stage 1, the team was joined by kamyk, who recently left Team Liquid — adding extra intrigue to the upcoming match.

Teams’ Map Pool

The expected map veto phase will look as follows:

Ban 1:

• Team Liquid — Pearl
• Gentle Mates — Split

Pick 1:

• Team Liquid — Fracture
• Gentle Mates — Haven

Ban 2:

• Team Liquid — Ascent
• Gentle Mates — Icebox

Decider:

• Lotus

Head-to-Head Matches

This will be the first face-to-face encounter between the new rosters of Team Liquid and Gentle Mates. The last and only time the clubs met was back in 2024, where Liquid secured a confident 2:0 win, but the team rosters were completely different. So this match can be considered a new chapter in their rivalry.

Match Prediction

Team Liquid looks more stable and has significantly better competitive experience in 2025, including a silver medal at the EMEA Kickoff and participation in Masters. Despite some roster changes, the core of the team remains, and the new player SerialKiler can potentially add energy to the squad. Gentle Mates, on the other hand, are just building team chemistry.

Prediction: Team Liquid wins 2:1.

VCT 2025: EMEA Stage 1 runs from March 26 to May 18 in a LAN format at the Riot Games Arena in Berlin. Twelve partnered VCT EMEA teams are competing for three spots at Masters Toronto, as well as for EMEA Points needed to qualify for the upcoming Champions.