BBL Esports, Gentle Mates and Team Liquid Qualify to Represent VCT EMEA at Masters Santiago

At the end of this week, we now know the three qualifiers from the EMEA region for the Santiago Masters, including the first international participation of Gentle Mates and BBL Esports.

BBL Esports remained undefeated and locked the first EMEA seed for Masters. Credit: Wojciech Wandzel/Riot Games

BBL, M8 and Liquid are the three teams that will represent the EMEA region

The VCT EMEA Kickoff concluded this Sunday with a final best-of-five series that saw Team Liquid secure the last available qualification spot for the Masters Santiago. At the end of four intense and eventful days, the three teams set to represent the region at the season’s first international event are now confirmed.

The region’s first seed will be BBL Esports, who completed their run without dropping a single match. Before facing Gentle Mates in the upper bracket final, the Turkish side—entirely composed of the former BBL PCIFIC roster that had dominated the VCL last year—had conceded only one map throughout the competition.

M8 bounced back

In a series played under considerable tension, with both teams trading rounds throughout, Gentle Mates pushed BBL to a decisive fifth map, where the Turkish squad ultimately pulled away to secure their first qualification for an international tournament.

Following that defeat, Gentle Mates were granted another opportunity to qualify the very next day against none other than Fnatic. Trailing 2–0 against one of the region’s most decorated teams, the French organization—whose presence in the VCT this season is a miracle after Riot Games ended its partnership with KOI—demonstrated considerable resilience to overcome the most recent Champions finalists.

Spearheaded by a Martin “marteen” Pátek in exceptional form, who set a new VCT best-of-five kill record with 126 eliminations across five maps, Gentle Mates consolidated the level they had displayed throughout the event and secured a well-earned berth in Santiago.

Kings of the lower bracket

Having dropped early into the lower bracket, Team Liquid were required to win three matches over the weekend to claim the final qualifying place for the Masters. After defeating Team Heretics, they avenged an earlier loss to Team Vitality before overcoming Fnatic, thereby confirming their steady progression over the course of the tournament.

Alongside Fnatic, Team Liquid were the team to play the highest number of matches (7) during the Kickoff, with Fnatic appearing unsettled by Liquid’s upward trajectory and still reeling from their earlier defeat to Gentle Mates.

Masters Santiago will start on February 28. As the region’s first seed, BBL Esports are already qualified directly for the playoffs, while Gentle Mates and Team Liquid will begin their campaigns in the Swiss Stage, facing Edward Gaming and T1, respectively.