Team Liquid is back on the throne of VCT EMEA. It is their next title after their success in 2023 – in the final, they faced a new opponent in GIANTX.
The roles were clearly defined before the final: on one side was the star-studded Team Liquid, including Ayaz ‘nAts’ Akhmetshin, VCT champion in 2023, and Nikita ‘trexx’ Cherednichenko, who won the 2025 Kickoff tournament with Team Vitality. On the other side was GIANTX, featuring Karel ‘Flickless’ Maeckelbergh and Eduard-George ‘ara’ Hanceriuc, who were still playing in the Spanish regional league in April.
A hard-fought final with a clear result
GIANTX clearly felt comfortable in the underdog role and put up a fight, starting the final strongly with four rounds in a row. The underdogs even went into the second half with a lead, but weaknesses in the Deadlock composition became apparent on the attacking side: the team rarely found their way onto the site. Team Liquid managed to stage a comeback and secure their first victory.
Nerves may have played a role – GIANTX led again at halftime on Lotus, but in the end, Team Liquid’s individual class prevailed once more. This was followed by a hard-fought third map on Sunset, which ended with a clear result: three wins for Team Liquid, securing them the VCT EMEA Stage 2 title.
The clear result obscures how close the final was for long stretches. The last round is symbolic of this: Milosz ‘westside’ Duda from GIANTX took out two opponents in a one-on-three situation and was ultimately only defeated by Team Liquid’s ‘trexx’ – who landed the decisive shot with a classic right-click while jumping.
“Now I can finally say that I’m back,” said ‘trexx’ in an interview after the victory. “Two finals and two trophies, an incredible experience. Even though they are two different teams and play styles, it means a lot to me.” The initiator had moved to league rivals Team Liquid after Team Vitality benched him. No other player has ever won two VCT EMEA events in one year with different teams.
Although Team Liquid ultimately lifted the trophy, GIANTX also had reason to celebrate. The team lost narrowly to Team Liquid in the second round of the playoffs, followed by an emotional lower bracket run. Among others, the team defeated defending champions FNATIC, NaVi, and favorites BBL, who had recently impressed at the Esports World Cup.
The reward: a place at the World Championship in Paris. In addition to the two finalists, FNATIC and Team Heretics will also participate in the Champions tournament thanks to strong performances in 2025. Both teams were considered co-favorites for the VCT EMEA title, but were surprisingly defeated early in the playoffs.
