VCT 2022 Stage 1 EMEA Open Qualifier 2 recap

Race for the VCT 2022 - EMEA - Stage 1 - Challengers - Main Event is still alive as the second Open Qualifiers are done. 24 teams of Europe, Turkey, and CIS are going to continue their regional race in Closed Qualifiers to represent their region internationally.

Europe

Team Finest, EXCEL, G2 Esports, and OG LDN Utd will join Team Vitality, Alliance, Rebels Gaming, TENSTAR in the Closed Qualifiers.

Many surprising results were seen during the VCT 2022 - Europe - Stage 1 - Open Qualifier 2. Some well-known esports teams were eliminated in the early rounds, including PENTA, Movistar KOI, Team Heretics, and most importantly, GIANTX. Despite their strong roster for the Open Qualifiers, Giants were eliminated from both tournaments in the Round of 32. Wave Esports were the second obstacle for Giants, winning the series 2-0 thanks to Yiğithan "DeepMans" Kesici’s top-notch performance.

Gerard Pique and Ibai’s team KOI failed to pass the Round of 32 just like Giants. The Hungarian team Gamerland Outlaws won the series with a score of 2-1. Lastly, Team Heretics had to face the newly-formed EXCEL roster, which turned out to be stronger than the predictions.

Turkey

There were many strong Turkish teams in the VCT 2022 - Turkey - Stage 1 - Open Qualifier 2, but only four of them made it to the VCT 2022 - Turkey - Stage 1 - Closed Qualifier 2. FUT Esports, Team Aurora, Thunderbolts Gaming, Surreal Esports were the headliners as all four of them moved on to the next stage. We have seen many upsets, especially in the later stages. Team Aurora’s 2-1 win over Eternal Fire, gave them the ticket to the Closed Qualifiers. On the other hand, Eternal Fire came to the finals by eliminating Kafalar Esports, one of the favorites of the tournament.

Other than these teams, Regnum Carya Esports had one of the best rosters on paper but they couldn’t pass the Round of 16. The competition will continue in the upper stages with other teams joining in.

CIS

Natus Vincere and KPI Gaming were considered two of the strongest teams in the region, apart from FunPlus Phoenix, and they have made it to the VCT 2022 - CIS - Stage 1 - Closed Qualifier 2 without facing any problems. Welcoming them in the Closed Qualifier, Ezclap, VeselieVintovki, Dobeg, SMARACIS eSports, and Tactical Five.

Natus Vincere and KPI Gaming won’t face each other until the Upper Bracket Final if both teams can beat their opponents.

The closed qualifiers for each EMEA region are set to start in a few hours and here is what the closed qualifier playoffs look like:

VCT 2022 - Europe - Stage 1 - Closed Qualifier 2 Upper Bracket Quarterfinals - 18:00 CET

• Team Vitality vs LDN Utd
• Rebels Gaming vs EXCEL
• Alliance vs G2 Esports
• TENSTAR vs Team Finest

VCT 2022 - Turkey - Stage 1 - Closed Qualifier 2 Upper Bracket Quarterfinals - 16:00 CET

• Fire Flux Esports vs Team Aurora
• Galakticos vs Surreal Esports
• BBL Esports vs Thunderboltds Gaming
• Galatasaray Espor vs Futbolist

VCT 2022 - CIS - Stage 1 - Closed Qualifier 2 Upper Bracket Quarterfinals - 16:00 CET

• Natus Vincere vs EZclap
• 5MOKES vs VeselieVintovki
• KPI Gaming vs Dobeg
• SMARACIS eSports vs Tactical Five

You can watch the games on Twitch and track all the action on the events page.