VCT EMEA Stage 1 Results: Week 1 Recap and Power Rankings for April 2026

VCT EMEA Stage 1 is officially underway, and Week 1 wasted no time setting the tone. Six matches across three days at the Riot Games Arena in Berlin delivered overtime thrillers, surprising upsets, and at least one team reminding everyone why you should never count them out. With only three qualification spots for Masters London up for grabs, every series matters from the jump.

Here’s the full breakdown of what happened, what it means, and where every team stands heading into Week 2.

VCT EMEA Stage 1 Week 1 Results at a Glance

Group Omega

Match	Result	Maps
FNATIC vs. Eternal Fire	2–1	Breeze 14–12, Bind 15–17, Lotus 13–2
Team Vitality vs. GIANTX	2–0	Haven 13–8, Pearl 13–3
BBL Esports vs. PCIFIC Esports	2–0	Split 13–11, Breeze 13–11

Group Alpha

Match	Result	Maps
Team Liquid vs. Karmine Corp	2–0	Haven 13–10, Pearl 13–7
Gentle Mates vs. FUT Esports	1–2	Pearl 13–10, Bind 8–13, Haven 6–13
Team Heretics vs. Natus Vincere	1–2	Pearl 13–9, Lotus 9–13, Bind 9–13

Match-by-Match Breakdown

FNATIC 2–1 Eternal Fire

The opening match of the stage turned into a rollercoaster. FNATIC started well on Breeze but needed overtime to close it out at 14–12, with Eternal Fire’s echo putting up 24 kills on a losing effort. Bind swung the other way entirely as Alfajer went nuclear with 33 kills, yet Eternal Fire refused to fold and stole the map 17–15 in overtime to force a decider. Then Lotus happened. FNATIC flipped a switch and blitzed through the third map 13–2, leaving no room for a response.

Alfajer led the series with a 257 ACS and a 66/49/11 KDA across three maps, and Veqaj quietly posted a 9/2 FK/FD line in his support role. For Eternal Fire, who stepped into VCT EMEA after Riot Games removed ULF Esports from the league on March 20, this was a promising debut despite the loss. They went blow-for-blow with a team that made three consecutive grand finals in 2025. The ceiling is there; closing out tight maps will be the challenge.

Team Liquid 2–0 Karmine Corp

Structure versus scramble. Team Liquid controlled the pace across both maps, never letting Karmine Corp find comfortable entries. kamo topped the scoreboard with a 241 ACS and a 38/29/14 KDA, while purp0 posted an absurd 4/0 FK/FD line across the series, meaning he never died first in any round he opened. wayne was just as disciplined at 4/1.

Haven went 13–10 with TL methodically dismantling KC’s map pick. Pearl was even cleaner at 13–7. On the Karmine Corp side, dos9 was the standout with a 226 ACS, but the team as a whole lacked the coordination to convert individual plays into round wins. After a 9th–10th-place finish at the Kickoff, this result suggests KC still has plenty of work ahead.

Team Vitality 2–0 GIANTX

The most one-sided series of the week. Team Vitality dominated both Haven (13–8) and Pearl (13–3), giving GIANTX almost nothing to work with. Derke was the headliner with a 278 ACS and a perfect 5/0 FK/FD record. Not a single first death across two maps. Let that sink in.

The real storyline here was Sayonara’s debut. The 18-year-old rookie posted a 249 ACS and a 7/2 FK/FD in his first official VCT EMEA stage match, slotting in like he’s been here for years. Vitality looked cohesive and aggressive in a way they didn’t always manage during the Kickoff, where they placed 5th. If this version of the roster shows up consistently, they’ll be a serious threat in the VCT Masters London qualification race.

FUT Esports 2–1 Gentle Mates

The upset of the week. FUT Esports came into this match as heavy underdogs against a Gentle Mates squad that finished 2nd at the Kickoff and represented EMEA at Masters Santiago. Gentle Mates took the opener on Pearl 13–10 and looked comfortable doing it. Then FUT flipped the script, dismantling M8 on Bind 13–8 and running away with Haven 13–6.

Minny had the best individual performance for M8 with a 211 ACS, but the team collectively fell apart in maps two and three. bipo in particular struggled with a 7/11 FK/FD line. On the FUT side, this was a statement win for a roster that many had written off after finishing 11th–12th at the Kickoff. The continued growth of KROSTALY and the addition of s0pp are paying dividends, and sociablEE led from the front as expected.

Natus Vincere 2–1 Team Heretics

The context here makes this result even more impressive. NAVI played with Kolosha, an 18-year-old from the NAVI Visa Academy project, after ExiT couldn’t make the match due to visa processing delays. Despite running without their full starting five, NAVI pulled out a reverse sweep.

Heretics took Pearl 13–9 on their own pick and looked solid. But chloric, the new IGL, rallied NAVI on Lotus (13–9) and Bind (13–9) to close it out. Filu was steady on Chamber, and hiro and Ruxic delivered as usual. For Heretics, ComeBack posted a 217 ACS and Wo0t had 12 first kills, but also 12 first deaths, reflecting a high-variance playstyle that cost them in clutch moments.

Losing to a stand-in roster at home is not a great look for a team that’s been trending downward since the end of 2025. Heretics need answers, and they need them fast.

BBL Esports 2–0 PCIFIC Esports

The Kickoff champions opened their Stage 1 campaign with a clean sweep, taking Split 13–11 and Breeze in another tight affair. lovers rock was the standout performer with a 214 ACS and a dominant 10/5 FK/FD line, leading the team in entry plays across both maps.

PCIFIC Esports, the Ascension team featuring cNed, al0rante, and seven, kept things competitive on both maps. The scorelines suggest a team that can hang with the established names but still struggles to close rounds when it counts. BBL didn’t look unstoppable, but they never truly let the result slip out of their control either.

VALORANT EMEA Power Rankings for April 2026

After one week of play, here’s where all 12 teams stack up heading into Week 2. These rankings factor in Week 1 performance, Kickoff placement, Masters Santiago results, and overall trajectory.

Rank	Team	Record	Trend
1	Team Vitality	1–0	The most convincing Week 1 performance. Derke and Sayonara look like a terrifying duo, and the team’s coordination was a clear level above what they showed at Kickoff.
2	Team Liquid	1–0	Clean, controlled, clinical. TL didn’t need to show much to beat KC, but the discipline across the board was impressive. Still the team to beat in Group Alpha.
3	BBL Esports	1–0	The defending Kickoff champs won without flashy scorelines, which is arguably more concerning for opponents. They have another gear and didn’t need it.
4	Natus Vincere	1–0	Beating Heretics with a stand-in is a flex. Once ExiT returns, this roster could be genuinely dangerous. chloric’s IGL debut was a quiet success.
5	FNATIC	1–0	They won, but the Eternal Fire series exposed some cracks. The Lotus stomp was impressive; the first two maps were not. Alfajer can’t solo-carry every series.
6	FUT Esports	1–0	The biggest stock rise of the week. Taking down Gentle Mates after a dismal Kickoff is exactly the kind of result that changes narratives. Need to prove it wasn’t a fluke.
7	Eternal Fire	0–1	A loss, but a respectable one. They took a map off FNATIC in overtime and nearly stole Breeze too. For a last-minute addition filling ULF’s vacated slot, this was a solid opening statement.
8	Gentle Mates	0–1	The Masters Santiago representatives crumbled after map one. M8 were already underwhelming internationally, and now they’ve dropped their Stage 1 opener to FUT. Alarm bells aren’t ringing yet, but they’re warming up.
9	Team Heretics	0–1	Losing to a four-man NAVI is bad. The macro issues that plagued them in late 2025 are still there, and the firepower isn’t consistent enough to brute-force wins.
10	Karmine Corp	0–1	Individual talent exists (SUYGETSU, dos9), but the team lacks cohesion. A 9th–10th-place Kickoff followed by a 2–0 loss to TL doesn’t inspire confidence.
11	GIANTX	0–1	Getting 2–0’d with a combined 11 rounds is rough. GIANTX had strong moments in 2025 but look outmatched against the top of the table right now.
12	PCIFIC Esports	0–1	The Ascension newcomers kept maps close against BBL, which counts for something. But they need to start converting competitive halves into actual map wins.

What to Watch in Week 2

Week 2 kicks off today on April 8 and features some absolute headliners. In Group Omega, BBL Esports face Eternal Fire in an all-Turkish showdown, and FNATIC meet Team Vitality on Thursday in what could be the biggest match of the group stage so far. Over in Group Alpha, Team Liquid take on Team Heretics, and FUT Esports try to back up their upset win against Natus Vincere on Friday.

Here’s the full Week 2 schedule (all times CEST):

Date	Time	Match	Group
Wed, April 8	17:00	PCIFIC Esports vs. GIANTX	Omega
Wed, April 8	20:00	BBL Esports vs. Eternal Fire	Omega
Thu, April 9	17:00	FNATIC vs. Team Vitality	Omega
Thu, April 9	20:00	Team Liquid vs. Team Heretics	Alpha
Fri, April 10	17:00	FUT Esports vs. Natus Vincere	Alpha
Fri, April 10	20:00	Gentle Mates vs. Karmine Corp	Alpha

Catch all the action live on the official VALORANT EMEA Twitch channel. Regional language streams are also available for Turkish, French, German, Spanish, and other broadcasts.

The road to VCT Masters London qualification runs through every single one of these matches. Only the top four teams from each group advance to the May 7–17 playoffs, and only three teams from the entire field earn a ticket to London. At this pace, Week 2 should tell us a lot more about who’s truly ready to compete and who’s just surviving.