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The VCT EMEA League 2023 Playoffs start today, May 23. Six teams have made it, with surprising names such as FUT Esports and Giants Gaming making it to the bracket stage. Four rosters will be able to secure a spot at VCT 2023 Masters: Tokyo and three will be guaranteed a spot at VCT Champions 2023.
Team Liquid vs Team Vitality will be the second Upper-Bracket Quarterfinals. The two will face off in a best-of-three series to determine the #2 seed, Natus Vincere's opponent, in the second Upper-Bracket Semifinals.
The winners of this match will bring themselves one win closer to qualifying for VCT 2023 Masters: Tokyo as well as VCT Champions 2023, which will be held in Los Angeles.
Team Liquid vs Team Vitality - Who will win second Upper-Bracket Quarterfinals match of VCT 2023: EMEA League?
Predictions
Team Liquid had a bumpy start to their 2023 VCT season. The European lineup was shocked by Team Secret, which led to an early exit at LOCK//IN held in Sao Paolo. Liquid have since rejuvenated their gameplay and have looked like one of the best in the world.
A lot of this success is thanks to Saif "Sayf" Jibraeel's permanent swap to the duelist role, with Elias "Jamppi" Oikonnen and Dom "Soulcas" Sulcas being the supporting crew. Sayf has been in great form throughout the season and was the second highest rated player in the league with a 1.31 rating.
The Russian duo of Ayaz "naTs" Akhmetshin and Igor "Redgar" Vlasov continue to be a potent threat to any team. They bring exceptional firepower and flexibility to the already powerful lineup.
Team Vitality were touted as one of the potential underdogs heading into the VCT EMEA League. After a decent showing at LOCK//IN, fans expected more, and they delivered in the initial weeks.
Team Vitality fell off a cliff ever since then and haven't been able to return to peak form. A large reason for their failure has been their star player Karel "Twisten" Ašenbrener's underperformance against top-tier teams. The roster undoubtedly has great firepower along with Twisten in the form of Jokūbas "ceNder" Labutis and Michał "MOLSI" Łącki. However, they have simply not been able to show up as a squad when it matters.
Team Liquid are the heavy favorites coming into this series and their firepower completely outmatches Vitality. The former have also shown better strategies and fundamentals compared to the latter. Team Vitality will have to set up Twisten to perform at a high level to have a chance of creating an upset.
Head-to-head
Team Liquid and Team Vitality previously met in the first week of the EMEA League's regular season. The latter were able to win the series with a score of 2-1. Team Liquid will be looking to take revenge against Vitality in this much more important matchup.
Recent results
Team Liquid have won four out of their previous five games in the EMEA League, with their only loss coming from Natus Vincere. In that matchup, Sayf was unable to play and had to be substituted by reserve player Nico "Harmii" Harms.
Team Vitality had a decent start to the season, but have lost four out of their last five games since then. Their only win came against Team Heretics, which was also a close series. Vitality have not looked inspiring over the past few weeks and will have to make big improvements.
Expected lineups
Team Liquid
- Dom "soulcas" Sulcas
- Elias "Jamppi" Olkkonen
- Ayaz "nAts" Akhmetshin
- Igor "Redgar" Vlasov (IGL)
- Saif "Sayf" Jibraeel
- Emil "eMIL" Sandgren (Coach)
Team Vitality
- Jokūbas "ceNder" Labutis
- Santeri "BONECOLD" Sassi (IGL)
- Michał "MOLSI" Łącki
- Tomas "Destrian" Linikas
- Karel "Twisten" Ašenbrener
- Salah "Salah" Barakat (Coach)
When and where to watch
Fans can watch the second Upper-Bracket Quarterfinals matchup in the VCT EMEA League playoffs on the official Valorant EMEA Twitch and Youtube channels. Streams of various regional European languages will also be available for viewers.
Team Liquid will face off against Team Vitality on May 23, 2023, at 11:00 AM PDT/8:00 PM CEST/11:30PM IST.
Results
Team Liquid defeated Team Vitality with a 2-1 scoreline thanks to impressive performances from Saif "Sayf" Jibraeel and Dom "Soulcas" Sulcas. Vitality showed up big time and performed well despite the odds against them. They dominated Liquid on Lotus before narrowly losing out on both Bind and Ascent to lose the series.
Team Liquid will face Natus Vincere for a spot at VCT 2023 Masters: Tokyo and VCT Champions 2023, while Team Vitality has been sent to the lower-bracket quarterfinals.
