Team Heretics and Team Liquid avoid elimination at VCT EMEA Kickoff 2026

Team Heretics and Team Liquid have kept its VALORANT Masters Santiago hopes alive by eliminating Karmine Corp and ULF Esports from VCT EMEA Kickoff 2026.

Both winners will now face NAVI and GIANTX, respectively, in the next round of the Lower Bracket on February 6th.

After losing to NAVI and GIANTX, VALORANT Champions 2024 runner-up Team Heretics finally found success against Karmine Corp. The first map, however, was completely dominated by the French side as it destroyed Team Heretics to close Abyss out 13-2.

Team Heretics warmed up heading into Haven and was able to keep the battle tight, with the first half concluding at a 6-6 scoreline. As the second half began, the Spanish organisation snatched away all of the momentum from KC, winning seven rounds to secure the map 13-8.

Team Heretics carried over that form into the decider on Corrode, putting 4-0 on the board before Karmine Corp gained the lead by winning five rounds back-to-back. The first half once again ended at 6-6. However, Team Heretics quickly posted 11-8, moving closer to a comfortable win. 

That said, the story was not over, as Karmine Corp claimed three consecutive rounds to once again level the scores. That was all the French side could manage to achieve, with Team Heretics winning the map 13-11 and series 2-1.

Even though KC lost the match, its duelist Burak ‘LêwN’ Alkan was the highest-rated player in the server, with a rating of 1.21, along with 268 ACS and 54/42/14 KDA.

Many predicted that 2025 VCT EMEA Stage 2 winner Team Liquid would secure a comfortable win against Ascension side ULF Esports. However, VCT EMEA Kickoff has been full of surprises so far, and the most recent clash between both teams wasn’t any different.

ULF kicked off Split with three round wins, including the bonus round; however, Team Liquid fought back to take a 4-3 lead. After some back-and-forth, the first half ended with both sides earning six rounds each. The second half, though, belonged entirely to ULF, as it let Team Liquid secure just two rounds to close out the map 13-8.

Breeze featured long win streaks from both teams, with Team Liquid starting with a 6-0 scoreline before ULF Esports closed out the gap with five consecutive round wins. Despite its best efforts, the newcomers failed to claim another round, as Team Liquid stole nine rounds back-to-back for a 13-5 victory.

Pearl is one of Team Liquid’s weakest maps in terms of win percentage; however, the roster still challenged its Turkish opposition. The first half concluded with another 6-6 tie, while the second half was a nail-biting show. 

Ultimately, ULF was the first team to reach map point but failed to close it out due to its players making tactical errors. Team Liquid capitalised on these mistakes to push the map to overtime, where it won the map 14-12 and series 2-1.

Team Liquid’s Wayne ‘wayne’ Chang played a major role in bringing success to the team with 1.48 rating, 249 ACS, and 59/36/27.