Team Liquid eliminate GIANTX in VCT 2026: EMEA Kickoff

Team Liquid defeated GIANTX in the VCT 2026: EMEA Kickoff Lower Bracket, securing a 2:1 victory in the Best-of-3 series. The matchup highlighted Liquid’s resilience and clutch play in crucial moments, while GIANTX showed flashes of strength but ultimately couldn’t close out the deciding map.

Liquid set the tone from the very beginning and maintained control throughout the series, capitalizing on key mistakes and consistently winning critical duels to close the series without allowing a decider.

Breeze — 13:4 Team Liquid

The opening map was firmly in favor of Team Liquid. From the first rounds, Liquid controlled both attack and defense, consistently winning duels and dictating tempo. GIANTX struggled to hold sites, and Liquid closed out Breeze convincingly 13:4, a dominant performance that gave them the early advantage in the series.

Pearl — 13:6 GIANTX

On Pearl, GIANTX responded strongly. They increased aggression and stabilized rounds, finding openings against Liquid’s defense. GIANTX controlled key areas of the map and didn’t allow Liquid to settle, closing out Pearl 13:6 to force a decider and extend the series.

Bind — 16:14 Team Liquid

The deciding map was a tense back-and-forth battle. Both teams traded rounds and struggled to build sizeable leads, with clutch plays and late-round decisions swinging momentum multiple times. In the final stretch, Team Liquid managed to edge out GIANTX 16:14, securing the series and eliminating GIANTX from the tournament.

Team Liquid controlled the series overall, especially on Breeze where they dominated early, and showed resilience on Bind to close the decider. GIANTX fought hard but were unable to overcome Liquid’s composure in critical moments.

The 2:1 victory allows Team Liquid to continue their run in the VCT 2026: EMEA Kickoff lower bracket, while GIANTX are eliminated from the tournament and will not progress to Masters Santiago.

VCT 2026: EMEA Kickoff features 12 teams and serves as a crucial early-season event, with results directly impacting qualification for Masters Santiago. Fnatic entered the tournament as one of the clear title contenders, and this performance sent a strong message that the team is ready to fight for the top from the very beginning of the season.