Team Liquid and Fnatic have emerged as the early frontrunners in the VCT 2026 EMEA Stage 1 group stage, both sitting at 2-0 after two weeks of competition. The group stage runs from April 1 through May 1, with 12 of Europe's top VALORANT teams fighting for eight playoff spots.
How the format works
The 12 teams are split into two six-team groups: Group Alpha and Group Omega. Each group runs as a single round-robin, meaning every team plays every other team in their group exactly once. All matches are best-of-three.
The top 4 teams from each group advance to the playoffs. Here's the key detail on seeding:
- 1st place earns a bye directly into the Upper Bracket Semifinals
- 2nd and 3rd place enter at Upper Bracket Round 1
- 4th place drops into Lower Bracket Round 1
That gap between finishing first and fourth is significant. A first-place finish means skipping an entire round of high-stakes matches, so the group stage race matters right down to the final standings.
EMEA Stage 1 group standings
Where things stand after two weeks
Group Alpha has been the more predictable of the two. Team Liquid swept both their matches 2-0, dispatching Karmine Corp on April 1 and Team Heretics on April 9 without dropping a map. FUT Esports are right behind at 2-0 as well, taking wins over Gentle Mates and Natus Vincere. Team Heretics and Karmine Corp are both sitting at 0-2 and need to string wins together starting this week.
Group Omega has been considerably messier. Fnatic started 1-0 by beating Eternal Fire on opening day, then swept Team Vitality on April 9 to go 2-0. That Fnatic win over Vitality reshuffled the whole group: Vitality dropped to 1-1 while Eternal Fire climbed to 1-1 after sweeping BBL Esports on April 8. GIANTX pulled off a 2-1 win over PCIFIC Esports in week 2 to move off the bottom of the group, making Omega a genuine four-team scrap for the remaining playoff spots.
danger
PCIFIC Esports are currently the only team in Group Omega without a match win, sitting 0-2 after dropping to BBL and GIANTX in the first two weeks.
Results from weeks 1 and 2
What's coming up in weeks 3 through 5
Week 3 kicks off April 15 and includes some genuinely spicy matchups. BBL vs GIANTX on April 15 is a clash between two Omega teams who need points badly. The same day, Gentle Mates vs NAVI will tell us whether NAVI can hold their position in Alpha's top half.
The biggest match of the week is FUT Esports vs Team Liquid on April 17, a direct clash between the two unbeaten teams in Group Alpha. Whoever wins that one takes a commanding lead heading into the final stretch.
Weeks 4 and 5 (April 22 through May 1) complete the round-robin, with the final match day on May 1 featuring Gentle Mates vs Team Liquid in Alpha and GIANTX vs Eternal Fire in Omega. Both could be decisive for playoff positioning.
The playoffs bracket takes shape once the group stage wraps on May 1, and with Fnatic and Liquid both looking dominant right now, the real question is who can unseat them before the final standings lock in. Make sure to check out more:
