Following the conclusion of the Europe League 2024 Stage 2 group stage, the teams located between the third and the sixth place clashed in the playoffs quarterfinals. Out of the four rosters, two have moved to the semifinals.
Here's everything you need to know about today's action!
Virtus.pro 2-0 G2 Esports
Maps: Consulate (7-4), Kafe Dostoyevsky (7-3), and Border (not played)
Against all of the odds, Virtus.pro, who barely made it to the playoffs after Fnatic's regulation defeat against Team BDS, defeated the third-seeded team, G2 Esports.
The game saw a very dominant Virtus.pro running over the samurai side, which struggled to find consistency. After an close beginning to Consulate, the Bears demolished their opponents with four back-to-back rounds. Although G2 Esports managed to cut the distance to just two rounds, the Russians closed out the series with two well-coordinated attacks, including a 1v1 clutch by Dmitry "Always" Mitrahovich.
On Kafe Dostoyevsky, Virtus.pro's dominance was even bigger as the Russians won four of their six attacks. After that attacking performance, the Bears closed out the map after winning three of their four defenses.
While Pavel "p4sh4" Kosenko was the best player of the match with a SiegeGG rating of 1.28, all of Virtus.pro's players finished the game with positive ratings. Meanwhile, all of G2 Esports' players finished with negative ratings. It's also worth mentioning that the samurai side got eleven entry kills, one more than the Russians. However, the Six Invitational 2023 champions could only win seven rounds — while Virtus.pro won 14.
Wolves Esports 2-1 WYLDE
Maps: Skyscraper (2-7), Chalet (7-4), Nighthaven Labs (7-5)
Despite losing the first map of the series, Wolves Esports won the series against the inexperienced roster of WYLDE to move to Europe's semifinals. There, the pack will play against the region's favorites Team BDS.
Following a dominant defensive display from WYLDE, the European mix overcame Rahian "Asa" Ramos' 1v1 clutch in the first round of the match and swapped sides on Skyscraper with a 5-1 lead. Although Vivien "Lasmooo" Berthelot's 1v1 clutch saw Wolves Esports' shortening the difference on the scoreboard, the side coached by Leon "neLo" Pesic didn't hesitate and secured the win on the Japanese map.
Heading to the second map, WYLDE quickly took the lead after a successful defense on Bar and Gaming. However, the pack gave their opponents some of WYLDE's own medicine as they came back with four back-to-back successful rounds, including an ace by Yanis "Mowwwgli" Dahmani in round two and a 1v2 clutch by Asa in round five. Eventually, although WYLDE managed to put the tie back on the scoreboard, the wolves brought it home with three consecutive defenses.
Finally, Nighthaven Labs crowned the winner of the series. Despite Wolves Esports getting an early lead, WYLDE's first successful round came shortly after thanks to an ace by Antonio "CroqSon" Vázquez. However, the Spanish's play was followed by three consecutive rounds by Wolves. The team's winning run was interrupted by Ábel "dod0o" Harangi's 1v2 clutch before swapping sides.
Unfortunately for WYLDE, Wolves' four defenses during the second half were a hill that was too steep for the European mix. Eventually, Wolves Esports ended up closing the match and knocked out WYLDE of the playoffs.
With a SiegeGG rating of 1.21 and two crucial clutches, the French support Asa was the best player of the match. It's also worth mentioning Mowwwgli's performance as he finished the series with an entry balance of 11-2 (+9). Meanwhile, CroqSon's 1.10 was WYLDE's best rating in the series.