This round of the EWC EMEA Qualifier delivered no shortage of surprises. Two LEC sides see their EWC hopes end here, two others drop out of the qualifier but keep a path to Riyadh, and the upper bracket semifinals are set to feature some of the league's biggest names. Here's everything you need to know.
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Team Vitality crash out without winning a single game against Shifters, less than 24 hours after throwing a 12k gold lead to Movistar KOI in the upper bracket quarterfinals. Their LEC playoff run remains the last way back into EWC contention.
Fnatic suffer a similar fate. After a 0-2 to G2 in the upper bracket, they drop another 0-2 to Solary. Two best-of-threes, no games won. Like Vitality, they will have to qualify through LEC Spring Playoffs.
Galions and Solary, the two EMEA Masters Winter finalists, have made their mark on the qualifier with statement wins over LEC sides. The level gap between the LEC and the top teams from ERL scene, often discussed in theory, is being narrowed in practice on this bracket — and this should serve as a wake-up call for an LEC that has long taken its dominance over the regional scene for granted.
Shifters made a last-minute roster move ahead of the qualifier, bringing back Théo "Sheo" Borile after his self-benching at Team Heretics. The French jungler returns to the team where he qualified for Worlds 2023, and the gamble has paid off: Fnatic pushed to three games in round 1, Vitality swept 2-0 the next day.
The qualifier resumes on May 14.
In lower bracket, Shifters face Galions and GIANTX face Solary, with the losers eliminated and the winners moving on to meet the two upper bracket semifinal losers. Two EMEA tickets to the Esports World Cup 2026 in Riyadh remain on the line.
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