Following the conclusion of the final matches in the GSL Group Stage of the EMEA Masters Winter, the quarterfinal matchups were drawn this Wednesday. The four teams that secured qualification with a 2-0 record—Papara SuperMassive, Ici Japon Corp, Los Heretics, and Karmine Corp—will face one of the four teams that advanced with a 2-1 record: Geekay Esports, Team Phantasma, ZennIT, and Los Ratones. As the LFL’s first seed, the Blue Wall has been paired against one of the tournament’s surprise contenders, ZennIT, the first team in Elite Series history to reach the playoffs, doing so with the youngest roster in the competition.

The LFL stands as the only ERL to have both of its teams advance to the playoffs, as Barça eSports (SL) and the two German representatives—BIG and E WIE EINFACH (PRM)—were eliminated in the group stage. Group B winners and the LFL’s second seed, Ici Japon Corp, will face off against the Arabian League champions, Geekay Esports. Los Heretics, our frontrunners for the title, will take on another unexpected playoff contender, Team Phantasma, the Greek League champions.

Quarterfinals played simultaneously

Finally, Papara SuperMassive, a team that seems poised to finally live up to its status after a challenging 2024 in this competition, will go up against Los Ratones, the squad led by Marc “Caedrel” Lamont. All four quarterfinals will be played simultaneously this Thursday at 17:00 CET. The matches will follow a best-of-five format and will continue using the Fearless Draft system implemented since the tournament’s start. The first semifinal is scheduled for Friday, followed by the second on Saturday, with the EMEA Masters Winter grand final set to take place on Sunday.