The preseason predictions for the NLC, the Nordic League of Legends league, have held so far. On Thursday, the league’s two strongest teams on paper—Los Ratones and NORD Esports—secured their spots in the Winter Split upper bracket final, defeating Bulldog Esports and Verdant, respectively. Marc “Caedrel” Lamont’s squad made quick work of their opponents, closing out both games in under 25 minutes. The botlane’s KDAs perfectly illustrate LR’s absolute dominance. Juš “Crownie” Marušič died just once across both games and racked up a KDA of 23 (13 kills, 10 assists).

Meanwhile, Martin “Rekkles” Larsson went completely unscathed, maintaining a flawless KDA with one kill and an impressive 27 assists. On the other side, Lucas “Santorin” Larsen and his teammates faced a tougher challenge, dropping a game but ultimately securing a 2-1 victory. Los Ratones and NORD Esports—two teams featuring several former LEC players and reigniting excitement around the league—had already clashed once before in this Winter Split during the group stage. That match opened the NLC season and marked LR’s first-ever official win in the ERL network.

Two rematches in the Lower Bracket Quarterfinals

The upper bracket final will take place this Friday at 6 p.m. CET in a best-of-five series. “I'm excited for us to level up and hopefully beat Los Ratones next time,” Santorin said in an interview with Sheep Esports ahead of this week's matches. Now, the jungler will get his shot at revenge. The winner of this match will advance directly to the grand final, needing just one more victory to qualify for the EMEA Masters. Meanwhile, the loser will drop into the lower bracket final and must secure a win there to reach the grand final.

Following their defeats on Thursday, Bulldog Esports and Verdant have dropped into the lower bracket, where each team will face the opponent it previously defeated in the first round of the upper bracket playoffs. Verdant will take on Rich Gang Esports, the winners of Group B, while Bulldog Esports will look to once again overcome The Ruddy Sack—a third team stacked with former LEC stars, including Luka “Perkz” Perković and Marcin “Jankos” Jankowski—who have struggled more than LR and NORD in the early season. The winners of these two matches will advance to the lower bracket semi-final, with the victor earning a shot at the loser of LR vs. NORD in the lower bracket final.