BBL PCIFIC triumphs, Eternal Fire secures second place: Turkey dominates the first Challengers EMEA tournament. For the DACH teams, only disillusionment remains – especially for FOKUS.
Turkey has a firm grip on the EMEA region in Valorant: BBL PCIFIC secures the first title of the Challengers series with a commanding run, with Eternal Fire right behind them.
Final completely in Turkish hands
The dominance was to be expected: four of the five BBL players were already in the 2024 Ascension final – just one card away from promotion to the VCT EMEA. Back then, they were beaten by Apeks. At the first Challengers EMEA, they made short work of it.
After the merger of PCIFIC Esports with first division team BBL Esports, the already strong Turkish scene was further consolidated. The Challengers Türkiye runner-up, Eternal Fire, also comes from Challengers Türkiye: Birlik.
Eternal Fire even reached the final without losing a single map. It was only there that the organization had to admit defeat to their compatriots – in a new edition of the regional final. This is an indication that no other country can currently keep up with the Tier 2 scene in the EMEA region.
DACH only wins two group matches
The tournament was disappointing for the DACH teams: CGN only lost to BBL PCIFIC in the group stage, but the format only allowed one team to advance to the playoffs. The subsequent victory against Enterprise Esports – first in a wild race to catch up, then in a thrilling overtime game – was not enough.
FOKUS, on the other hand, benefited from the group format. The winner of the Challengers DACH: Evolution also only won one game, but a single more map won was enough to advance to the quarterfinals. There, Eternal Fire was waiting – and disaster struck.
FOKUS squanders perfect starting position
In the play-offs against Eternal Fire, FOKUS got off to a perfect start in the first map: the team around duellist Tselmeg ‘xuss’ Tsolmon took eight rounds in a row. At 12:4, the momentum turned completely – nine missed match points followed and ultimately a bitter 14:16 defeat.
The team was apparently unable to recover from this. In the lower bracket of the tournament, they suffered their next defeat, this time against the French runner-up Mandatory. So FOKUS had to leave the tournament without a single playoff victory.
SGE and MOUZ lying in wait for Europe
At least FOKUS secured three more Ascension points, bringing its total to six and putting it in third place in EMEA – a good starting position for participating in the Ascension Tournament.
But the competition never sleeps, because there are also high-profile challengers at the regional level. In particular, Eintracht Frankfurt and MOUZ are just waiting for their chance to win the European places for themselves. FOKUS and CGN need to learn quickly from their defeats to avoid falling behind. If DACH doesn’t wake up soon, the region will remain an international sparring partner.
