The soon-to-be-released bracket for the VCT Masters Three Berlin event has been revealed to the players and reportedly places all three North American teams on one side of the bracket, according to a report from Upcomer’s George Geddes.
If confirmed, this means the quarterfinals matchups would be the following:
- Acend/SuperMassive Blaze winner vs. 100 Thieves
- Team Envy vs. Sentinels
- G2 Esports vs. KRU Esports
- Vision Strikers vs. Gambit/Crazy Raccoon winner
The final two teams will be determined on Thursday, Sept. 16, via the final group stage matches. Regardless of who wins, however, their spots are already reportedly locked in.
If these first-round matchups are confirmed to be true, then it becomes impossible for two North American teams to reach the grand final. It is possible for there to be a grand final featuring only EMEA teams if either G2 or Gambit advance through one side while Acend or SuperMassive Blaze advance through the other. Only Acend or SMB will even make it to the playoffs.
At first glance, the bracket seems to favor a team like Sentinels, who have handily beaten Envy and 100 Thieves a total of five times in just VCT Stage Three alone. The only team that could give them issues is G2, given the EU team’s win over Sentinels earlier today. But an interview between Sentinels’ zombs and Esports.gg’s Dustin Steiner indicates that perhaps being the second seed out of groups was “according to plan.”
According to Geddes, the official playoffs bracket will be revealed at 12am CT on Thursday.
