The League of Legends European Masters Play-Ins came to a close yesterday and the results are clear. Seven teams participated in the event and three have seeded into the Group Stage. The format of the competition was Round Robin and the matches were best-of-one. The best performing team would automatically advance to the Group Stage, while second to fifth place teams would compete for the other two spots.
The three teams to ascend to the next stage are Szata Maga+6, Gentside and Ninjas in Pyjamas. Over four days of competition, these teams have earned their place in the next stage of the tournament. SM+6 was without a doubt, the most dominant team in the Play-In stage. They started off the tournament by defeating Giants Gaming Spain, as well as, Crvena zvezda Esports, Enclave Gaming, Gentside and Ninjas in Pyjamas. Their only loss came from mousesports on the first day but after that match, they were simply unstoppable and ended up with a score of 5-1.
Gentside came in as a close second at 4-2. They began the first day by beating Crvena zvezda Esports in a quick game that lasted only 23 minutes and 19 seconds. On the second day of the event, Gentside tramped over Enclave Gaming in less than 26 minutes, though they dropped a game to mousesports later on. Still, that would not deter them when they faced off against Ninjas in Pyjamas on the third day and after more than half an hour of play, they managed to secure the victory. On the fourth day of the event, Gentside faced Giants Gaming Spain and came out ahead. To earn a spot at the Group Stage, Gentside had to go up against mousesports for the second time in an Elimination Match but they succeeded.
Third in place, Ninjas in Pyjamas had a harder time qualifying for the Group Stage. They began the tournament with relative success, beating both mousesports and Crvena zvezda, and their success carried over to the second day when they overcame Enclave Gaming. However, the third day would undermine their earlier success, losing in both matches against Gentside and Giants Gaming Spain. On the fourth day, they had little luck against the domineering SM+6 and thus, had to fight for their spot in the Group Stage. Their elimination match was against Giants Gaming Spain again and this time they were able to take revenge, beating the Spanish team and securing their place in the next stage.
These three teams are only part of a roster of 16 that will play in the Group Stage next week. The event will begin on 17 September and is set to end on 20 September. The 16 teams will be divided into groups of four where they will play against each other in best-of-one matches, following the Round Robin format. The top two teams of each group will continue onto the final Knockout Stage. The prize pool for the whole event is €150,000, with first place receiving the lion’s share – €40,000.
