R6 EUL Mid-Stage Recap: Rogue Upset NaVi, BDS Retain 1st Place

And suddenly they’re back in the Top 3! After last week’s loss versus Empire, Rogue managed to stabilize and beat one of the better squads in EUL. Playing through four days of matches, Cowana and Rogue have arrived back in the Top 4.

The Brits managed to set themselves on top of their former IGL, Luke “Kendrew” Kendrew. Actually, that player was the only bright side for Secret throughout the entire match. Alex “SlebbeN” Nordlund recorded a mere three kills. On the other side, Jake “Sloth” Brown put up a 1.75 rating and a whopping 14 eliminations! Cowana and Rogue have both had a great start into the European League Stage 3.

But it’s not the first time we’re seeing this! Lots of teams have absolute crushed the first few match-days, only to then slow down towards the end of the league phase, missing the Top 4 after all. Last year, Secret and G2 totally shocked everyone with a great campaign, made it look like they were the top dogs, but still failed to qualify for the November Major in the end. So it stands to question whether Rogue and Cowana will keep themselves in the Top 4 for the next five match-days to come.

BDS, however, are looking great. Their rematch versus Empire took a different turn compared to the Mexico Major. Back then, the Frenchmen suffered defeat in an exciting and close Semi Finals, but upon returning to their online environment in Europe, they’ve started dominating once again. They’re firmly holding onto their top spot after a 7-2 victory.

The VP Upset

Rogue weren’t the only surprise winners of the day. Virtus.pro, who so far only had secured one point in the standings, suddenly made it past G2 Esports on a 7-5 scoreline. The G2 boys caught a lot of flak for that from the analyst desk, who claimed that the team had totally botched their offense. The players were quick to agree.

But just like Jordan “Kayak” Morley put it – they know what they did wrong and where to apply fixes. So we can expect them to not make the same mistake twice and come back with an improved offensive strategy very soon. Despite their victory in regulation time, Virtus.pro are still in eighth place. Stuck in seventh place, G2 haven’t got it any better, though. While Empire are sitting outside the Top 4 for now, one single win can catapult them back to the front. Five match-days are still waiting to be played out, so nothing is decided just yet!

Looking ahead to Day 5

Empire absolutely have to win their match versus Vitality. If they want to have a shot at making the major, they can’t lose out against such a comparatively easy opponent. Rogue are going through trial by fire, facing Cowana for a chance to secure the top spot in EUL Stage 3. After all, BDS have to go up against NaVi. Even though the Brits lost a disappointing map versus Rogue, they’re still a top team. Moreover, it was NaVi who beat BDS back in Stage 2.

Looking back at the most recent matches, Secret will likely suffer defeat at the hands of G2. Virtus.pro will get a chance to place higher, as Heroic have had to make a sudden roster move in the midst of the league. This will only weaken them further, allowing VP to score some quick EUL Stage 3 points.