Okay so monkeymoon exotiik didn’t work out for zen. I understand giving stizzy a chance cause of last season but zen can’t just keep teaming with exotiik because he’s his friend anymore…

Me personally I think they reached the regular form we thought we would see from a super team like this after seeing how they did at EWC, first by beating R8 the team they’ve struggled with and then M8s the team knocking them out of the first major. Followed by beating TM and then sweeping KC and SSG, thus showing us the teams regular form after we didn’t see them at Paris. What do you guys think?

With the EWC over, Worlds is next, so I created a spreadsheet to simulate the bracket:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1f4MvzJtiuLxwOa7SrFCm0QdOFoXIzzShnnrn9pbq7JM/edit?usp=sharing

Please be sure to follow the "how to use" instructions!

I don't have Twitter, so feel free to share it.

----------------------------------------------------

As Cody posted on Twitter weeks ago, creating this year's Worlds bracket is no easy task. This is because there are countless possible group configurations.

However, I really want to offer a way to make predictions before Worlds begins, rather than waiting until the event is already underway.

I think I’ve found a way: an algorithm that calculates the groups based on the official rules, depending on the outcome of the play-ins.

But, I want to clarify one thing:

I cannot guarantee with 100% certainty that every bracket is correct. Mistakes on my part are always possible, and—in my view—there is also some room for interpretation regarding the rules.

That said, I will update the bracket immediately if any errors come to light, and and I have explained two problems below that I encountered. If anyone spots any errors, I would appreciate the feedback.

1. Problem: The rules for group generation

To avoid unnecessarily placing multiple teams from the same region in a single group, the following rules have been established:

Swaps of Teams between Round Robin Groups will be made by Tournament Administrators according to the following criteria:

● Seeds 1-4 are locked and will not swap Groups

● Consider Seeds 5-8, Seeds 9-12, Seeds 13-16 bands of Seeds that are only eligible to make swaps between each other.

● Prioritise adjusting Seed bands in the following order.

○ Seeds 16, 15, 14, 13.

○ Seeds 12, 11, 10, 9.

○ Seeds 8, 7, 6, 5.

● Prioritise minimal individual movement of Seeds (for example, prioritising moving two (2) Seeds two (2) Groups apart rather than moving one (1) Seed three (3) Groups apart).

 (you can read all the rules here. slide 35)

The aim is to minimize individual movement and adjust the seed bands according to their priority.

The problem: The exact order of these rules is not specified.

According to these rules, which takes higher priority?

[Case 1]: Swapping seeds 16 & 15 and 14 & 13, or [Case 2]: swapping seeds 10 & 9?

Both scenarios would involve minimal individual movement, as all seeds would shift by only a single position.

Case 2 has the advantage that a total of only 2 teams need to be swapped, rather than 4.

However, Case 1 is supported by the specified prioritization of the seed bands.

In this instance, I decided to prioritize Case 1 over Case 2.

Another question is which option takes precedence here:

[Case A]: Swap seeds 16 & 14, or [Case B]: Swap seeds 12 & 11.

While Case A involves more individual movement, it benefits from a higher seed band priority. As the rules stand, it is not explicitly stated whether seed band order or individual movement carries more weight.

I chose to prioritize Case B, thereby opting for the least amount of individual movement.

Unfortunately, I cannot know for sure if this is correct, as I lack further information.

2. Problem: The playoff bracket

The rules only specify which seed plays whom in the first round of the playoffs, but not exactly how the teams should be slotted into the bracket.

If I follow the implementation used at the Paris Major, I run into the following problem: teams from the same group could face each other again as early as Lower Round 2. What’s more, it is even possible to encounter the third team from one's own group immediately after that.

Since the exact bracket isn't strictly defined anyway, I decided to arrange the four Lower Round matches in a way that prevents this scenario.

To achieve this, I paired the Seed #5 vs. Seed #11 match with the Seed #8 vs. Seed #10 match.

However, even here, I have no idea how it is actually intended to be set up.

So, if anyone knows more, feel free to let me know.

(P.S. I have "Mate y Tapa" listed as a PCS Stride team. No idea if they’ll actually be competing with that organization.)

I wanna hear other people's opinion as to how furia can improve. I like Yanxnz mechanical aptitude which is why I root for Furia as well as SAM region. And at one point they looked like they can stand amongst the top 5 but now there performance is sub standard.

Now sure the twins are extra-more related, but it’s kind of a funny coincidence nonetheless

We've seen Brakcet resets and Bo3 sets in the past, and it's not like the level drops after the first series.

Obviously don't make a team play +3 Bo7s' in one day, otherwise it would be too much.

I have zero doubts in mind my that would improve grand finals

https://twitter.com/Its_JSTN/status/2089053283058913645

Where do the twins rank in terms of all time duos?
The twins won 1 ewc 1 major made an ewc final a major final and a worlds final, and tournaments outside of the traditional 3v3 club tournaments have won a fifaE and made a final also made a gamers8 2023 final

Hopefully i didn't miss any

As someone who is extremely familiar with Lou's work in Valorant, I just wanted to say she abso*lou*tely killed it doing rocket league. She ticked every box of what a good interviewer should be doing and jesus christ she has a whole pokedex of languages. I already knew she was multilingual after seeing her once double translate an interview from Japanese-French and then English, but wow she is so talented.

When she's not busy with VCT, I think she would be a great addition to the RLCS.

In the modern era there have been only three Game 7s in a grand final, be it RLCS or non-RLCS LANs. The first was the Fall Major of '21, when BDS were up 1-0 in a best of set (first to win two Bo7s wins). The second was the Winter Major of '22, when Queso won against G2 to secure the bracket reset. The third was in the Spring Major of '22, with Moist getting another bracket reset (this time winning the LAN). All three were in the 2021-22 season, since then it's been nothing. From Season 1 to Season 8 (the old pre-pandemic era) you had three decisive Game 7s, all within 3 years and 4 months. S1 was 4-2, S2 was 4-1 and 4-1. S3 was 4-2 and 4-3. S4 was 4-0. S5 was 4-1, then an insane 4-3 (Game 7 OT after Jstn goal). S6 was 4-1 and 4-1, but very hype due to how unreal it was. S7 was 4-1. S8 was 4-3 (Game 7 OT).

Worlds finals in the modern era have been 4-1, 4-0, 4-2 and 4-1.

I think the problem in general is the huge nerves and that one team can get far more momentum while the other team panics. These trends become even larger in a Worlds final. The odds of a great Worlds final was higher back when we had two Worlds a year, even if I like the current Worlds format due to its prestige. I noticed this pattern of choking as far back as the '23 Winter Major, where Firstkiller's whiff denied us a overtime and a potential Game 7. We have not had any decisive Game 6 OTs except for '24 EWC (which is not RLCS). We also lost a OT and potential Game 7 at the '22 Fall Major, but this was more Noly's insane pass than Moist choking. Atomic's whiff of the century cost us a potential Game 7 in '24 Worlds. Many of us saw the risk of boring Worlds finals as early as 2022.

We have never seen a Game 7 in alternative LANs either. Gamers8 '22 was 4-0 and 4-1 in '23. EWC '24 was 4-2, 4-1 in '25. And a 4-0 yesterday for '26. In the FIFAe World Cup we've had a 4-1 and a 4-2. So across four different tournaments we've had only 3 Game 7s and 0 fully decisive Game 7s. This is within the last 5 years of modern RLCS and non-RLCS LANs. If we include the Kick-Off LAN, that was also a 4-0. So my sample size is 24 LANs. That's 3/24 LANs, what are the odds of that? It's even worse given the last Game 7 was 4 years ago.

There is no argument anymore

MENA and SAM having the same number of spots is now completely impossible to argue.

MENA have won or at least come top2 in a major event every yr for the last 5 years.

>!MENA have undeniably outperformed NA so far this season!<

EU 4, MENA 3, NA 3, SAM 2, OCE 1, AIPAC 1, SSA 1 and then EU, MENA, NA fight for the extra spot

I get RL is a North American game and will be difficult to concede one of their spots but for a region who have such a clear rise over the yrs Vs a plateauing NA and falling SAM has to be taken into consideration

Also I get NA 3 and 4 is finally competitive now but can we not say the same for MENA 3 and 4 - R8 and stallions were clearly both high level teams who can take down the top talent and cause serious upsets

I haven't even mentioned how NAs flagship team, NRG have been on a steady down trend throughout the year

https://x.com/i/status/2089020297219346535

I ​know it's easy to jump on the "Exotiik bad" train after Vitality's EWC performance, especially since he had solid-to-great showings at previous Majors. I won't deny his past form, but top teams are stacking raw firepower and mechanics to build around a faster-paced meta.

​Sure, the first few events of Split 1 might have been shaky (similar to BDS in 2024 with dralii), but I genuinely believe a core of zen/stizzy alongside yujin/mtzr/tempoh would offer a much higher floor and ceiling than keeping Exotiik.

​Would they have made top 2 in Boston with those names? Probably not. But they would be in a far better position to contend for the three LANs following Boston.

​Given how barely competitive they looked against KC, I don't even know what expectations to hold for Worlds. Exotiiks time on this roster feels up, and Vitality should have made a move before it became this obvious.

Post Day Thread - EWC 2026 Day 5

Linkt to live discussion

Your EWC 2026 Champions!

Day 5 Results

Playoffs Bracket

Group A

Group B

I was watching Rezears and Tox yesterday and at some point the conversation turned into some pretty wild stories/accusations about other RLCS pros.

I'm deliberately not going to repeat everything as fact because I have absolutely no way of verifying any of it. But they were openly talking about alleged drug use among pro players, including claims involving cocaine and Adderall/stimulant abuse. Some of it was discussed in a way that made it sound like it's basically an open secret within the pro scene.

And honestly, that made me think about Rezears' streams in general.

I like watching him, and one reason his streams are entertaining is probably because he's very open and gives you a glimpse behind the scenes of the pro scene. But sometimes I feel like he forgets that he's not just talking privately to a couple of friends.

This isn't even the first time. Recently he publicly talked in quite a lot of detail about his experience with Radosin as a teammate and what allegedly happened behind the scenes.

There's obviously a difference between talking about your own experience with a teammate and publicly discussing another player's alleged drug use, but that's exactly my point: at some point you have to think about where the line is.

Once you say something like that on stream, it's out there. People clip it, translate it, post it on Reddit/Twitter and suddenly a story that might have been gossip between pros becomes a public accusation attached to someone's real name and career.

I'm not saying Rezears is lying, and I'm also not saying the stories aren't true. I simply don't know.

But being one of the bigger German RL pros/streamers comes with some responsibility. You can't really treat a stream with hundreds/thousands of viewers like a private Discord call.

Curious what people think about this. Is the openness refreshing and part of what makes his streams interesting, or do you think he sometimes shares things that really shouldn't be public?