The bracket for the VCT Thailand Stage 1 Challengers has been set, with eight teams set to battle for the TH฿823,000 prize pool and three coveted spots in the APAC Challengers Playoffs.
THAILAND — The group stage of VCT Thailand Stage 1 Challengers came to an end on Sunday. Following the match, ESL Thailand revealed the bracket draw for the eight-team playoffs, which will kick off on Thursday and culminate with a best-of-five grand final on February 27.
A clash between XERXIA Esports and their previous club X10 CRIT will mark the start of the playoffs bracket. Thanamethk “Crws” Mahatthananuyut and co. are the highest-ranked team coming into the playoffs. In contrast, the new lineup of X10 CRIT made it to the quarter-finals after swallowing a horrible loss to Team NKT and beating Lumsum and Daytrade Nursery, two relatively unknown sides outside of Thailand. The victor of the first series will play either FULL SENSE or Sharper Esports in the next round.
The opposite side of the bracket features Team NKT, who recently acquired former FULL SENSE coach Songchai “Tongrak” Payan, taking on the newly-announced Attack All Around. Joonas “Fake” Oikarinen, however, has been missing from some of the group stage matches, particularly towards the end, with Ronakorn “warwick” Sattanaco filling in for him. It is still uncertain if the Finnish in-game leader will be able to compete in the playoffs.
And headlining the final match of the opening round is an encounter between 47 Gaming and MiTH. In a tight round differential with Gelida Esports, the latter squad came the closest to missing the playoffs.
The following are the opening matches of the playoff bracket, as well as the full schedule for the remainder of the tournament:
| Feb 24, 17:00 | XERXIA Esports | X10 CRIT |
| Feb 24, 20:30 | FULL SENSE | Sharper Esport |
| Feb 25, 17:00 | Team NKT | Attack All Around |
| Feb 25, 20:30 | 47 Gaming | MiTH |
| Feb 26, 17:00 | Semi-final #1 |
| Feb 26, 20:30 | Semi-final #2 |
| Feb 27, 15:00 | 3rd place decider |
| Feb 27, 20:30 | Grand Final |
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Cover photo courtesy of Michal Konkol/Riot Games
