M3C broke a three-way tie in VCT EMEA Stage 2 without playing a tiebreaker

They are locked for the playoffs.

Former Gambit Esports rosterM3 Champions (M3C)have officially advanced to the VCT EMEA Stage 2 Challengers playoffs, after a turbulentgroup stagerun.

The CIS squad came in third in Group B, beating out BBL Esports and Natus Vincere in a three-way tie.

Gambit Esports with the biggest comeback win at Valorant Champions 2021 against Team Vikings

All three squads finished with a 2-3 record, but M3C came out ahead without having to play a single tiebreaker game, thanks to a very specific set of tiebreaker rules.

M3C advance to the VCT EMEA Stage 2 Challengers playoffs

Going into the final week of the group stage, theMasters Berlin 2021champions needed to win their final match against Team Liquid to secure a third-place finish and advance to the playoffs.

Unfortunately, their 0-2 loss to Team Liquid took their fate out of their hands. And after Natus Vincere’s win over Guild Esports, their playoffs qualification depended on the outcome of the match between BBL Esports and BIG.

Gambit Esports (M3C) wins VCT Stage 3 Masters Berlin

If BIG won, M3 Champions would be in a three-way tie with BIG and Natus Vincere. According to theVCT Challengers rulebook, the team with the head-to-head advantage against the other two squads in a three-way tie will claim the highest standing.

M3C had previously beat Natus Vincere, while BIG had triumphed against M3C but lost against Natus Vincere. This meant that a three-way tie might have had to be settled with tiebreaker matches, assuming that the map and round differentials failed to break the tiebreaker.

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Fortunately for M3 Champions, BBL Esports won their match against BIG. This effectively gave the CIS team the advantage in the head-to-head tiebreaker, having previously defeated both BBL and Natus Vincere.

This secured them the third-place finish in Group B, behind Guild Esports and Team Liquid.

VCT EMEA Stage 2 Challengers Group B results

M3 Champions are now set to faceValorant Champions 2021 winners Acendin the VCT EMEA Stage 2 Challengers playoffs on June 17, 10:00 p.m. GMT+ 8 | 8:00 a.m. PT | 4:00 p.m. GMT.

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