SCARZ Europe “brotherhood” becomes the unexpected ALGS EMEA Finals Champions

The ALGS Championship EMEA went right down to the wire as the finals headed to a game 7 with three teams on Match Point. SCARZ Europe ultimately took the ALGS EMEA Finals title to win $265,591, a colossal prize pool for the region. Interestingly SCARZ Europe finished 5th in the group stage but none of the four teams ahead of them placed top 4 in the Finals.

SCARZ Europe's trio was Mikkel "Mande" Hestbek, Can "Taisheen" Öztürk and Dan "rpr Ušić, who have been competing together since January 2020. In the interview post-victory, SCARZ's Mande was passionate to tell interviewer Falloutt of just how close the three players were, saying that Taisheen and rpr "are like brothers to me".

The trio originally linked up in Danish organisation North (R.I.P), but were picked up by SCARZ in March 2021 ahead of the ALGS Winter Circuit Playoffs.

In second place by just a whisker was Fire Beavers, who only qualified for the main event through the Last Chance Qualifier. The orgless CIS trio pulled off an 8th place in the group stage and then went on to give SCARZ Europe a run for their money in the ALGS EMEA Finals.

The first games of the ALGS EMEA finals were crazy to say the least. In game 1, Unrated decimated the lobby with 17 kills and finishing in first place. With a massive lead of 29 points by the end of game 1 all focus was directed at the young squad. Their Revenant, Valkyrie, Octane composition put in some massive work in the first game. Game 2 was the Fire Beavers show, as they wrecked havoc in the lobby with a first place finish with 20 kills. Showing the utility of Loba in the lobby by robbing resources from nearby fights. At the end of these first 2 games, the orgless Unrated and Fire Beavers made themselves known in the lobby.

The next couple games there weren't any massacres. Unrated, Fire Beavers, Alliance and Gambit all slowly racked up points. By the end of game 4 Fire Beavers achieved match point status. This was due to their aggressive playstyle and unique team composition, as they capitalized on Loba's ability to steal resources. In game 5, Fire Beavers switched to a Wraith, so that they wouldn't be targeted by other teams. However, that did not help much, as Gambit won in game 3, Les cite de France got a beautiful third party in game 4 and 303 made a huge clutch in game 5.

SCARZ Europe flew under the radar during the first 5 games, consistently placing top 5 in almost every game. Slowly racking up points behind the chaos that Unrated, Fire Beavers and Aqualix. In game 6, Endeavour clutched the game by preventing 303 Esports from breaching a building by capitalizing on Caustic traps and a Wraith portal.

The last game fell between SCARZ and Fire Beavers. Both teams changed to a slower playstyle to ensure a top placed finish. But when SoloQgoat's ShivFPS came knocking at Fire Beavers, they had no choice to fight back. This was a prime opportunity for SCARZ, and so they capitalized on the fight, playing on their high ground to claim the title of the ALGS EMEA champions.

The entirety of the ALGS EMEA finals was an absolute pleasure to watch. Massive credit to all the players, casters and production that participated in the the finals. But this begs the question of what tomorrow's games for the ALGS NA finals are going to look like? Well join us and find out!