Eunwilf wins TFT Set 8.5 North American Last Chance Qualifier!

Eunwilf became the North American Last Chance Qualifier champion for TFT Set 8.5! Meanwhile, runner-up Robivankenob also earned the final spot in the upcoming tournament to decide North America's representatives at the Monsters Attack! Championship.

Players qualified to the North American Last Chance Qualifier (NA LCQ) by signing up and being in the top 16 by the April 24 ladder snapshot and not having a spot at North American Regional Finals. This was their last chance to continue their road to the world championship this set. There were many notable names competing for the last two regionals spots.

Ramblinnn, Guubums, KevChen, SullyTFT, Prestivent, Amde, and Robivankenob have all been mainstays in major North American tournaments, with a few achieving success and competing internationally.

After six games of play on Day 1 of the NA LCQ, the top eight competitors advanced to the final day of competition. With an impressive fifth, second, second, first, seventh, fourth score line across the day, Eunwilf managed to take third place for Day 1. This earned himself bonus points moving into the final day.

Going into the day with a one-point lead over most of his other competitors was nice, but Eunwilf needed an even stronger performance to win the tournament. So he decided to put on a show. Through the first five games, Eunwilf went first, fifth, second, fifth, and fourth. Including the bonus point he earned from the previous day, he was in sole possession of second place overall.

His only main competitor in placements on the day was Robivankenob, sitting one point above him prior to the final game. The two of them were the clear top-two performers on the day, but with four people able to win the tournament in the final game, nothing was quite set in stone.

The final game featured four competitors in contention for the tournament win. Robivankenob, Eunwilf, Amde, and Prestivent all had realistic chances of securing one of two North American Regional Finals spots and potentially even winning the NA LCQ.

Eunwilf started Chain Vest for the final game, which meant he had a strong defensive component that leant itself to any damage-type composition. He played a brawler frontline opener, paired with an Ashe 2* carry that almost lost every fight in the first PvP stage. Although unable to play full loss-streak Stage 2, he saved a meaningful amount of HP and had 50 gold in the bank by the end of it.

Things began to turn around in Stage 3. Eunwilf beefed up his frontline with more brawlers and after the 3-2 augment selection, gained Second Wind I and Jeweled Lotus. These two augments are some of the best generic augments in the game. With the chain vest from the start of the game, Eunwilf built a Gargoyle's Stoneplate. With the rest of his items, he made a Hextech Gunblade for his carry.

At the Stage 3 carousel, his late game options were still very open. However, Eunwilf began to hold some pairs that could make it to his mid-to-late game board in Rammus and Morgana. On 3-5, he decided to roll for a stronger board in hopes of some direction. And direction he was able to find — a Rammus 2*, Morgana 2*, and Bel'Veth made up his notable hits from the rolldown. A Jax on his brawler frontline board to top it all off meant one thing. He solidified direction for Threats backline coupled with Mecha-Prime frontline.

At the 4-2 augment selection, Eunwilf chose Grandmaster's Training, granting his team attack speed and armor. Those stats would double when his strongest Jax died. This further confirmed how he would play out his late game. A Mecha-Prime frontline would guarantee his Jax died at the start of the fight to give his team more stats. He rolled a considerable amount of gold at the beginning of Stage 4, but was unable to find Garen for Mecha-Prime. Despite this, he formed a board with strong frontline and backline units that allowed him to push to level 8.

It was looking a bit scary for Eunwilf by the time he reached Stage 5. He sat in fifth place with 38 HP, with his competition in Robivankenob at first place with 64 HP. He had lost his last three fights of Stage 4. But the thing Eunwilf did have going for him was his economy. Eunwilf strategically saved his gold to roll at level 8 to build a strong final board to compete with those who had spiked harder in the mid game.

Towards the end of the game, Eunwilf looked to push to level 9 and play upgraded legendary units with his Mecha-Prime Threats composition. This was his path to victory.

Eunwilf at 3 HP. Prestivent at 1HP. Stage 7. If Prestivent won, he would deny Eunwilf the tournament victory. If Eunwilf won, he would be the winner of the NA LCQ and compete at the Monsters Attack! NA Regional Finals for a Monsters Attack! Championship spot. Prestivent had just won the previous round and was seemingly poised to close out his comeback.

Victory secured. Comeback denied. Eunwilf rightfully earned his tournament win to become the NA LCQ champion. The bonus point from Day 1's performance gave him the extra point he needed to outplace Robivankenob for first. Eunwilf's performance across both days of the tournament allowed for the victory and deservedly so.

This was how the competitors split the $2,500 USD prize pool:

For competitive play of Set 8 Teamfight Tactics in North America, there is one final tournament left leading into the Monsters Attack! Championship. The North American Regional Finals will be held on May 12-14 to determine the remaining three representatives who will join Wasianiverson at the Monsters Attack! Championship.

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