64 teams, 4 groups, 6 matches each, and one job: land in the top 8 or go home. That’s what the Pre-Quarterfinals stage asked of everyone, and by the end of it, two teams had separated themselves so far from the pack that the rest of the lobby is going to be thinking about it heading into quarters.
Group A: A Two-Point Margin
Team Apex Gaming held on for first with 63 points — two Chicken Dinners, 40 kills, and just enough cushion to survive Team Aerowolf, who finished a mere two points back at 61. That’s about as close as group play gets.
True Rippers took third at 58, playing aggressive but staying disciplined about it. Santa ESP (48) and Rapid Chaos Esports (47) filled out the top five.
Group A MVP: TRXShayxxN (True Rippers) — no Chicken Dinner to his name, but his shot-calling and clutch frags are the reason True Rippers stayed near the top all stage.
Group B: Nobody Ran Away With It
Vasista Esports played the calmest game in the group and it paid off — 59 points and first place, with WePay X Rising Esports right behind at 54. Universal Esports and Godsent Assassins tied for third at 52 apiece.
The real story, though, is iQOO Soul. They finished sixth overall at 49 points but put up a group-high 42 kills — proof that raw firepower alone doesn’t guarantee placement.
Group B MVP: iQOOSoulLegit (iQOO Soul) — his aggression drove that kill count, and it wasn’t quiet about it either.
Group C: One Team, Everyone Else
This is where things got lopsided. iQOO Revenant Xspark put up 84 points — 59 kills, 25 placement — and left the rest of Group C fighting for second. iQOO Reckoning grabbed that spot at 48, with Apex Cyclone Esports close behind at 47. Welt Esports and Team Veer rounded out the top five.
Group C MVP: iQOORNTXPalno9 (Revenant Xspark) — clean aim, smart rotations, and enough pressure that nobody in the group had an answer for it.
Group D: Higgboson’s Statement Game
Higgboson Esports posted the highest score of the entire stage: 85 points, three Chicken Dinners, 50 kills. Nobody else in Group D came close. 4TR Official took second at 64, and White Walkers held third at 53, ahead of Wyld Fangs and Learn From Past.
Group D MVP: WWxDreams (White Walkers) — showed up in the moments that actually mattered and kept White Walkers inside the top three.
What This Stage Actually Told Us
Higgboson Esports and iQOO Revenant Xspark set the bar this round, and it’s not close — 85 and 84 points respectively, in a stage where most groups were being decided by single digits. But Apex Gaming, Aerowolf, and Vasista Esports proved the other path works too: you don’t need a blowout score if you can just not slip up.
Quarter-finals are next, and that’s usually where the group-stage numbers stop meaning much. Bigger lobbies, tighter circles, and a lot less room for error — every team left is going to be leaning on whatever got them here, whether that’s firepower or discipline. We’ll see which one holds up.
