The ETF2L Pre-Season Premiership Playoffs took place last week, where six teams fought for five spots in the Season 25 Premiership. With potentially five new teams entering the Premiership, the race was on for those precious spots.

The tournament kicked off with Round 1, with Comfortably Spanked vs Animate in Match 1 and Thanks Nursey vs Danger Dogs in Match 2 being the first matchups. In Match 1, Comfortably Spanked took the first game on Product in a 3-0 sweep, while Animate found a win on Badlands after winning a golden cap round 4-3. The last game on Snakewater was anything but close however, and the peaches took the map 6-1, giving Comfortably Spanked the series win and their spot in the Premiership.

Comfortably Spanked successfully defended their Premiership spot (picture by Ness "uberchain" Delacroix)

On the other side, the newly formed Thanks Nursey faced off against a reformed Danger Dogs roster led by WARHURYEAH in Match 2. Starting out on Gullywash, Danger Dogs held off a comeback by their opponents to win the first map of the series 3-2. The Dogs' form wasn’t kept together however, as they faltered on Snakewater 5-1 against Nursey’s team. Badlands would be the decider map of the series, and Thanks Nursey would ultimately prevail, beating Danger Dogs in a convincing 6-1 to make their way to the Premiership.

With Round 1 done and two teams in the Premiership, Round 2 kicked off, with Animate taking on 3/6 in Match 3 and Danger Dogs fighting against Stevie Wonder’s Aim School in Match 4. Match 3 started out with Reckoner, where 3/6 won the map 5-1. The second game on Gullywash saw thirty nail-biting minutes between the two teams, and the map would eventually go to Animate with a 5-4 golden cap win. On Granary, the final map, 3/6 took the first round after a fifteen minute slug fest between the two teams. The rest of the map however saw utter dominance from 3/6 to finish the map 6-1 to take the series and a path to the Premiership.

Meanwhile, Match 4 commenced with Danger Dogs looking for a Premiership spot against Stevie Wonder’s Aim School. Process was the first game of the series, and the FrankerZs barked through the map with a 6-1 win. The second game on Gullywash was not as easy for the Dogs, as the Aim School came very close to taking a win. But Danger Dogs held on to take the map 5-4 to win the series and a well earned spot in the Premiership.

"Nutty" (picture by Andy Bones and Austen "tagg" Wade)

Only Animate and Stevie Wonder’s Aim School remained, and only one of them would advance to the Premiership in Match 5. The series began on Badlands, with both teams 1-1 after twenty-five minutes. In the last five minutes of the map, Animate took a crucial round to bring the score 2-1 and win the game. With their Premiership dreams on the line, Aim School looked to bring it back on Gullywash to tie the series. Unfortunately, things did not go in their favor, as Animate gained complete control to claim the map 5-1, securing the team the series win and a place in the Premiership.

With the Pre-Season Playoffs done, the teams that will compete in ETF2L Season 25 Premiership have been finalized. They are:

• Crowns eSports Club (invited)
• LEGO (invited)
• top5rocket (qualified by winning ETF2L Season 24 High)
• Comfortably Spanked (qualified via the Pre-Season Playoffs)
• Thanks Nursey (qualified via the Pre-Season Playoffs)
• 3/6 (qualified via the Pre-Season Playoffs)
• Danger Dogs (qualified via the Pre-Season Playoffs)
• Animate (qualified via the Pre-Season Playoffs)