It had to happen at some point—Los Ratones has just suffered its first-ever loss in the NLC, falling to NORD Esports. The team had stormed through the entire Winter Split without dropping a single series and went on to win the EMEA Masters, losing only once to Karmine Corp Blue during the Group Stage. Riding a 13-series win streak in the Northern League of Legends Championship, they had also dominated the Spring Group Stage and comfortably defeated DMG Esports in Round 1 of the playoffs.

This time, NORD Esports finally got the better of Los Ratones. After three previous losses—one of which came in a one-sided 3-0 defeat during the NLC Winter Split Grand Final played offline—NORD managed to turn the tables. Roster changes played a key role, with veteran jungler Marcin "Jankos" Jankowski stepping in to replace Lucas "Santorin" Larsen, who recently signed with Eintracht Spandau in the Prime League. The team also introduced an entirely new botlane featuring Nihat "Innaxe" Aliev as AD Carry and Alf-Kristian "Nash" Sund as support.

A well-controlled BO3

Both games of the BO3 were fairly well controlled by NORD, especially the first one, where the team’s new botlane truly shined—Innaxe ended with an impressive 11/0/5 scoreline on Varus, and Nash followed with 1/1/14 on Rell, shredding through Los Ratones’ fragile frontline to secure Game 1. The second game was much closer, with Juš "Crownie" Marušič nearly evening the series on his Tristana. But a final, decisive fight at the midlane—led by Tamás "Vizicsacsi" Kiss on Trundle and his ADC—after 42 minutes of play sealed the deal. NORD had officially taken down the EMEA champions.

After this victory, NORD qualifies directly for the Upper Bracket Final, where they will face Ruddy Sack, who have taken down BullDog Esports. The team is improving with the arrival of a completely new roster, less experienced and less known, but already proving to be more effective. Los Ratones, on the other hand, drop down to the Lower Bracket and will face the winner between Venomcrest Esports and DMG Esports as they begin their climb through the playoffs tree. They aim to claim a second consecutive split title and earn a spot in the Spring edition of the EMEA Masters.