Ankora GG had the honor of attending the finals of the EBL 2022, held last weekend in Belgrade. Our team was invited by the tournament organizators an official guest at the finals. 

Our team had the pleasure of witnessing first-hand the amazing matches played at the finals, which were both thrilling and uncertain. In the end, nuances made all the difference in determining the winner as the tournament outsider, Valiance ProGame, managed to outplay the current champion, Zvezda, in the decisive fifth game of the thrilling final of Esports Balkan League’s 11th season, becoming the new LoL champion of the Balkans.

About EBL

Esports Balkan League is the official League of Legends competition for the Balkan region, where the eight best teams fight for their share of the prize pool of 20,000 euros. After the grand final, the two best EBL teams begin their journey to the European trophy. 

The EBL is part of Riot’s system of European regional leagues, each of which sends its best teams to the European Masters – the largest European LoL competition of its kind with a prize pool of 150,000 euros. The players who perform best at the EU Masters often get the opportunity to play for one of the LEC teams. 

The goal of the league is to give players the opportunity to develop their professional career, as well as to provide fans and esports enthusiasts with the best possible esports program throughout the Balkans.

Valiance’s thrilling rise from outsider to winner

Although Valiance entered the playoffs as the underdog, they managed to outplay Partizan, Diamant and finally Zvezda. After winning against Partizan with a convincing score of 3-0 in the first round of the EBL playoffs, Valiance ProGame managed to defeat the favored Diamant in the penultimate match of the season with a score of 3-1, thereby securing the final clash against Zvezda for the second time in a row.

VPG finished the group stage of the championship with an 8-6 score and reached the playoffs via fourth place. On the other hand, Diamant was the leader of the league until the last round, and they celebrated both times against Valiance in the meeting of these teams in the group stage. Nevertheless, Valliance proved they are the most pleasant surprise of the EBL 2022, and although they entered the playoffs as the underdog, they managed to outplay Partizan, Diamant and finally Zvezda. They finished the playoffs with three tied victories in Bo5 matches, proving that they are the best LoL team in the region at the moment, crowning their amazing run in the EBL 2022.

Our team thoroughly enjoyed the exciting games of one of the most uncertain finals of the Esports Balkan League of all time. Valiance ProGame took a well-deserved victory after a fierce battle that was extremely close in terms of quality, given that all teams certainly fought with steadfast effort.