Los Ratones crashed out of LEC playoff contention on the final day of the regular season after a loss to Team Vitality and unfavorable results elsewhere sealed their elimination.
The streamer-led roster entered the last day of competition with a straightforward path to playoffs. Win their match and they were in. The top eight teams would advance to the playoff bracket.
Instead, LR fell to Vitality in a match that multiple observers noted could have gone either way with cleaner execution. That loss meant their playoff hopes now depended on other teams stumbling.
The math got complicated fast. LR needed a specific combination of results from matches involving G2, Movistar KOI, Team Heretics, and Shifters. Shifters did lose their match, giving LR a glimmer of hope. But G2, MKOI, and TH all won.
Once everything wrapped up, Los Ratones finished tied on record with Fnatic. The tiebreaker went to Fnatic based on head-to-head results, putting LR in ninth place. One spot out of playoffs.
Caedrel, the team owner and former pro player who has become one of League‘s most-watched co-streamers, delivered an emotional reaction live on stream as the elimination became official.
“It’s over,” he told viewers. “I don’t even know what to say.”
He explained he had “too much emotion to speak” and didn’t want to say anything he would “regret” or anything “dumb.” Fighting through the moment, he thanked his audience and reflected on the split.
“I hope you guys felt something special this split because I certainly did,” Caedrel said. “Wow I really thought we had it.”
The margins were razor-thin. Multiple teams sat at 5-5 records heading into the final day, creating a blender of playoff scenarios. A single additional victory at any point in the split would’ve guaranteed LR a playoff berth.
