The XBuyer Team secured their spot by defeating Skull and El Barrio in the Kings League Play-In.
XBuyer Team celebrates its Play-In victory, heavily influenced by the league’s dice.
The Kings League Play-In concluded with XBuyer Team emerging as the clear winner. The flashy team won both matches of the day, sparking controversy against Skull and clearly capitalizing on the dice against an exhausted El Barrio, who were tired from their previous match against Pío.
The Buyer brothers enjoyed their time in the booth and will do so again next Tuesday when they face La Capital in the quarterfinals. It will be a friendly duel against Lamine Yamal, who first visited the Cupra Arena specifically to watch XBuyer Team play with them.
**First match: more yellow cards than action**
Skull falls to XBuyer in a match dominated by yellow cards.
The first match of the afternoon at Barcelona’s port pitted the Buyer brothers, who would later become champions, against Marcelo’s Skull. It was a clash between a team destined for more and the surprise of the final league matchday.
The Buyer team, with a brilliant Galde Hugue, took an early lead in the scaling phase. The 3-1 advantage grew to 6-3 in the dice phase, with Albert López and Galde Hugue as the standout performers. Little else happened in the match. A controversial stamp by Pablo De Castro heated things up, and we saw up to four yellow cards in a second half with little football. The descalation phase also saw minimal action, as Skull, down two players, could not prevent Albert López’s winning goal.
**Pío fights hard but falls to El Barrio**
El Barrio overcomes a resilient Pío.
The second match of the afternoon was between El Barrio and Pío FC. Adri Contreras’ team was improving as the season progressed, while Rivers’ side needed to prove in the Play-In that their president’s investment had been worthwhile.
The match had two distinct halves. El Barrio capitalized on the scaling phase, building a 3-0 lead in the first five minutes. Pío tried to close the gap, but El Barrio took a comfortable lead into halftime. In the second half, Pío found a potential savior in Joan Luque, whose hat-trick brought the match to a 5-5 tie in the descalation phase. However, Naoufal Talkam, who shone for Contreras’ side, secured the victory for his team.
**Dice brings joy to XBuyer Team**
XBuyer advances to the quarterfinals after a sensational dice phase.
The final Play-In match clearly showed which team had already played the first round. El Barrio saw goalkeeper Sergio Fernández, who had been a reliable presence, go down injured right at the start. Jacobo also felt the strain on XBuyer’s side but managed to continue, unlike the goalkeeper.
The dice would deliver the final blow to Adri Contreras’ team. The two-on-two phase heavily favored the “macarras,” while El Barrio’s president suffered from the booth watching their effectiveness. From 2-1, the dice turned to 5-2, ultimately becoming insurmountable for El Barrio.
XBuyer Team advances to the playoffs and already knows their opponent: Lamine Yamal’s La Capital. They look forward to continuing their history-making run in their debut split of the Kings League, in this friendly duel that promises to be a fantastic match.
