Between patches and stand-ins, Abrahams and Melee Creeps finally find success during the Night Shift

After a dominant victory over Oblivion in the Challenger match, Abrahams secured a hard-fought 2–1 win against Buff Enjoyers, claiming the Night Shift title two months after their last trophy

This Night Shift event was notably shaped by the objective and hero changes implemented by Valve the day before, specifically the Shiv rework and the new objective known as the Rift

The evening got off to a great start for Abrahams, with Hoot absent, who had been in top form recently, and Buff Enjoyers executing a poor draft on the first map, Dimov’s stand-in had the chance to impress, however, his presence ultimately hindered the rest of the Buff Enjoyers squad throughout the match

Some thought Shiv’s rework was a nerf, but Together proved otherwise by utterly dominating the first map

The drafts were defined by permanent bans on Vindicta, Doorman, and Pocket, while Shiv and Mirage emerged as new priorities, alongside a resurgence of Mina and Apollo in the conversation.

The early game saw Abrahams once again dominating, a recurring theme for them but unlike the first map, they let the match slip away, a brilliant call by Obykim to engage the mid-boss in a 3v3 situation ultimately sealed Abrahams' fate, leading to their defeat on the second map

Doorman won't be banned in the third map, and Tas will seize the opportunity to capitalize on this by securing a quick double kill just two minutes in, this gives him and especially empty dreams a significant early game advantage. The rest of the map will be all about momentum for Abrahams, highlighted by empty dreams' Grey Talon dealing absolutely insane amounts of damage as the match progresses

It was empty dreams who seized the winning opportunity, easily taking down Drifter to secure the mid-boss and clinch the final victory for Abrahams after 35 long minutes

Abrahams will therefore play again next week in the Night Shift 36 final, while Buff Enjoyers will have to go through the challenger match.

During a record breaking long Night Shift session, Melee Creeps returned to winning ways, scraping hard-fought victories against Birds With Clocks (1–0) and FPS Lounge (2–1)

The evening hadn't gotten off to the best start for Melee Creeps, the trial for Venial was cancelled at the last minute and replaced by a trial for LordNM, as the team continued its search for a sixth player following Scout's departure

Europe and North America agree, Doorman and Pocket are the new priority bans regardless of the opponent. The first map is a tight contest from start to finish, during a mid-boss fight initiated by FPS Lounge, a recurring scenario plays out for the first time as Melee Creeps and Eido steal rejuvs right under the noses of a helpless FPS Lounge, though FPS Lounge manages to maintain their lead, before falling victim to a fake mid-boss play by Melee Creeps that results in the total annihilation of FPSL, handing the first map to MLC

The second map followed the same pattern, but momentum quickly shifted to FPS Lounge, they steadily extended their lead until the situation became simply unmanageable for Melee Creeps. Nevertheless, MLC put up a heroic fight, managing to stall FPSL’s advance by repeatedly stealing Rejuvs, thanks largely to an inspired performance by Eido but the deficit was ultimately too great, and after 40 minutes, Melee Creeps were defeated

Everything suggested the final match would live up to the previous ones, but the outcome seemed all but certain right from the draft, leaving Pocket to Eido was hardly the smartest move, and FPSL paid a heavy price for it throughout the game. Ultimately, a double parry by LordNM securing a clean wipe of FPSL dashed the team's hopes after about twenty minutes of play

Reflecting FPS Lounge's desperation, the entire team converged in an attempt to pick off LordNM's Silver, they finally succeeded, but at the cost of the mid boss, which was taken without any resistance by Melee Creeps

Also worth noting is Fishcake’s Vyper, which was completely unstoppable and omnipresent across the map, it played a part in capturing every single objective in the match without exception, and dealt three times as much objective damage as the top player from FPS Lounge

This one-sided final map paved the way for a victory for Melee Creeps in Night Shift 45, automatically qualifying them for the Night Shift 46 Grand Final, while FPS Lounge will have to go through the Challenger stage next week