Edgar "RCTID Thiago" Guerrero and the Portland Timbers finished play Wednesday night in the eMLS League Series 1, presented by Coca-Cola qualifiers in 17th place.
After a solid first day that saw Thiago go 4-2-1 on the first day, Portland had a difficult stretch of opponents on day two with him going 1-4-2 for a LS1 total record of 5-6-3.
Guerrero started the night with three straight losses, falling 2-1 to Austin FC's xVerde, 3-0 to New York City FC's NYC Gustavo and a 3-0 loss to NYRB's Doolsta.
In Portland's fourth match, a key second half goal from Kylian Mbappé salvaged a 1-1 draw against Inter Miami's IMCF Pabs before losing a heartbreaker, 3-2 against Nashville SC's Joksan.
The end of the evening finished on the upswing with Guerrero fighting to a 1-1 draw against FC Cincinnati's Cissé and a late game-winner from Neymar to lift the Timbers to a 2-1 victory over LAFC's Savvy Panda.
While the evening left RCTID Thiago outside of the top eight places that would have qualified him for knockout round play in this weekend's League Series 1 finals, there's still loads of season still to play.
League Series 2 qualifiers begin Jan. 25-26 and with 14 games to be played then to determine seeding for the LS2 knockouts. Those results also are cumulatively added to the LS1 qualifier results to set standings ahead of the 2022 eMLS Cup at the 2022 SXSW in March. Opportunities remain to both make it to the LS2 knockouts and move up the table into one of the top 11 spots that are guaranteed a playoff spot in Austin with Thiago sitting only three points behind that 11th spot.
Be sure to tune in at www.twitch.tv/mlssoccer this weekend at 12pm PT on Saturday and Sunday to see who will be crowned the League Series 1 champ.
