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Here's a brief preview of what's to come in today's North America League game day!
Wildcard Gaming vs. M80
Following M80's underwhelming international performances during Year 8, the organization decided to create a second super roster as William "Spoit" Löfstedt and Ben "CTZN" McMillan will play together for the first time in their professional careers. It will also be the first match in the North Amrica League for Gabriel "cameram4n" Hespanhol and Adam "nudl" Hryceniak.
The team's first opposition will be Wildcard Gaming, whose roster could be seen as "America's super roster." Dylan "Bosco" Bosco and Nathanial "Rampy" Duvall, who won the Six Invitational 2021 for Spacestation Gaming, lead the team as they will play together for the first time since parting ways with the astronauts in 2023.
Oxygen Esports vs. LOS
Combining the nationality of the players in both rosters, the match between Oxygen Esports and LOS will have seven Brazilian players and only three Americans. It's time to dance some samba.
The orange organization will finally make its debut in the North America League as the project led by Thiago "xS3xyCake" Reis has the tough mission to become a successful project by qualifying for international competitions despite being surrounded by Americans.
Meanwhile, Oxygen Esports must get back on track after a disappointing Year 8 where the team's only international appearance was at Gamers8 2023.
Soniqs vs. DarkZero Esports
In what should be labeled as the match of the day, Soniqs and DarkZero Esports will meet later today in their first appearance since reaching the Six Invitational 2024 Top 6.
Since Feb. 2023, both teams have met on six occasions, with DarkZero Esports taking four wins and Soniqs two. Curiously enough, all of DarkZero Esports' wins came in the North America League 2023, while Soniqs' victories came at international competitions — at the Six Invitational 2023 and the BLAST R6 Major Atlanta.
It's worth mentioning that five of the ten maps played between both sides since Feb. 2023 were decided in overtime. Will the rosters add a sixth today?
As yesterday's play day was canceled, today will be Bryan "Merc" Wrzek and Atom's official debuts for Soniqs. Meanwhile, Nathan "Nafe" Sharp will make his debut in the North America League.
Mirage vs. Beastcoast
Mirage and Beastcoast's new rosters will finally make their debut in the North America League 2024 as both projects were recently created from scratch. Additionally, two former DarkZero Espors players will meet in this clash as Jason "Ryce" Ngo (Mirage) and Gaven "Gaveni" Black (Beastcoast) will face off in the fourth match of the day.
It's hard to say where should we expect both sides to be by the end of the group stage. However, this match could make the difference between sneaking into the final Top 8 or falling to the Open Qualifiers.
Luminosity Gaming vs. Spacestation Gaming
Edwardo "Eddy" Díaz and George "Silent" Hernández will lead their team in today's match against Spacestation Gaming, an organization that represented the duo for a short while as they represented the astronaut's academy.
Last season, Luminosity Gaming defeated Spacestation Gaming by 8-6 in the regular phase of the league's second stage. Unfortunately, the team couldn't repeat the result as they lost against the astronauts in the Last Chance Qualifiers.
Today's match will be the first game for David "iconic" Ifidon for Spacestation Gaming as the black and yellow roster has gathered four of the five players that competed for Astralis at the Six Invitational 2023.