Banner image: Ubisoft / Kiril B.
The first game day of the North America League 2023 Stage 2 is now over. Here's everything that happened!
M80 start just like how it ended
M80 presented its BLAST R6 Major Atlanta qualifying credentials with a one-sided victory against DarkZero Esports. The last time both teams met was in the North America League 2023 Stage 1 grand finals when the Brazilian-majority roster defeated the purple squad.
This time, the result wasn't different. Playing on Border, M80 found no difficulties in defeating DarkZero Esports. The Gamers8 2023 grand finalists were 5-1 ahead by the time the teams switched sides. Three rounds later, the Brazilian-majority team got off the server with a 7-2 victory in their pockets.
Arthur "GMZ" Oliveira was the best-rated player in the match with a SiegeGG rating of 1.54 and a KOST of 89. Meanwhile, no Dark Zero Esports player scored a SiegeGG rating above 0.83.
Later on, DarkZero Esports' 7-5 victory against Mirage saw them climbing the standings up to fourth place. As they will face Oxygen Esports later today, the Six Charlotte Major champions must get wins against the big sides in the league to qualify for the BLAST R6 Major Atlanta.
Soniqs must do better to be in Atlanta
Soniqs' start to Stage 2 has been disappointing as the BLAST R6 Major Copenhagen semi-finalists lost to Wildcard Gaming and Luminosity Gaming, who just joined the league and made their debuts today.
First, Soniqs played against Wildcard Gaming in the team's North America League debut following the organization's move from the Oceania League. Although both rosters were drawn by the end of round four, Wildcard Gaming was unstoppable and quickly closed the match with a 7-2 victory.
Without a doubt, the match between Soniqs and Luminosity Gaming was the most thrilling game of the day. After three one-sided encounters, both teams offered the viewers a tight game where every kill mattered.
After going 1-9 (-8) against Wildcard, Richard "Rexen" Coronado had a fantastic performance against Luminosity Gaming as he secured 21 kills for Soniqs. Unfortunately for the player, it was not meant to be.
Rexen's freezer play in the final round of the match, including a drone hole kill, was eclipsed by George "SilentEndz" Hernández's kill trade with the Soniqs player. As the attackers hadn't planted the defuser, the defenders won the round and the match.
After these results, Soniqs' chances of a Top 2 finish have massively decreased. The team will face Beastcoast tomorrow and Mirage in one week. After that, Soniqs will play against DarkZero Esports, Spacestation Gaming, Oxygen Esports, and M80, who are solid candidates to qualify for the BLAST R6 Major Atlanta.
Wildcard Gaming tops the standings following two regulation wins
Wildcard Gaming has arrived at the North America League in style with two regulation wins on their start to the stage.
The team's victory against Soniqs was just a teaser of what was to come, as the red roster defeated Beastcoast on their second match of the day.
In his professional debut, Atom had an inconsistent day as he was the best-rated player against Soniqs with a SiegeGG rating of 1.52 but was the worst on the server against Beastcoast with a rating of 0.45.
Jaiden "Packer" Franz's debut was also worth a mention, with the team's flex averaging a SiegeGG rating of 1.33, the second-best in the team only behind Damian "Surf" Medina's 1.34.
Today, Wildcard Gaming could strengthen its position on the table as the team will play against Mirage and Luminosity Gaming.