The group stage of the North America League 2024 Stage 1 will be wrapped up later today with the final four matches before the start of the region's playoffs.
Heading to the final day of action in the group stage, the current Top 4 teams have already secured a spot in the playoffs with Oxygen Esports currently leading the standings (15 points), closely followed by M80 (14), Beastcoast (13), and Luminosity Gaming (12).
At the opposite end of the table, LOS (4) and Soniqs (7) have already been knocked out of the North America League 2024 Stage 1 following yesterday's defeats against Luminosity Gaming and Wildcard Gaming, respectively.
Therefore, this situation leaves Wildcard Gaming (11), Spacestation Gaming (11), and DarkZero Esports (9) as the sides to battle for the remaining two spots in the North America League 2024 Stage 1 Playoffs.
Curiously enough, today's match day will see Wildcard Gaming playing against DarkZero Esports. Additionally, Spacestation Gaming won't feature in today's game day as the astronauts have already played all of their Stage 1 matches.
Here's what will happen depending on the results:
Wildcard Gaming regulation win
If Wildcard Gaming got a regulation win the red organization would temporarily skyrocket to third or second place, depending on the team's round difference. Ultimately, Wildcard Gaming and Spacestation Gaming would qualify for the North America League 2024 Stage 1 Playoffs.
Wildcard Gaming overtime win
If Wildcard Gaming got an overtime win the team would climb to fourth place and secure a spot in the North America League 2024 Stage 1 Playoffs. Spacestation Gaming would follow them.
DarkZero Esports overtime win
Unfortunately for the purple organization, a DarkZero Esports win wouldn't get the team anywhere: the Americans would miss out on the playoffs.
An 8-6 victory against Wildcard Gaming would see DarkZero Esports finishing in seventh place despite having the same points as Spacestation Gaming. This is because the Six Charlotte Major champions would finish the group stage with 11 points and a round difference of -1, while Spacestation Gaming will finish with the same number of points but a round difference of 0.
DarkZero Esports 7-5 win
If DarkZero Esports won by 7-5, the purple organization would temporarily jump to fifth place. Depending on Luminosity Gaming's result against Soniqs, the team could climb to fourth place.
Meanwhile, Wildcard Gaming would finish in sixth place with 11 points and a round difference of zero, the same as Spacestation Gaming. However, Wildcard Gaming's 7-1 victory against the Astronauts earlier in the season would make the final difference.
DarkZero Esports win in rould eleven or earlier
If DarkZero Esports won by 7-4 or better, the team would qualify for the North America League 2024 Stage 1 alongside Spacestation Gaming, who would then have the same number of points as Wildcard Gaming but a better round difference.