Four Spots Up For Grabs in Worldgaming's Last Open Qualifier
After three weeks of open online qualifiers for the Worldgaming North American Championship, eight teams have secured passage further into the event by virtue of either winning one of the qualifiers outright, or gaining enough points to reach the closed qualifier stage. This weekend, one more team will earn its way straight to the live finals at FAN EXPO Canada in August, and the field for the closed qualifier stage will also be finalized.
The teams that have advanced directly to the live finals include Noble, Linked Up, and Plot Twist. Noble consists of ZombiePoopShark, AlphaKep, and Rival Series veteran Astroh. The other two teams are full of players with league play experience. Linked Up contains Sosa, Skillz, and JoeFreshness - all of whom competed this past season in the Rival Series. Plot Twist features the dynamic tandem of Taroco and Mectos, also from the Rival Series, along with Rocket League Championship Series veteran CorruptedG. This event could be a tryout for CorruptedG, whose Evil Geniuses team was relegated to the Rival Series and is presumed not to be maintaining two-thirds of the roster to hold their spot.
Teams that have mathematically secured a spot in the closed qualifiers by earning enough points include a new-look Upper90 Esports roster with Thundah and Buddy joining Demokat; Astroh's former Rival Series teammates Aeon and Rapid teaming up with RLCS substitute Sea-Bass as part of RBG Esports; WondaMike and Vince have most recently teamed with Talon under the name "Streamers"; Former World Championship contender Jacob has been joined by Noxes and LionBlaze to form "Wazoo"; and a relatively unknown team named Avidity Esports featuring Percy, Innocence, and Jruss round out the teams that know they will get to play beyond the open qualifiers.
Three teams sit behind Avidity on the bubble and will need some points or some help this weekend to move on. If the closed qualifier began right now it would include a team named Stromboulevard which appears to be representing the FrontLine Gaming Community. The roster consists of Andy, Alraz, and Brandon and reached the lower bracket finals of the tournament at GEXCon last month, and also competed in the first Skirmish Invitational of the off-season hosted by Dazerin.
A team named "Chicken Nuggets" featuring Duck, Plip, and Azfura sits in a tie with Stromboulevard at 12 points, but has not placed in the points since a 4th-place finish in the first qualifier. A top-12 finish is required to gain any points. Behind them on 9 points sits Goal Patrol, also full of RLCS/Rival Series veterans. The roster contains Dappur, TyNotTyler, and Shadow. All three players have had mixed results in their careers as of late. Dappur failed to qualify for the Rival Series this season after serving as the substitute for Splyce; TyNotTyler suffered through a disappointing season with Afterthought in the Rival Series after Allegiance was relegated from the RLCS and disbanded. Shadow's season did not go as planned in the Rival Series either. After his Upper90 team upset The Peeps in the opening week, he missed a Saturday morning match against Plot Twist. Shadow did finish the season third in scoring, with an average of 0.86 goals per game.
Behind them sit a ton of teams on 6 points or less, but the most promising among them appears to be Cleveland. The roster features the longtime duo of Bork and A_Savvy_Seal, who have teamed up with RawGreg. The trio earned just 3 points in the third qualifier, and will need a strong performance this weekend to reach the next stage. If anyone in that group of teams can do so, that would be the team to break someone's heart.
The final qualifier is scheduled for this Saturday, and will not be streamed. Players may decide to stream their own run through the tournament. The closed qualifier, which will send 3 out of 8 teams to the live finals in August, is scheduled for July 27th. FAN EXPO Canada will also host a live qualifier at the event in August as the last chance for a team to earn entry into the live finals later that weekend.
The final qualifier should be an opportunity for teams lower in the standings to make deep runs through the bracket, as it clashes with the open qualifier for Dreamhack Montreal. Coincidentally, the winner of the Worldgaming Championship also qualifies for the major in Montreal.
The teams that have advanced directly to the live finals include Noble, Linked Up, and Plot Twist. Noble consists of ZombiePoopShark, AlphaKep, and Rival Series veteran Astroh. The other two teams are full of players with league play experience. Linked Up contains Sosa, Skillz, and JoeFreshness - all of whom competed this past season in the Rival Series. Plot Twist features the dynamic tandem of Taroco and Mectos, also from the Rival Series, along with Rocket League Championship Series veteran CorruptedG. This event could be a tryout for CorruptedG, whose Evil Geniuses team was relegated to the Rival Series and is presumed not to be maintaining two-thirds of the roster to hold their spot.
Teams that have mathematically secured a spot in the closed qualifiers by earning enough points include a new-look Upper90 Esports roster with Thundah and Buddy joining Demokat; Astroh's former Rival Series teammates Aeon and Rapid teaming up with RLCS substitute Sea-Bass as part of RBG Esports; WondaMike and Vince have most recently teamed with Talon under the name "Streamers"; Former World Championship contender Jacob has been joined by Noxes and LionBlaze to form "Wazoo"; and a relatively unknown team named Avidity Esports featuring Percy, Innocence, and Jruss round out the teams that know they will get to play beyond the open qualifiers.
Three teams sit behind Avidity on the bubble and will need some points or some help this weekend to move on. If the closed qualifier began right now it would include a team named Stromboulevard which appears to be representing the FrontLine Gaming Community. The roster consists of Andy, Alraz, and Brandon and reached the lower bracket finals of the tournament at GEXCon last month, and also competed in the first Skirmish Invitational of the off-season hosted by Dazerin.
A team named "Chicken Nuggets" featuring Duck, Plip, and Azfura sits in a tie with Stromboulevard at 12 points, but has not placed in the points since a 4th-place finish in the first qualifier. A top-12 finish is required to gain any points. Behind them on 9 points sits Goal Patrol, also full of RLCS/Rival Series veterans. The roster contains Dappur, TyNotTyler, and Shadow. All three players have had mixed results in their careers as of late. Dappur failed to qualify for the Rival Series this season after serving as the substitute for Splyce; TyNotTyler suffered through a disappointing season with Afterthought in the Rival Series after Allegiance was relegated from the RLCS and disbanded. Shadow's season did not go as planned in the Rival Series either. After his Upper90 team upset The Peeps in the opening week, he missed a Saturday morning match against Plot Twist. Shadow did finish the season third in scoring, with an average of 0.86 goals per game.
Behind them sit a ton of teams on 6 points or less, but the most promising among them appears to be Cleveland. The roster features the longtime duo of Bork and A_Savvy_Seal, who have teamed up with RawGreg. The trio earned just 3 points in the third qualifier, and will need a strong performance this weekend to reach the next stage. If anyone in that group of teams can do so, that would be the team to break someone's heart.
The final qualifier is scheduled for this Saturday, and will not be streamed. Players may decide to stream their own run through the tournament. The closed qualifier, which will send 3 out of 8 teams to the live finals in August, is scheduled for July 27th. FAN EXPO Canada will also host a live qualifier at the event in August as the last chance for a team to earn entry into the live finals later that weekend.
The final qualifier should be an opportunity for teams lower in the standings to make deep runs through the bracket, as it clashes with the open qualifier for Dreamhack Montreal. Coincidentally, the winner of the Worldgaming Championship also qualifies for the major in Montreal.
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