Week 1 Recap:

One week down, and NAL Stage 2 has provided us with plenty of storylines headed into week two. While it is far too early to crown anyone, Cloud9 and Spacestation Gaming have wasted no time making their presence known, both walking away from Week 1 undefeated with perfect 3-0 records.

Cloud9 have been particularly impressive, with a round difference of +16 across their three matches, the most dominant performance of any team in the NAL. After opening the stage with a commanding 7-0 win over 100 Thieves, they continued their hot streak with a respective 7-2 win over Outlast and a 7-3 win over Five Fears. As a team that finished seventh last stage, you’d have to say not many were expecting C9 to be so hot out the gates.

As mentioned, C9 are not the only undefeated team remaining in the league, SSG have also matched them in the win column, although their games have been a lot closer, with a 7-5 win over M80, a 7-4 win over Five Fears, and a 7-2 win over For Fun, rightfully placing them in second just behind C9 due to round count, despite having the same record.

Just behind them are Shopify Rebellion and DarkZero at 2-1. Shopify came out swinging, taking down M80 and For Fun in a dominant fashion, only losing 4 rounds between the two maps, before suffering a heartbreaking 8-7 overtime loss to Wildcard. DarkZero, meanwhile, had a much bumpier start. Their 7-3 loss to Wildcard, which unfortunately was played with a sub in Koshi, who made his NAL debut due to connectivity issues from J9O. Despite the unfortunate loss on opening day, DZ bounced back with two straight wins afterwards, keeping them just within the top four.

As for the reigning stage 1 champs, Wildcard, they sit at 2-1 following a solid first week performance. Their victories over both DarkZero and Shopify show that they are still one of the favourites to take home the crown for stage two, however they did lose out 7-5 to 100T in a close yet scrappy game. Heading into week two, it’s safe to say Wildcard are still on the hunt for that title of back to back champions.

Looking on the opposite end after week 1, the biggest disappointment as of now has undoubtedly been M80. After finishing second in Stage 1, they started off the stage going 0-3, losing out to SR, SSG, and DZ. For a roster stacked with talent, you can imagine M80 will be hungry in pursuit of their first win headed into week two.

Joining M80 on the bottom half of the standings are For Fun, 100T, and Outlast, sitting at 1-2. Considering how these teams performed in the last stage, their place in the table after week one was relatively predictable, with most of their losses coming from the upper half of the table. Lastly is Five Fears, the team sitting down in tenth place, joining M80 as the only other team yet to find their first win of the stage. After such a promising kickoff to the year, followed by a slight regression in stage one, it seems they have yet again regressed after an underwhelming display of matches in their opening week.

Week 2 Predictions:

If Week 1 was about establishing the early contenders, Week 2 is about finding out whether those trends are actually going to stick.

Thursday

For Fun Esports vs. Five Fears
Neither team has exactly set the league on fire so far, but For Fun have shown slightly more consistency. I think we’re bound to see a close game, with For Fun eventually pulling away. For Fun win, 7-5.

Wildcard vs. Spacestation
SSG have already turned a lot of heads their direction following a flawless week one, but WC’s experience and performances against teams such as SR and DZ have me favouring them despite SSG’s perfect record. Wildcard win, 8-6.

100 Thieves vs. Shopify Rebellion
After a strong opening week, Shopify should have enough firepower to take care of business against 100 Thieves, who are coming off a slow starting week one. Shopify Rebellion win, 7-4.

Cloud9 vs. DarkZero
This is the game everyone should have circled. Cloud9 sit in first, undefeated, while DarkZero are looking to prove their Wildcard loss was nothing more than a bump in the road. C9 can absolutely make this ugly, but given DZ’s track record in this matchup, I believe they’ll take the win. DarkZero win, 7-5.

M80 vs. Outlast
At 0-3, M80 are officially in free fall after a shaky first week. Luckily for them, Outlast could provide an opportunity to finally get some points on the board. Given the caliber of players on M80, I think they take this one. M80 win, 7-4.

Friday

Spacestation vs. 100 Thieves
SSG will be looking to bounce back headed into Friday. Unless 100T are able to get over their week one woes, I think SSG takes this one comfortably. Spacestation win, 7-4.

M80 vs. Five Fears
Two matches against teams around them in the standings gives M80 a chance to revive their chances at a ticket to the Osaka major. Expect them to come out guns blazing. M80 win, 7-2.

Shopify Rebellion vs. DarkZero
The two best performing teams across the year are sure to provide an entertaining matchup. Both have already shown flashes of dominance, but history says this matchup heavily favours DZ, as SR have always seemed to struggle against this ex-SSG/Astralis core. DarkZero win, 7-3.

Outlast vs. Wildcard
Wildcard will definitely be looking to challenge for their throne once again. After taking down DarkZero and Shopify in Week 1, another strong performance could put them right back in the title race. Wildcard win, 7-2.

Cloud9 vs. For Fun Esports
Cloud9 get to close out the week against For Fun, and despite a tough loss on Thursday to DZ, they quickly hop back on track for the top spot in the NAL with an excellent end to week two. Cloud9 win, 7-3

What’s Next?

One week is nowhere near enough to tell us who will make the Osaka Major, but the early picture is starting to become clearer. Although the NAL juggernauts of DZ, SR, and WC are still challenging for the top four, dark horses such as SSG and C9 have had a surprise start to the stage, providing an exciting and unpredictable race for top of the table.

Following these ten more matches coming over the course of Thursday and Friday, there is plenty of time for drastic changes to occur in the standings. But if Week 1 taught us anything, it’s that there are no free wins here in the NAL.