We’ve had months of the Wild Rift Summoner Series, but now it all culminates with the NA Regional Championship!
The top teams from the three Circuits and the Last Chance Qualifier are here to meet. Not only is there the $70,000 in the prize pool to battle over, but the winner also gets the privilege to represent North America at the Horizon Cup; the crowning event of Wild Rift esports for the year, and the first global tournament for the game!
Tribe Gaming NA and NME come in as the first and second seed, arriving straight from Major 2 after also dominating Major 1. Immortals, Sentinels, Cloud9 and Grilled Cheese join them from Major 3 as the third, fourth, fifth and sixth seeds respectively. To round out the eight team roster are Choncc Chortle and Du Du Du Du Du, who battled through the Last Chance Qualifier to be here.
We’ve Power Ranked the teams and ordered them based on the average, so lets meet them and set our expectations as we enter into the NA Regional Championship!
Tribe Gaming NA (#1 Seed)
Tribe Gaming NA have moved through the Summoner Series as clear favorites. Qualifying for the NA Regional Championship with a flawless Major 2 performance, it is obvious that a loss-less bracket would cause them to be the front runner. Overall, Tribe Gaming NA boast an 88.6% win rate in series played, only dropping 17 of the past 89 games played. There’s not much more to say beyond that this team are the expected winners.
However, it might not be as clean as we anticipate. There is a doubt shadowing Tribe coming into this, and its name is NME. Tribe dropped games to NME in an otherwise lossless Major 1, and in the recent RiftMSTERS Invitational, Tribe fell in the Finals to NME; this seems to be the start of a rivalry. While Tribe are the favorites, they need to watch their backs.
“Tribe did recently take their first major series loss against NME in Riftmasters but I am still very confident in them taking the Championship. Their reign of terror has been far too long for my confidence to be shaken” - Smax
NME (#2 Seed)
NME are more than just an upset team, they’re a strong team in their own right. While not having as clean a run as Tribe, dropping games here and there, the only series losses they’ve had through the Majors to get here have been to Tribe Gaming.
“Tribe and NME are the clear front runners to win the event. Both have routinely played at a level that is markedly above the rest” -CHARM3R
We may see a lot of narratives about NME being the team to play spoiler to Tribe, but do not let that take away from how good NME is. It is simply a case of no other team is a threat to them, and the focus for NME is whether they can take Tribe Gaming NA down once more.
“Tribe have more series wins over NME up to this point (but) it's clear that NME can beat Tribe though, so it will be interesting to see how those two fair against each other” -CHARM3R
Having finished their Majors in second place, falling in the Finals to Tribe both times, you should definitely expect to see NME and Tribe match up in the Grand Finals of the NA Regional Championship. Anything else would be deemed a disappointment for either team.
Immortals (#3 Seed)
“Immortals is the ‘best of the rest’ in my mind” -CHARM3R
Immortals are coming in hot, their Major 2 performance was decidedly better than in Major 1. While the first Major still saw a respectable performance, they truly came online in Major 2 where they only dropped games to Tribe and NME. They then led through Major 3, closing it with a clean 3-0 Finals. They may be able to challenge for a top 3 spot, but we haven't seen evidence of them being quite as in-sync as Tribe and NME yet. They have had the past few weeks to prepare, so can come in with the required improvements.
"They play well as a team and have been showing improvement, but they aren't quite as in sync as the top two teams" -CHARM3R
Will the recent trend continue, will they continue going up? With YikezGG looking forward to no ping diff this week, it seems Immortals’ eyes are set on disrupting the top two places.
Sentinels (#4 Seed)
Sentinels have been on an upward trend throughout the Summoner Series, and we’re looking for it to continue through the NA Regional Championship.
“I think Sentinels are scaling up to be a really good team and I think it'll culminate in a top 3 finish above IMT and C9” -Smax
Major 1 and Major 2 left something to be desired, as they fell to Cloud9 and Immortals, leaving Sentinels knocked out in Round 2 both times. However, Major 3 saw a huge change in their performance, as they ran the gauntlet to make it to Finals; only dropping games to Immortals, the eventual winner, and also taking down Cloud9 with a 2-0.
Having seen this transformation, we expect great things from Sentinels as we come to the NA Regional Championship. Can this new groove continue? They’ve now overcome one obstacle in Cloud9, is it time to defeat the next in Immortals?
“They have put in work as a team to close the gap, and they continue to get better with each event" -CHARM3R
Choncc Chortle (#7 Seed)
Choncc Chortle have a lot of respect going their way, but is the NA Regional Championship too early to meet the expectations for such a young team? With the likes of Mali, who has made a name for themself throughout the Summoner Series, it is clear that Choncc Chortle have some incredible players.
With time, our casters expect them to be a top tier team, but some of us are hesitant on whether they’ve had the time to close the gap coming into the NA Regional Championship. They could, of course, surprise us. Remember this team, even if they falter this weekend, they will be names of note in the future.
“Choncc Chortle is REALLY good despite the lack of an org backing them and the recency of the team's creation, I think they'll be fighting for a top 4 finish and they very well could do it” -Smax
Cloud9 (#5 Seed)
It looks like Cloud9 have something to prove at the NA Regional Championship. While Sentinels have been on their upwards trajectory, Cloud9 have done the opposite. With recent roster changes, and Sentinels denying them the fourth seed, its up to Cloud9 to put the doubters in their place.
Our casters seem to be in agreement that Cloud9 have talent, but fall short as a team. A roster that includes the likes of Tarzaned and Meals shouldn’t be sniffed at. With a top player for both Wild Rift and League of Legends in the form of Zelo, who has placed well with various teams across the year so far, as well as Griff who has made an impression on our casters since joining, it is clear that this roster just need to find cohesion to find success.
“Cloud9 has a ton of raw talent on their roster. If they can nail down consistency and team cohesion, I think they could compete with the top three” -CHARM3R
Grilled Cheese (#6 Seed)
Grilled Cheese may fall under the radar as they've previously found themselves outmatched by some of the higher tier teams, but they shouldn’t be ignored.
“Grilled Cheese has clearly been the best of the yet-to-be signed teams when you look at the Majors" -CHARM3R
Just like Cloud9, this team boasts a lot of talent but struggle when it comes to cohesion as a team. They may be coming in as the sixth seed for this event, but that should be seen as their floor; they’ve decisively beat the teams below them, so the only way is up.
If any team is going to pull an upset, its likely to be Grilled Cheese. The only reason CHARM3R ranked them sixth is because they simply haven’t beaten a higher team yet. You should definitely keep your eyes on them.
“I would not be shocked if they upset one of the higher seeded squads because their talent level isn't that much lower“ -CHARM3R
Du Du Du Du Du (#8 Seed)
Du Du Du Du Du are an odd one, an unknown. They came into the Last Chance Qualifier and put on a show, even winning a game in the Grand Finals with Teemo Mid.
The team has a lot of star players, LightningT putting on plenty of carry performances over last weekend, and Premonition able to stand toe-to-toe against opponents. However, this could be exactly their problem. In an event that is so stacked with talent, you can’t rely on being individually good.
“They have some great players on their team and they relied heavily on "outplay potential" during the LCQ. Unfortunately for them, all of the teams in this event have tons of talent and that won't be enough" -CHARM3R
However, this team could easily be coming in with upset potential. They’ve taken down some admirable foes to get here, notably Jotu which had been a consistently strong team throughout the Summoner Series. With a team that thrives on individual prowess, all it takes is a little fiesta to take the game out of their opponents hands. And hey, as CHARM3R says, we’ve seen so little of this team its hard to judge them; maybe they are a top team, we just haven’t seen it yet. Expect funs games and pocket picks whenever we see this team.
With that all said, this could go any way! Tribe Gaming and NME may be set to battle it out, but Immortals and Sentinels are here with a resurgence to fight for the crown! With a Double Elimination bracket, this is the perfect setting for upsets and miracle runs to be made. It generally feels like every team could have a chance at making top four at least.
All our teams have proven themselves over the past months, now its time to show up one final time at the NA Regional Championship.
Make sure you’re here this weekend, October 8-10, to watch the pinnacle of North American Wild Rift esports battle it out on the mobile Rift! It will be fierce, fun, and filled with incredible plays. You won’t want to miss it! All the fun can be seen at twitch.tv/wildriftesports starting at 3pm ET!
Individual Power Rankings
Raafaa
Tribe Gaming #1 | NME #2 | Immortals #3 | Sentinels #4 | Cloud9 #5 | Choncc Chortle #6 | Grilled Cheese #7 | Du Du Du Du Du #8
Smax
Tribe Gaming #1 | NME #2 | Sentinels #3 | Immortals #4 | Choncc Chortle #5 | Cloud9 #6 | Grilled Cheese #7 | Du Du Du Du Du #8
CHARM3R
Tribe Gaming #1 | NME #2 | Immortals #3 | Sentinels #4 | Cloud9 #5 | Grilled Cheese #6 | Choncc Chortle #7 | Du Du Du Du Du #8
AlkBattery
Tribe Gaming #1 | NME #2 | Sentinels #3 | Immortals #4 | Choncc Chortle #5 | Cloud9 #6 | Grilled Cheese #7 | Du Du Du Du Du #8
Alistar
Tribe Gaming #1 | NME #2 | Immortals #3 | Sentinels #4 | Choncc Chortle #5 | Grilled Cheese #6 | Cloud9 #7 | Du Du Du Du Du #8