Two teams have clinched spots so far in the Playoffs with the end of the season in sight. NASR has been the runaway leader in STREET FIGHTER LEAGUE season four with a 7-2 record and earned their spot early. After that the standings have been incredibly close and the second Playoff spot was secured by NORDAVIND only last week with their win against BANDITS. Two other spots are up for grabs as just four teams will move on to the Playoffs in week sixteen. The first Team Battle this week was NORDAVIND facing off against PANDA GLOBAL with VODAFONE GIANTS taking on NASR close behind.
MISS AN EPISODE?
If you missed any of season four and want to get caught up before reading further, check out the STREET FIGHTER LEAGUE: Pro-US 2020 Season 4 Archive or the Capcom Fighters YouTube channel’s STREET FIGHTER LEAGUE: Pro-US Season 4 video playlist for the full episodes.
NORDAVIND vs PANDA GLOBAL
Banned Characters: Birdie and Kolin
Justin Wong had to leave the competition last week for personal reasons and Punk decided to go on with two players instead of bringing in an alternate. Even down a player PANDA GLOBAL showed how dangerous they still are with a clean win over NORDAVIND this week. This feat was even more impressive as Nephew’s main character Kolin was banned.
Punk led off the player order for PANDA GLOBAL facing off against Veggey. With Birdie banned Veggey elected to use Zangief, a character he hasn’t used so far in the competition. Veggey played well but couldn’t keep up any kind of momentum against Punk, who was playing patiently and staying just outside of Zangief’s ranges. Punk came away with the win in this first matchup 2-1. Nephew was up next with his G against Phenom’s Karin, a character he’s had great success with this season. You wouldn’t know that G was Nephew’s secondary character watching this matchup as he took out Phenom convincingly 2-0. Nephew’s skill at making reads matched up well with G’s ability to exploit one mistake for high damage combos. Luffy was the last player standing for NORDAVIND with Punk up again for PANDA. Luffy delivered some wins for NORDAVIND with his R. Mika over the last few weeks but Punk came out on top this week. Punk backed out of R. Mika’s reach when conditions weren’t in his favor and tried to push his opponent into the corner while staying out of that position himself. This made it hard for Luffy to establish the grab guessing games that R. Mika excels at.
Veggey’s Team NORDAVIND secured its spot in the Playoffs with its win last week so they had that pressure off their shoulders but there is still reason to play. NORDAVIND would like to keep its second place position going into the Playoffs so they can start in a better position on the bracket. For PANDA GLOBAL they just want to keep in the top four and this win was a big one to accomplish that goal.
| Player | Team | Character | | Player | Team | Character | Score |
| Punk | PANDA GLOBAL | Karin | defeated | Veggey | NORDAVIND | Zangief | 2-1 |
| Nephew | PANDA GLOBAL | G | defeated | Phenom | NORDAVIND | Karin | 2-0 |
| Punk | PANDA GLOBAL | Karin | defeated | Luffy | NORDAVIND | R. Mika | 2-1 |
VODAFONE GIANTS vs NASR
Banned Characters: Karin and Cammy
If VODAFONE GIANTS wins either of its last two matches in the season they will earn a spot in the Playoffs so they were in a good position coming in to this week. The Team has had a lot of ups and downs this season and their opponents for the last two Team Battles are first place NASR and second place NORDAVIND so its not going to be easy. NASR has nothing at all to worry about this week as they not only have a Playoff spot but they will start on the top of the bracket.
NASR is playing mostly to stay sharp and they put their skills on display once again this week. VODAFONE GIANTS is a dangerous team but NASR dispatched them with little resistance. Mister Crimson’s Dhalsim has been a big problem for a lot of teams this season but Big Bird’s Rashid had little trouble getting in and staying close. VegaPatch’s Juri put up a good fight against AngryBird’s Seth but did not have the firepower to close out rounds. The bright spot for VODAFONE GIANTS was Infexious, who made the surprise Ken pick against Problem X’s E. Honda. Infexious’ Ken looked legit as he made clutch plays to beat Problem X 2-0, playing patiently and deftly avoiding some of E. Honda’s big damage special moves. Big Bird, who plays Ken himself, would go on to eliminate Infexious using Rashid’s high maneuverability to blunt Ken’s explosive offense.
With this win NASR closes out their regular season as the undisputed king of the hill. They look every bit the defending STREET FIGHTER LEAGUE Champions and have a tidal wave of momentum behind them going into the Playoffs. VODAFONE GIANTS dropped one of their two opportunities to clinch a Playoff spot this week but they have one more chance next week against NORDAVIND.
| Player | Team | Character | | Player | Team | Character | Score |
| Big Bird | NASR | Rashid | defeated | Mister Crimson | VODAFONE GIANTS | Dhalsim | 2-0 |
| AngryBird | NASR | Seth | defeated | VegaPatch | VODAFONE GIANTS | Juri | 2-0 |
| Infexious | VODAFONE GIANTS | Ken | defeated | Problem X | NASR | E. Honda | 2-0 |
| Big Bird | NASR | Rashid | defeated | Infexious | VODAFONE GIANTS | Ken | 2-0 |
TEAM STANDINGS
With just one week left to go in the regular season there’s still at least one Playoff spot left up for grabs. VODAFONE GIANTS falls a spot to fourth place this week with their loss to NASR and absolutely needs to win next week to keep BANDITS or UYU from sneaking in ahead of them in the home stretch.
| Team | Record |
| NASR | 8-2 |
| NORDAVIND | 5-4 |
| PANDA GLOBAL | 5-5 |
| VODAFONE GIANTS | 4-5 |
| BANDITS | 3-6 |
| UYU | 3-6 |
TUNE IN NEXT WEEK!
Be sure to catch the next episode on Twitch and YouTube at 4:00 PM Pacific, 7:00 PM Eastern!