Season four of STREET FIGHTER LEAGUE has been sensational so far with the closest and most competitive standings to date. Even this deep into the season at week thirteen there was just a one game difference between second place and fifth place. NASR is firmly entrenched in first place at 7-2 but after that it’s anyone’s game. UYU would need to win the rest of their Team Battles and tie-breakers to go their way but at 2-6 they still have a chance. Every win matters and only the top four teams move on to the Playoffs. This week’s Team Battles kicked off with NORDAVIND taking on BANDITS and was followed by UYU going up against PANDA GLOBAL.
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 BANDITS
Banned Characters: G and Karin
This Team Battle was one of the biggest reversals of fortune this season as Veggey’s NORDAVIND gets a 3-2 come-from-behind win over MenaRD’s BANDITS. It started with a stunning 2-0 win by Venatori over Phenom in a Cammy mirror match. Venatori’s win was surprising in how one-sided it was with Phenom barely putting up a struggle. Just last week Phenom beat UYU’s NL in a Cammy mirror match but Venatori had his number here. Following that MenaRD’s Sakura made quick work of Veggie’s Birdie 2-0. Veggie’s Birdie put up stiffer resistance but it was still a one sided set. Everything was going BANDITS’ way until they got to Luffy, the last player standing for NORDAVIND.
Luffy’s main character R. Mika was banned for much of the season’s first half but he has access to the character in the crucial home stretch. Luffy has been instrumental in the last two Team Battles and he was the hero this week. It started with a win against Caba’s Guile then was followed by defeating Venatori. Both matchups weren’t easy even though they were won with 2-0 scores. During the last matchup you could feel and hear BANDITS’ frustration as MenaRD let out an audible growl during the match on his way to elimination.
Phenom had to do much of the heavy lifting for NORDAVIND in the first half of the season but with R. Mika it’s Luffy’s turn to step up big. This was a big win for NORDAVIND as it gives them a bit of breathing room at second place. BANDITS is still in a tough spot this week but with the way the standings continue to play out they still have chances to get into the Playoffs.
| Player | Team | Character | | Player | Team | Character | Score |
| Venatori | BANDITS | Cammy | defeated | Phenom | NORDAVIND | Cammy | 2-0 |
| MenaRD | BANDITS | Sakura | defeated | Veggey | NORDAVIND | Birdie | 2-0 |
| Luffy | NORDAVIND | R. Mika | defeated | Caba | BANDITS | Guile | 2-0 |
| Luffy | NORDAVIND | R. Mika | defeated | Venatori | BANDITS | Cammy | 2-0 |
| Luffy | NORDAVIND | R. Mika | defeated | MenaRD | NORDAVIND | Sakura | 2-0 |
UYU vs PANDA GLOBAL
Banned Characters: Karin and Cammy
Justin Wong had to leave STREET FIGHTER LEAGUE early this week for personal reasons and won’t be competing for the rest of the season. PANDA GLOBAL could have brought in an alternate player but Punk thought it would be unfair to the other teams so he decided that the team would finish out the season with only two players. It really shows that PANDA GLOBAL wants to win on its own terms even if they have to fight uphill to do so. At 4-4 they came in on the bubble at fourth place and needed this Team Battle win to get some cushion. In last place at 2-6 UYU needed to win every Team Battle for the rest of the season to have any chance at the Playoffs.
Even with PANDA GLOBAL down a player this was not an easy win for Oil King’s UYU. The Team Battle started off in PANDA GLOBAL’s favor with Punk getting a relatively easy win with Vega over NL’s Ryu. After that both teams had to claw and scrape for every round as each matchup was close. Nephew’s Kolin came out on top over Kami’s Akira and it was down to just Oil King for UYU.
Oil King had access to his Rashid this week and that proved crucial as Punk’s Vega and Nephew’s Kolin had trouble with the character’s fast walk speed, far reaching normals and ability to put the opponent in the corner. Even so his set against Punk went down to the very last round and the matchup against Nephew was narrowly decided as well but he came out on top against both 2-1. This was certainly Oil King’s best performance of the season thus far and it could not have come at a better time. After this week both teams left as they came in, with PANDA GLOBAL precariously on the bubble and UYU on the edge but still alive to fight another day.
| Player | Team | Character | | Player | Team | Character | Score |
| Punk | PANDA GLOBAL | Vega | defeated | NL | UYU | Ryu | 2-0 |
| Nephew | PANDA GLOBAL | Kolin | defeated | Kami | UYU | Akira | 2-1 |
| Oil King | UYU | Rashid | defeated | Punk | PANDA GLOBAL | Vega | 2-1 |
| Oil King | UYU | Rashid | defeated | Nephew | PANDA GLOBAL | Kolin | 2-1 |
TEAM STANDINGS
There was no movement in the standings this week with each of the teams who played this week solidifying their positions. NORDAVIND gets some breathing room at 5-3 in second place. Only one game separates third place from last place which will make the fight for top four very interesting in the season’s closing weeks.
| Team | Record |
| NASR | 7-2 |
| NORDAVIND | 5-3 |
| VODAFONE GIANTS | 4-4 |
| PANDA GLOBAL | 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!