Last week NASR became the first team to clinch a spot in the playoffs and now four other teams continue to battle for one of the three remaining spots. ENDEMIC is officially out of contention and now plays the role of possible spoiler. For NASR the task now is staying in first place to earn the first seed in the playoffs. The reward for achieving this is to begin the playoffs in Grand Finals, which puts them in money winning position from the start.
They cannot rest on their laurels, however, as both VERSUS VORTEX and BANDITS are just 25 points behind. NASR faced VERSUS VORTEX directly in this week’s Team Battles, with obviously large implications for both teams. BANDITS took on ENDEMIC, hoping to close the distance.
Another of this week’s Team Battles with tremendous importance to both teams was between RED ROOSTER and UYU. RED ROOSTER in fourth place had a 20-point lead over UYU in fifth. Only four teams can move on to the playoffs, so these final weeks will determine which team makes the cut.
If you missed any of season 6 and want to get caught up before reading further, check out the STREET FIGHTER LEAGUE: Pro-US Season 6 Archive or the Capcom Fighters YouTube channel’s STREET FIGHTER LEAGUE: Pro-US Season 6 video playlist for the full episodes.
BANDITS (HOME) vs ENDEMIC (AWAY)
Away Team Player and Character Order: 1) Samurai (Luke), 2) Reynald (JP), 3) ChrisCCH (Ken), 4) FlashMetroid (Blanka)
ENDEMIC is out of the playoffs, and with that burden off their shoulders can play without pressure. They are also coming off a big win last week against VERSUS VORTEX. BANDITS needed every point they could get, and ENDEMIC showed that they were not lying down. BANDITS came away with a 25-20 win, but ENDEMIC made them fight for every point.
The first two matches of the Team Battle were very close and both broke for ENDEMIC. Chris Tatarian’s Ken went in against Samurai’s Luke in the first match. In a very back and forth match Samurai came out on top 2-1 by a slim margin. Reynald’s JP was next up in ENDEMIC’s away team order and Xiao Hai took him on. Xiao Hai started the match using Ken but in the third and final game switched to Juri. Reynald would win 2-1 with a perfect last round.
ENDEMIC was up 20-0 but MenaRD had yet to play. He had played the anchor position for every single BANDITS Team Battle, so it was no surprise when he stepped in to face ChrisCCH’s Ken using Luke. The first game was a close call but after that first game MenaRD was in control for most of the match and would go on to win 3-0.
The score in the Team Battle was now tied so a tiebreaker game was needed. Caba’s Guile would face FlashMetroid’s Blanka. A single game against a tricky character like Blanka would be a daunting proposition for most players but Caba had an advantage. He has regularly played against MenaRD’s Blanka, arguably the world’s best. FlashMetroid would win the first round but Caba took the next two to win the game and the Team Battle for BANDITS.
| Match | Player | Team | Character | | Player | Team | Character | Result |
| 1 | Samurai | ENDEMIC | Luke | defeated | Chris Tatarian | BANDITS | Ken | 2-1 |
| 2 | Reynald | ENDEMIC | JP | defeated | Xiao Hai | BANDITS | Ken, Juri | 2-1 |
| 3 | MenaRD | BANDITS | Luke | defeated | ChrisCCH | ENDEMIC | Ken | 3-0 |
| Tie-Breaker | Caba | BANDITS | Guile | defeated | FlashMetroid | ENDEMIC | Blanka | 1-0 |
| SCORE | TOTAL | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Break |
| HOME | 25 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 5 |
| AWAY | 20 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
NASR (HOME) vs VERSUS VORTEX (AWAY)
Away Team Player and Character Order: 1) NL (Luke), 2) Xian (Dee Jay), 3) DCQ (JP), 4) Oil King
VERSUS VORTEX had a chance in this Team Battle to gain ground against NASR and possibly take the top spot for themselves. NASR has had some close calls this season and through it all has managed to win every Team Battle, so that’s not an easy task. VERSUS VORTEX’s hopes were dashed as NASR scored a crushing 40-0 win this week. NASR got everything they wanted here and secured their first place position in the playoffs.
Punk’s Cammy took on NL’s Luke in the first match and it was one of this week’s highlights. This was an incredible match with some unbelievable plays on both sides. NL would win the first game and very nearly won the second but Punk snatched it away in a nailbiter game. In the final round of the third game both players were at low health when Punk threw out an Overdrive Hooligan into command throw out of nowhere to win the match 2-1. It’s a move rarely seen in competitive play which is why it caught not only NL likely many viewers by complete surprise. It was a worthy end to a truly epic match.
Big Bird has struggled for a few weeks this season, but it looks like he’s getting his confidence back. Last week he won the single game tiebreaker match against RED ROOSTER’s Mono and this week he won a full 3 game set against Xian. Big Bird used Marisa, a character that can do incredible damage from a single hit. Xian’s Dee Jay played cautiously, trying not to get caught by command grabs or take one of those big damage combos. Xian won the second game, but it felt like he was always reacting to Big Bird and not imposing his own gameplan. Big Bird won 2-1.
Angry Bird’s Ken faced DCQ’s JP in the anchor position. DCQ’s JP is one of the best in the competition but AngryBird seemed to have his number in this match. AngryBird would not allow DCQ to establish JP’s zoning game, quickly getting in close and imposing a smothering offense. DCQ was deep in thought between games looking for answers and did have an outstanding win in game three, but AngryBird took the set 3-1 to finalize the Team Battle shutout.
| Match | Player | Team | Character | | Player | Team | Character | Result |
| 1 | Punk | NASR | Cammy | defeated | NL | VERSUS VORTEX | Luke | 2-1 |
| 2 | Big Bird | NASR | Marisa | defeated | Xian | VERSUS VORTEX | Dee Jay | 2-1 |
| 3 | AngryBird | NASR | Ken | defeated | DCQ | VERSUS VORTEX | JP | 3-1 |
| Tie-Breaker | – | – | – | defeated | – | – | – | – |
| SCORE | TOTAL | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Break |
| HOME | 40 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 0 |
| AWAY | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
RED ROOSTER (HOME) vs UYU (AWAY)
Away Team Player and Character Order: 1) Dual Kevin (Luke), 2) NuckleDu (Guile), 3) VXBao (JP), 4) Zhen
RED ROOSTER came into this week in fourth place and UYU in fifth, separated by just 20 points. Both teams are fighting for the last playoff spot so the pressure could not be higher for either team. In their first showing it was a close Team Battle with UYU winning 25-20 in a tiebreaker and that’s a situation that both teams wanted to avoid. They needed a clear victory with enough points to strengthen their position in the standings.
UYU came away with a 30-10 win this week. This earned them enough points to tie RED ROOSTER in points and switch their position in the standings due to tiebreakers. This win certainly helped UYU tremendously, but this means that the fate of both teams will be decided next week.
In the first match Dual Kevin’s Luke beat PR Balrog’s Juri in four straight rounds. PR Balrog had a few moments but this one was mostly in Dual Kevin’s control.
Ajax Fidelity was the player to break Punk’s unbeaten win streak last week and he got another huge win for his team this week against NuckleDu’s Guile. NuckleDu made it very difficult for Ajax Fidelity’s Juri to get in close by throwing barrages of projectiles and Flash Kicking jump-in attempts. NuckleDu won the first game, but Ajax Fidelity managed to find enough openings to triumph in the next two games to finish 2-1.
In the anchor position VXBao took on BananaKen in a JP mirror match. BananaKen has beaten every other JP player this season and he defeated VXBao 3-2 in week four. VXBao got his payback in the runback, winning 3-1 this week. He made a huge statement in game one, crushing BananaKen with back-to-back perfect rounds. BananaKen didn’t seem too shaken and answered back to win game two but that was his high point. VXBao won the next two games to finish 3-1 and secure the victory for UYU.
| Match | Player | Team | Character | | Player | Team | Character | Result |
| 1 | Dual Kevin | UYU | Luke | defeated | PR Balrog | RED ROOSTER | Juri | 2-0 |
| 2 | Ajax Fidelity | RED ROOSTER | Juri | defeated | NuckleDu | UYU | Guile | 2-1 |
| 3 | VXBao | UYU | JP | defeated | BananaKen | RED ROOSTER | JP | 3-1 |
| Tie-Breaker | – | – | – | defeated | – | – | – | – |
| SCORE | TOTAL | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Break |
| HOME | 10 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| AWAY | 30 | 10 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
TEAM STANDINGS
As we enter the final week of regular season NASR is now secure in first place. BANDITS is in a good position in second place and VERSUS VORTEX fell to third place. UYU in fourth and RED ROOSTER in fifth are tied on points and their fate will be decided next week as ENDEMIC looks on in sixth place.
| NASR | 9-0 | 265 |
| BANDITS | 5-4 | 225 |
| VERSUS VORTEX | 5-4 | 200 |
| UYU | 4-5 | 170 |
| RED ROOSTER | 2-7 | 170 |
| ENDEMIC | 2-7 | 100 |
TUNE IN NEXT WEEK!
Be sure to catch the next episode on Twitch and YouTube on Wednesday at 4:00 PM Pacific, 7:00 PM Eastern!