With just a few weeks remaining in the season time is becoming a factor as teams compete for points. Only the top four teams at the end of the season will advance to the offline SFL 2024 US Finals in January and earn a shot at a piece of the $75,000 prize pool. So far, the same four teams have occupied those spots with only the order changing each week. Coming into this week FIGHTING SPIRIT held the top spot followed by FLYQUEST, CLOUD9 and BANDITS. SHOPIFY REBELLION was in fifth place fighting for its life and RED ROOSTER needs a miracle. This week’s Team Battles started with RED ROOSTER taking on BANDITS followed by FIGHTING SPIRIT versus FLYQUEST with SHOPIFY REBELLION against CLOUD9 as the finale.
If you missed any of season 7 and want to get caught up before reading further, check out the STREET FIGHTER LEAGUE: Pro-US Season 7 Archive or the Capcom Fighters YouTube channel’s STREET FIGHTER LEAGUE: Pro-US Season 6 video playlist for the full episodes.
RED ROOSTER (HOME) vs BANDITS (AWAY)
Away Team Player and Character Order: 1) Caba (Guile), 2) Luiman20 (Dhalsim), 3) MenaRD (Akuma), SUB) Zhen
Red Rooster needed every point it could get, not just this week but for the rest of the season to have a chance at the fourth playoff spot. Despite a valiant stand in the anchor position that could have given RED ROOSTER a chance to win the Team Battle, the result was a 40-0 win for BANDITS. This was a tremendous blow to their dwindling chances and they may be playing the role of spoiler in the final weeks.
For BANDITS this shutout was crucial because it allowed them to gain some ground on third place. Caba is having his best SFL season so far with Luiman20 also having a strong winning record as well. This is counterbalanced by MenaRD having a lot of close matches and not performing to his usual standard, but the team is still in a great spot to make the playoffs.
BANDITS got off to a strong start by winning both of the initial matches 2-0. Ajax Fidelity with his Ed faced Caba’s Guile in the first match. Caba had an effective strategy using Guile’s Sonic Booms, Flash Kick and anti-air normal to make it difficult for Ed to get too close. Ajax Fidelity played patiently, navigating the zoning looking for openings to exploit.
In the next match Mono’s A.K.I. stepped in against Luiman20’s Dhalsim and it was interesting because you don’t see these two characters together often. Luiman20 played a good mix of standoff offense with long limbs and fireballs and strong defense when Mono did get in close. Mono had some good exchanges but Luiman20 was in the driver’s seat for most of the action.
In the anchor position was Uriel Velorio with his Ken taking on MenaRD, who started the match using Akuma. This was one of the highlight matches of the week and was a nailbiter. Uriel Velorio won the first game handily, prompting MenaRD to change characters to Blanka. From this point on each game was intense, with both players making clutch plays. As the match went on you could feel the tension and there were some wild scrambles. It would go to the last round of the last game but MenaRD would surge and win the round with a perfect.
| Match | Player | Team | Character | | Player | Team | Character | Result |
| 1 | Caba | BANDITS | Guile | defeated | Ajax Fidelity | RED ROOSTER | Ed | 2-0 |
| 2 | Luiman20 | BANDITS | Dhalsim | defeated | Mono | RED ROOSTER | A.K.I. | 2-0 |
| 3 | MenaRD | BANDITS | Akuma, Blanka | defeated | Uriel Velorio | RED ROOSTER | Ken | 3-2 |
| EX | – | – | – | defeated | – | – | – | – |
| SCORE | TOTAL | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Break |
| HOME | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| AWAY | 40 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 0 |
FIGHTING SPIRIT (HOME) vs FLYQUEST (AWAY)
Away Team Player and Character Order: 1) ChrisCCH (Ed), 2) Shine (Ed), 3) Punk (Cammy), SUB) Psycho
It was a battle between first and second place in the next Team Battle as FIGHTING SPIRIT took on FLYQUEST. This was an exciting Team Battle between two teams that are riding high. Only one team could win and this time FLYQUEST came out on top 30-10. FIGHTING SPIRIT made it very close but Punk came through once again in the anchor position. After this result FLYQUEST took the top spot on the leaderboard with FIGHTING SPIRIT dropping to second.
In the opening match NL with his Akuma took on ChrisCCH using Ed with the latter winning 2-0. NL started the first game looking dominant and looked to have ChrisCCH on the ropes. In the second round NL finished a combo with ChrisCCH having a sliver of life where he made an incredible comeback to win the round. From that second round comeback NL seemed shaken and on the back foot, and Chris CCH would win both games.
Oil King using Rashid faced Shine in the next match. Shine started using Ed and had momentum in the beginning but Oil King went on offense and won the first game. Shine switched to Kimberly to try to turn the tide but Oil King would go on to win 2-0.
DCQ has been having yet another stellar season, having taken only one loss so far despite mostly playing from the anchor position. That loss was to Punk in week three, and he got the runback here. DCQ would start with JP against Punk’s Cammy but would lose the first two games. Punk’s spirits were high and DCQ switched characters to M.Bison. DCQ would regain the momentum almost immediately and win the next two games to tie the score. Punk would rally to win the last game, finishing the match 3-2.
| Match | Player | Team | Character | | Player | Team | Character | Result |
| 1 | ChrisCCH | FLYQUEST | Ed | defeated | NL | FIGHTING SPIRIT | Akuma | 2-0 |
| 2 | Oil King | FIGHTING SPIRIT | Rashid | defeated | Shine | FLYQUEST | Ed, Kimberly | 2-0 |
| 3 | Punk | FLYQUEST | Cammy | defeated | DCQ | FIGHTING SPIRIT | JP, M.Bison | 3-2 |
| EX | – | – | – | defeated | – | – | – | – |
| SCORE | TOTAL | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Break |
| HOME | 10 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| AWAY | 30 | 10 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
SHOPIFY REBELLION (HOME) vs CLOUD9 (AWAY)
Away Team Player and Character Order: 1) Lexx (Guile), 2) JB (Rashid), 3) Booce (Ken), SUB) NoahTheProdigy
SHOPIFY REBELLION has been languishing in fifth place virtually all season and was looking for a breakout against CLOUD9 this week. That didn’t materialize, with CLOUD9 winning 30-10. While 10 points is better than nothing, BANDITS getting a 40-0 shutout in this week’s first Battle means that SHOPIFY REBELLION still lost ground on fourth place. CLOUD9 is still riding a lot of momentum going into the home stretch which may serve them well even though this week’s result didn’t change their position in the standings.
Once again NuckleDu led things off for SHOPIFY REBELLION with his Cammy taking on Lexx’s Guile. This was a back-and-forth match with lots of momentum swings but Lexx would win 2-1.
Up next was HotDog29 using M.Bison versus JB’s Rashid. HotDog29 has not played much this year and his play was not to his usual standards, losing all of his matches coming into this week. This was another seesaw match with lots of momentum shifts. It would go to the last game and nerves were definitely a factor at the end but HotDog29 would come through to win 2-1. With his first win behind him HotDog29 is sure to have a boost in confidence for the next Team Battle.
It was down to the anchor position and Dual Kevin with his Rashid went in against Booce’s Ken. Dual Kevin has been one of the shining spots for SHOPIFY REBELLION, coming through for his team most of this season. Booce has been one of the star newcomers this season, winning all but one of his matches so far. In this match Booce seemed to have then answer to Dual Kevin in every facet of the game, winning with a dominant 3-0. Booce had fantastic positioning and decision-making, taking control of the match from the beginning and not letting go.
| Match | Player | Team | Character | | Player | Team | Character | Result |
| 1 | Lexx | CLOUD9 | Guile | defeated | NuckleDu | SHOPIFY REBELLION | Cammy | 2-1 |
| 2 | HotDog29 | SHOPIFY REBELLION | M.Bison | defeated | JB | CLOUD9 | Rashid | 2-1 |
| 3 | Booce | CLOUD9 | Ken | defeated | Dual Kevin | SHOPIFY REBELLION | Rashid | 3-0 |
| EX | defeated |
| SCORE | TOTAL | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Break |
| HOME | 10 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| AWAY | 30 | 10 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
TEAM STANDINGS
After eight weeks FLYQUEST takes the top spot, dropping FIGHTING SPIRIT to second place after their Team Battle this week. Those were the only two position changes as CLOUD9 and BANDITS both hold third and fourth while SHOPIFY REBELLON and RED ROOSTER hold fifth and sixth.
TUNE IN NEXT WEEK!
Be sure to catch the next episode on Twitch and YouTube on Wednesday at 4 PM Pacific, 7PM Eastern!