Young Hopefuls: North American Challengers Open Qualifiers Conclude, 4 more teams join league

Gruelling Gauntlet

After a week of tough competition, the 4 qualified teams to the NA Challengers League have emerged. The teams are BreakThru, Disguised, Oxygen Esports, and Dark Ratio. Each of these teams survived the gauntlet from hell that included 256 teams at the start, a partial single-elimination portion, and tough opposition. That these teams are comprised of primarily new and/or young players in the scene is a testament to the depth of the North American talent pool.

All four of these teams will be competing alongside the six invited Challenger teams during the two splits this year. As previously reported, the six teams were G2 Esports, M80, FaZe Clan, TSM, Shopify Rebellion, and The Guard. A total of 12 teams will be competing in the two Challenger splits this year. The first split is slated to begin on the 1st of February until the 17th of March. The second split is set to take place after that, between the 18th of April and the 19th of May.

NA Challengers Circuit 2023. Image credit: Knights Arena

Toast Gambit

Perhaps the most captivating story of the NA Challengers Open Qualifiers, has been the journey for newly formed team Disguised. Created by popular streamer Jeremy “Disguised Toast” Wang, the team is coached by long-time legend Kyle “OCEAN” O’Brien (who also formed the team from scratch), and In-Game led by NA veteran Joshua “Steel” Nissan.

During his watchparties, where Jeremy spoke on creating the team and the effort that has been put in for the endeavour by all parties, he essentially admitted the massive gamble he had taken on. Whilst the majority of larger organization and figures would have waited for a team to qualify through Open Qualifiers before signing them, he decided to create one from scratch. Should they have failed in their run, Disguised would have had to wait until 2024 before trying again.

“Disguised Toast” also spoke on the trials and tribulations of selecting talents, stating he had considered picking up the Dark Ratio core at one point as well. However, in the end he elected to go for the narrative, creating his own team and core.

Tested Talent

While the name BreakThru should strike no recollection for most, the names on the roster should. Members such as Brady “thief” Dever, Brock “brawk” Somerhalder, and Xavier “flyuh” Carlson are all names in the Tier 2 Valorant scene who clearly had the talent but never got the timing right. Both BreakThru and Disguised qualified undefeated through the qualifiers.

Established Names

Both Oxygen Esports and Dark Ratio, both of whom qualified through the lower bracket, proved their mettle during the gauntlet. Their qualification was expected though, with big names such as Mitch “mitch” Semago in the former, and the age-old tested core of the latter.

For those teams that just fell short, such as the likes of The Nation, Version1, and others, the Last Chance Qualifier is slated to begin from the 17th of Jan.

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