A Change of Guard - SA/NA Monthly Final Recap

It’s time for a changing of the guard.

Welcome back to our Monthly BSC25 recap by BSEN, once again covering the Americas in the battle for glory. 

SOUTH AMERICA

South America proved to be one of the most entertaining regions this month as regional titans LOUD and Casa Brawl were both knocked to the lower bracket during qualifiers in a stunning twist against Legion Otaku and Alguem Segura respectively. 

In the first match of the day, the newly signed BC* Gaming SA, formerly Kaioperro, were pushed to their limit against February semifinalists Olimpo Squad. In a thrilling 5 set series, BC pulled ahead to advance, winning a game in every set despite losing two. Contrary to the first match. LOUD started off the day hot sweeping Alguem Segura only dropping a single game. The match had high expectations after qualifiers but fell short of the mark. 

The return of Kristian marked a turning point for SKCalalas after close set 5 loss to Olimpo Squad in February.. They cleaned up ex-teammate Jxcr and Zurita Gang in 4 sets looking dominant throughout. And despite the first seed curse of the month, Casa Brawl prevailed in another five set series against regional underdogs Legion Otaku, who took out LOUD in the qualifiers. Despite winning more games across the series, Casa Brawl pulled back three incredibly close sets to edge out the South American underdogs and advance to the semifinals. 

While many might have predicted a repeat of the LOUD-CASA match we saw in the first month, neither was destined to return to a grand final in March. BC* Gaming SA looked poised as they took out LOUD in 5 sets with excellent drafts and mechanical skill that usually falls short against the Brazilian powerhouse. Doritos advanced to his first grand final since March of last year, proving his ability to contend for the top of the region with a revamped roster of young talent. On the bottom side of the bracket, Casa Brawl simply looked outclassed as SKCalalas won the series in four, determined to prove that their full roster was a serious competitor in the scene. After several years of bouncing around the middle, the Chilean superteam proved to be better on the month and advanced into the finals against BC* Gaming SA. 

Although most of the series on the day had looked close, the finals was arguably one of the most one sided as SKC took the grand finals with a decisive 3-1 victory, each set going 2-0. They simply looked more confident with stronger drafting and creative ideas like Mandy on Safe Zone. After winning their first match, they could not be stopped as Kristian, Bryan, Rhz, and Daantz took home gold and find themselves second on the leaderboard, just behind Casa Brawl and in the running for Brawl Cup contention. 

NORTH AMERICA

North America seems to have finally proved a changing of the guard as the heroes of old don’t shine as bright as they once did. In the first match of the day, newcomer organization Eternal Esports faced off against regional favorites Tribe Gaming in a match that everyone expected to become a sweep for the NA champions. The result? Anything but. Tribe were tested as they played all five sets, securing a two set lead but looking poised to fumble the reverse sweep to the Mexican veterans. Despite excellent drafting across the series, Tribe’s synergy was just too good for ETN to overcome, and they advanced to the semifinals. 

Another surprising match saw Code OG take the victory over Pioneers in a 3-1 fashion after a miserable exit in February. Secondbest, Charlz, and OG demonstrated convincing knowledge of the meta with unique drafts that allowed them to showcase their individual talents on specific roles like Charlz and his throwers, or Secondbest and his tanks. KCP looked lost with odd drafts that weren’t able to make the cut, resulting in an early exit that places them nearly tied with 3 other teams. 

After failing to qualify in the first month, STMN’s new roster fought their way into the monthly finals looking to make up for lost time and qualify to LCQ or Worlds. Sadly, their dreams were cut short as the second newly signed BC* Gaming team, acquiring Havoc’s March grand finalist roster, continued to dominate with Evex’s aggression and amazing meta drafts. 

For the last quarterfinal of the month, Spacestation Gaming took down a weakened Elevate playing with Rafiki as a substitute for Zhar, who failed to pass the fair play check prior to the competition and teammate belal, who also failed to pass the same check. Despite some novel ideas from Elevate like Ruffs in heist to counter Crow and a set win on Hot Zone, Chino’s Janet stole the show on Gem Grab to pick up all the gems, and with it, the match. Spacestation advanced to the semifinals looking to bounce back after a first round set five lost in February to Pioneers, rivals who were knocked out in the first round giving SSG a chance to gain the edge. 

In the upper bracket, Tribe Gaming reset after their first match and seemed to finally remember who they were. Despite nice ideas, Tribe Gaming were just a cut above Code OG and took the match in a sweep. Similarly, the underdogs of February quickly proved that they should instead be favorites for the year. BC* Gaming looked excellent and swept through Spacestation only dropping a single game, a monumental upset that showcased their status not only as potential miracle run contenders, but rather a new regional favorite just as Tribe came into the spotlight last year. 

History does repeat itself though, as Tribe Gaming managed to be the only February winner to reclaim the title, and even make the grand finals in the first place. A 3-1 victory against BC* Gaming marked a new era of dominance for Tribe with new players under the banner while securing their spot at the recently announced Brawl Cup in Dallas this May. Having prepped more this month, BC continued to show promise taking a game off Tribe in two of the three sets they lost, but the overall difference in synergy proved too much for Vegeta and company to overcome. Despite the loss in the finals, BC looked primed to qualify for Brawl Cup next month barring a miracle run from Elevate or Pioneers.