Oh bracket, my bracket...

Can STMN catch a break? Apparently not. 

Last month, we witnessed the resurgance of Motomamis F/A's younger talent as they managed to sweep April champions KCP in the quarterfinals, leading to their first monthly final victory. 

This month, we didn't see many major upsets in the upper bracket. Motomamis, Tribe Gaming, Luminosity, and Pioneers all managed to qualify, although KCP dropped a set to West Coast, and Luminosity dropped a set to longtime rivals STMN who once again faced the lower bracket.

In the lower bracket, we saw some major upsets contrary to last month. CT Esports, the core of former SSG NA and one game away from knocking out last month's champions in the semifinals, failed to qualify to newcomers Naucalpan Esports. Consisting of long time prospects and first time monthly finalists Elvis and Tattier alongide former coach and April monthly finalist ROLEDU, they shocked everyone with a 2-1 victory. 

For the first time this year, West Coast has failed to qualify after a 0-2 loss to Real Ones in the final round of the lower bracket, who will be making their return this month. After a rough showing in May and a close 2-1 victory over Nameless in the second to last round of the lower bracket, many did not expect this match to play out as it did. 

Newly signed Rival Esports NA, formerly 512, managed to comfortably qualify from the lower bracket with a 2-0 victory over Yippee. The APAC based organization has decided to gamble on this squad of NA talent, who have added first time monthly finalist Relax since their last appearance in the semifinals of April following Togi's departure. 

Last on the lower bracket was STMN, who secured a convincingly 2-0 victory against homeless, with notable teams like IX Squares and Bad Boys (former DC Team including the recently unretired Frixi) unfortunately being in the same bracket as the 2023 grand finalists. Let's take a look at each of our qualified teams!

QUALIFIED TEAMS

1) Motomamis F/A | Zeus, Lxffy, Killer17, R B M, Sebas (C)

Last month's champions are still free agents for now. The Sebas Blessing might just be the best counter to the Acee Jinx. With a nice 30 point lead, can MTM keep up the heat and perhaps find a new home as they look to lock in their qualifications?

2) Luminosity Gaming | charlz, Patchy, Chino, Quinaia (A)

This roster still has ground to make up, and with a blunder spiraling into a reverse sweep, LG is missing 30 points they desperately needed to stay ahead of the game. With a presumed easy match against RVL NA in the quarterfinals, all eyes are on the semifinals which will be crucial for any team. Assuming LG make it through, we're guarenteed to either see a rematch of last month's grand finals as MTM look to further their lead or the 789374534th iteration of STMN versus LG, a deciding match in the race for worlds. What's on the cards today?

3) Tribe Gaming | Ezlivi, Zoulan, Tyrant, Cori (C) 

Tribe Gaming, the North American classics, came out swinging with the first monthly final victory in a near-flawless run. However, since then, they've had two swift exits in the quarterfinals, not even reaching a set five and even getting swept by STMN last month. Although they continue to qualify from the upper bracket, they lead has now slipped away from them against the likes of MTM. Can they reignite the fire to keep their spot at the world finals? 

4) Pioneers | Juan Carlos, Pain, secondbest, Filip47 (C), Lukluk23 (A), iiNK (M)

The new org curse definitely set in last month as the April champions faced a swift 3-0 exit to May's champions Motomamis F/A in the quarterfinals, only managing to win a single game. They're coming into this month with a lot to prove - can they maintain their ability to perform, or will they crumble under the pressure?

5) Naucalpan eSports | Elvis, ROLEDU, Tattier, Sebas (C)

Did someone say upset?? The Sebas Blessing man, I'm telling you it's a thing. Naucalpan eSports managed to upset CT Esports in the final round of the lower bracket, taking the 2-1 victory to qualify. Two brand new talents and a relatively new competitor to the player stage have a mountain to overcome - can lightning strike twice?

6) Real Ones | Nathan, genie, Square, Razuen

Real Ones are back, but it's been a hard road to get here. After beating SSG NA to qualify for April, they lost in the quarterfinals to 512, now RVL NA, in a series of mishaps. Now, they're back and still want to keep their bid for LAN qualification alive. Can the Real Ones show some real magic this month?

7) Rival Esports NA | Counter, Diegogamer, Relax, Sandia (A)

Is Rival the newest BSC household name? They've decided to take a gamble on the former 512 squad along with new addition Relax this month in North America, a far cry from their Pacific homeground. Many expect LG to prepare more for their assumed semifinals match against one of two regional titans and rely on pure skill differential to make it through the quarterfinals. This could be RVL's golden chance to slip under the radar - with enough preparation and determination, can they make the upset possible?

8) STMN Esports | bobby, sans, Zhar, Acee (A), Lukiebear (M)

I said this back then and I say it again: the grand finalists at the 2023 BSWF are STILL behind in the race for LCQ or Worlds. A close loss to their rivalry to Luminosity in last month's semifinals puts them even further behind the curve. With last month's champions, an expected rematch against that same LG roster, and a tough grand finals opponent to overcome, can STMN really make a miracle run to prove they still deserve to be at the top?

Here are our predictions for this month! It's a must-win scenario for the titans of NA, so can they pull it out of the bag with so many tough matches?