NASR took the lead on the standings last week with its win over VODAFONE GIANTS but PANDA GLOBAL is right on their heels trailing by a single win. The first of the Team Battles this week was between PANDA GLOBAL and NORDAVIND, who came in at 1-2 in the middle of the standings. After that UYU faced off against BANDITS. Both teams are coming off losses and are looking to reverse their fortunes. After six weeks of competition it’s still extremely close with all teams being in striking distance of contention if not taking the coveted first place spot. We are also just one week away from the second half of the season where character bans become even more interesting as you can’t ban the same character twice.
MISS AN EPISODE?
If you missed any of season four and want to get caught up before reading further, check out the STREET FIGHTER LEAGUE: Pro-US 2020 Season 4 Archive or the Capcom Fighters YouTube channel’s STREET FIGHTER LEAGUE: Pro-US Season 4 video playlist for the full episodes.
NORDAVIND vs PANDA GLOBAL
Banned Characters: Poison and R.Mika
Veggey’s Team NORDAVIND last played in week four where they were swept by NASR. At 1-2 they came into this week in the middle of the standings having played the fewest total Team Battles. This week they were pitted against Punk’s PANDA GLOBAL, coming in at 3-1 in second place. PANDA GLOBAL has been winning but it hasn’t been easy, with every one of their four Team Battles taking the full five rounds to decide. This Team Battle would be no different but the result would go against them.
PANDA GLOBAL looked to be in total control of this Team Battle at first with Justin Wong and Punk easily beating Luffy and Veggey 2-0. Then there was Phenom, who is absolutely no stranger to being in high pressure situations like this one. Phenom had to work hard in each matchup but he slowly made his way through the PANDA GLOBAL lineup defeating both Nephew and Rose 2-1. The final matchup against Punk was as close as they come with virtually every round being being decided by who got the crucial last hit confirm. Phenom’s Karin looked shaky at times during this Team Battle with some questionable moves and drops but he persevered, beating Punk 2-1 to get the OCV win for NORDAVIND. The achievement is more remarkable when you consider that the matchup against Punk was a mirror match against Punk’s favorite character.
This was a tremendous win here for NORDAVIND not only in terms of impact on the standings but also for team morale and momentum. NORDAVIND now improves to 2-2 and PANDA GLOBAL drops to 3-2. For PANDA GLOBAL it will be interesting to see how they rebound next week, where they face off against first place NASR.
| Player | Team | Character | | Player | Team | Character | Score |
| Justin Wong | PANDA GLOBAL | Rose | defeated | Luffy | NORDAVIND | Kolin | 2-0 |
| Punk | PANDA GLOBAL | Karin | defeated | Veggey | NORDAVIND | Birdie | 2-0 |
| Phenom | NORDAVIND | Karin | defeated | Nephew | PANDA GLOBAL | Kolin | 2-1 |
| Phenom | NORDAVIND | Karin | defeated | Justin Wong | PANDA GLOBAL | Rose | 2-1 |
| Phenom | NORDAVIND | Karin | defeated | Punk | PANDA GLOBAL | Karin | 2-1 |
UYU vs BANDITS
Banned Characters: Guile and Rashid
Both teams came into this Team Battle with a 1-3 record at the bottom two spots on the standings. Oil King’s UYU and MenaRD’s BANDITS have both earned a big win and have let some wins slip through their fingers. With these teams sharing some of the same circumstances they also share a desire to break out with another win. The winner improves to a morale boosting 2-3 moving toward the middle of the standings while the loser sinks to 1-4.
UYU had reason to be elated as the first part of this Team Battle played out with NL defeating Venatori and Kami earning a hard-fought win over Caba. Spectators had a real treat this week as they got to witness not one but two OCVs. MenaRD, using the Birdie he used to win Capcom Cup 2017, swept UYU winning six games straight. MenaRD looked confident throughout and UYU just melted under the pressure of Birdie’s big damage offense.
This Team Battle was in UYU’s hands but it just couldn’t hold on tight enough to see it through. They just didn’t have an answer to MenaRD’s Birdie, which is arguably the best in the world. We are not yet at the halfway point of the season but UYU will have a steep uphill climb ahead at 1-4. BANDITS has another huge win that puts a lot of wind in their sails. The team will be even more dangerous in the second half of the season when Caba is allowed to use his Guile, which has been banned in every Team Battle but one so far.
| Player | Team | Character | | Player | Team | Character | Score |
| NL | UYU | Cammy | defeated | Venatori | BANDITS | Cammy | 2-0 |
| Kami | UYU | Akira | defeated | Caba | BANDITS | G | 2-1 |
| MenaRD | BANDITS | Birdie | defeated | Oil King | UYU | Seth | 2-0 |
| MenaRD | BANDITS | Birdie | defeated | NL | UYU | Cammy | 2-0 |
| MenaRD | BANDITS | Birdie | defeated | Kami | UYU | Akira | 2-0 |
TEAM STANDINGS
This week’s Team Battles didn’t result in any teams moving spots from last week due to tie-breakers but the second half of this season is going to be very interesting with there being only a two win difference between the top five teams on the standings. Remember, the top four teams move on to the Playoffs in week 17.
| Team | Record |
| NASR | 4-1 |
| PANDA GLOBAL | 3-2 |
| VODAFONE GIANTS | 2-2 |
| NORDAVIND | 2-2 |
| BANDITS | 2-3 |
| UYU | 1-4 |
TUNE IN NEXT WEEK!
Be sure to catch the next episode on Twitch and YouTube at 4:00 PM Pacific, 7:00 PM Eastern!