The final week of the regular season is here and only four teams can move on to the Playoffs. NASR locked up its spot as the number one seed and will start the Playoffs in Grand Finals. Right behind them BANDITS was just 10 points away from securing the second place spot, which would allow them to skip the first round of the Playoffs and start in the Semi-Final as the home team. VERSUS VORTEX had a chance to overtake them but needed a perfect 40 point score in their Team Battle against BANDITS this week to pull it off. UYU in fourth place and RED ROOSTER in fifth came into this week tied on points just 30 points behind VERSUS VORTEX. Both teams were fighting for their survival. There was a lot on the line this week as each team fought to give themselves the best chance at the $75,000 prize pool in the Finals.
If you missed any of season 6 and want to get caught up before reading further, check out the STREET FIGHTER LEAGUE: Pro-US Season 6 Archive or the Capcom Fighters YouTube channel’s STREET FIGHTER LEAGUE: Pro-US Season 6 video playlist for the full episodes.
UYU (HOME) vs NASR (AWAY)
Away Team Player and Character Order: 1) Big Bird (Marisa), 2) AngryBird (Ken), 3) Punk (Cammy), 4) Nephew (Juri)
NASR’s Big Bird made it clear in the pre-Team Battle interview that they are not taking it easy on UYU this week even though they locked in first place. That was bad news for UYU, who needed every point they could get. NASR didn’t pull any punches, defeating UYU 25-20 with a tiebreaker making the difference.
The first two matches were both NASR wins to give them a 20 point lead. In the first match it is clear that Big Bird’s confidence has been restored after a rough few week earlier in the season as his Marisa bested Dual Kevin’s Luke 2-0. Dual Kevin won a round in the second game, but this match seemed to be in Big Bird’s control from start to finish.
NASR decided to put AngryBird in the second match and UYU sent in NuckleDu to face him. AngryBird and his Ken played patiently, parrying many of the projectiles thrown by NuckleDu’s Guile while waiting for an opening. This was a competitive match, but AngryBird won 2-0.
Zhen’s match in the anchor position against Punk was the bright spot for UYU as he scored a stunning 3-0 win to keep his team alive. Zhen’s offense with Dee Jay was stifling and didn’t give Punk’s Cammy much opportunity to get any momentum. In the third game Punk switched to Ken but it didn’t help as Zhen seemed confident throughout the whole match.
Zhen’s win tied up the score and it was time for a tiebreaker. Nephew’s Juri defeated VXBao’s Juri in an exceptionally fast game to complete the NASR victory. With this win NASR made Street Fighter League history as the first team to go undefeated for the entirety of a regular season. UYU managed to get 20 points and could only cheer on ENDEMIC against RED ROOSTER.
| Match | Player | Team | Character | | Player | Team | Character | Result |
| 1 | Big Bird | NASR | Marisa | defeated | Dual Kevin | UYU | Luke | 2-0 |
| 2 | AngryBird | NASR | Ken | defeated | NuckleDu | UYU | Guile | 2-0 |
| 3 | Zhen | UYU | Dee Jay | defeated | Punk | NASR | Cammy | 3-0 |
| Tie-Breaker | Nephew | NASR | Juri | defeated | VXBao | UYU | JP | 1-0 |
| SCORE | TOTAL | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Break |
| HOME | 20 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
| AWAY | 25 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 5 |
RED ROOSTER (HOME) vs ENDEMIC (AWAY)
Away Team Player and Character Order: 1) ChrisCCH (Ken), 2) Reynald (JP), 3) Samurai (Luke), 4) FlashMetroid (Blanka)
The pressure was on RED ROOSTER. UYU scored 20 points in their final Team Battle, and they needed to exceed that to survive. ENDEMIC was eliminated from Playoff contention a few weeks ago and could play relaxed knowing they had nothing to lose.
The first two matches both broke for ENDEMIC, with ChrisCCH’s Luke beating PR Balrog’s Juri and Reynald’s JP winning against Ajax Fidelity’s Juri both with 2-0 scores. ChrisCCH won his match confidently while Reynald and Ajax Fidelity’s match was wild and had many scrambles and momentum shifts.
It is here that BananaKen, arguably the MVP of the regular season, came through once again to save his team’s prospects in a tough match against Samurai in the anchor position. This was a back-and-forth match that went to the final round. Samurai’s Luke made several early escapes from the Level 2 Super from BananaKen’s JP by jump-backing out of harm’s way. There were times when it felt like Samurai had the advantage and might pull off the win, but BananaKen regrouped, made adjustments, and fought his way to a 3-2 victory.
BananaKen gave RED ROOSTER a new life in this Team Battle and now it was up to Mono to win the tiebreaker. Mono hadn’t played much this season and when he did, he lost every match up to this point. Here, where it mattered most, he came through and saved his team’s regular season. FlashMetroid’s Blanka in a one game situation with little chance to adjust is daunting but Mono put on a stellar performance in the highest of pressure situations. Mono would win comfortably, giving RED ROOSTER the 25-20 win in the Team Battle. Mono’s win was enough to earn his team the final Playoff spot over UYU by just 5 points.
| Match | Player | Team | Character | | Player | Team | Character | Result |
| 1 | ChrisCCH | ENDEMIC | Ken | defeated | PR Balrog | RED ROOSTER | Juri | 2-0 |
| 2 | Reynald | ENDEMIC | JP | defeated | Ajax Fidelity | RED ROOSTER | Juri | 2-0 |
| 3 | BananaKen | RED ROOSTER | JP | defeated | Samurai | ENDEMIC | Luke | 3-1 |
| Tie-Breaker | Mono | RED ROOSTER | Dee Jay | defeated | FlashMetroid | ENDEMIC | Blanka | – |
| SCORE | TOTAL | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Break |
| HOME | 25 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 5 |
| AWAY | 20 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
VERSUS VORTEX (HOME) vs BANDITS (AWAY)
Away Team Player and Character Order: 1) Xiao Hai (Ken), 2) Chris Tatarian (Ken), 3) MenaRD (Luke), 4) Caba
The final Team Battle for this week and for the regular season was incredibly important for both teams as it was essentially a battle for second place. Both teams had enough points to be in the Playoffs but finishing in second place allowed that team to start in the Semi-Final as the home team, which is a huge advantage. BANDITS only needed 10 points to lock down second place, so it was a tall order for their opponents. VERSUS VORTEX would need a 40-0 win to pull it off, but it was possible. VERSUS VORTEX had the home team advantage in this Team Battle and they chose their matchups well, almost pulling off the shutout.
BANDITS shut the door on VERSUS VORTEX’s prospects for second place in the very first match, but it was very close. Xian’s Dee Jay faced Xiao Hai’s Ken in a match that was very competitive. Xiao Hai would win 2-0 but for BANDITS it was all downhill from here.
Xiao Hai’s win took second place off the table for VERSUS VORTEX, but they didn’t take their foot off the gas pedal. The second match between NL’s Luke and Chris Tatarian’s Ken was intense and would go to the final round. NL has been strong all year and Chris Tatarian looked confident here. NL would win 2-1.
DCQ scored a tremendous victory in the anchor match against MenaRD, who has rarely lost all season. DCQ’s JP won a close game against MenaRD’s Luke in the first game, prompting him to change characters to Blanka. DCQ went on to win that game as well and was all smiles while MenaRD looked uncomfortable. MenaRD would get a win in the third game and for a short time his spirits were lifted only to come back down again as DCQ won the last game to win 3-1.
VERSUS VORTEX came up just short of snatching second place away from BANDITS this week and after this performance is sure to go into the Playoffs with confidence. They won the Team Battle 30-10. BANDITS got just enough points to keep second place but this surely isn’t the way they wanted to finish the regular season.
| Match | Player | Team | Character | | Player | Team | Character | Result |
| 1 | Xiao Hai | BANDITS | Ken | defeated | Xian | VERSUS VORTEX | Dee Jay | 2-0 |
| 2 | NL | VERSUS VORTEX | Luke | defeated | Chris Tatarian | BANDITS | Ken | 2-1 |
| 3 | DCQ | VERSUS VORTEX | JP | defeated | MenaRD | BANDITS | Luke, Blanka | 3-1 |
| Tie-Breaker | – | – | – | defeated | – | – | – | – |
| SCORE | TOTAL | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Break |
| HOME | 30 | 0 | 10 | 20 | 0 |
| AWAY | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
TEAM STANDINGS
After 10 weeks here are the final standings for the regular season. You can see how competitive this season was in that just 5 points separated second from third place and also fourth place from fifth place. 5 points was enough to give RED ROOSTER the final Playoff spot and to send UYU home.
| NASR | 10-0 | 290 |
| BANDITS | 5-5 | 235 |
| VERSUS VORTEX | 6-4 | 230 |
| RED ROOSTER | 3-7 | 195 |
| UYU | 4-6 | 190 |
| ENDEMIC | 2-8 | 120 |
PLAYOFF BRACKET
After 10 weeks here are the final standings for the regular season. You can see how competitive this season was in that just 5 points separated second from third place and also fourth place from fifth place. 5 points was enough to give RED ROOSTER the final Playoff spot and to send UYU home.
TUNE IN NEXT WEEK!
Be sure to catch the next episode on Twitch and YouTube on Wednesday at 4:00 PM Pacific, 7:00 PM Eastern!