With only a few weeks left in VR League season 2, competitors and fans alike had been anxiously waiting to hear which games would be featured in the grand finals, how many players would be invited, and even how qualifiers would work. Everyone was excited when this information was released.

Meanwhile, the teams must continue to practice and play if they want to remain competitive and qualify for some of the $120,000 in prizes. Check out how the teams in Echo Arena and Onward performed in week 9.

Echo Arena

There were no huge surprises in terms of team performance in the Echo Arena European competitions this week. The cups were switched up a bit, but the same teams continued to dominate.

In European cup 9-1, TeamGravity again took first place with another 100% win percentage.

There was a new team in European cup 9-2 this week. Although they checked in, they didn’t actually participate so that resulted in teams playing an uneven number of matches.

Since TeamGravity, Backlash and BLAST! already qualified to participate in the Stage #3 Finals, this opened up spots for Team Flux and Gamma to take the slots for Cup 9.

This left two more openings for the Stage 3 Finals. Ducks Quack and Smash Dash are tied for points, but only one of them can qualify. That slot was decided in a head-to-head. The two teams had only met once in Stage #3 when Smash Dash beat Ducks Quack in Cup 7 so the tie-breaking point was awarded to them and they advanced via stage points.

North America

While the teams in Europe have switched up a bit during season 2 due to injuries and other issues, the best North American teams have played together for over two months and they’ve established their dominance in the region. With that said, teams are trying different strategies and there have even been some new teams doing well in recent weeks. Stage 3 Finals and the World Qualifiers should be interesting this season.

MetaMercs dominated Cup 9-1 with a 100% win rate. These guys have done well and are currently ranked third overall for the season.

Eclipse still outranks all the other teams in North America with a perfect record of 900 in point standings, but Eleven Point Five managed to take a series from them this week in Cup 9-2, ruining Eclipse’s typical 100% win rate in the weekly cups.

Both Team Velocity and Ne Plus Ultra took second place in their respective cups and thus earned spots in the Stage 3 Finals since the first place teams had already earned spots in previous weeks.

Atlas, a terrific team of talented players who have been largely overlooked this season, earned a slot in the Stage 3 Finals based on stage points.

Although it is expected that the top teams from both Europe and North America will continue to do well and then go up against each other in the World Grand Finals at Oculus Connect 5, you just never know what might happen. These teams still have to qualify to earn that position on stage at grand finals.

You can watch VR League events streamed live from Oculus Connect on the VR League’s social media platforms: Facebook, Twitch and YouTube. The VR League grand finals is sponsored by ESL, Oculus and Intel. Be sure to tune in for the following final events of VR League season 2.

Stage 3 Finals: August 12

Last Chance Qualifier: August 14 – 15

World Finals Qualifier: August 18 – 19

World Grand Finals (at Oculus Connect 5): September 27

Onward

Although Onward is new to the VR League this season, it already had a well-established player and fan base in the VR Master League. ESL had announced in May that they would be collaborating with the league and the game’s popularity has continued to increase.

The action is heating up as teams battle for points. Although Onward teams haven’t been competing for weekly cash prizes, the top four teams will compete on stage at Oculus Connect 5 for a portion of the $60,000 prize pool. Check out this article for more information about how teams will earn a spot at OC5.

Below are the current worldwide standings.

The following games are scheduled for the week of July 30 to August 5.

Visit Onward’s YouTube channel for some terrific video footage of completed games. You can also watch live on their Twitch page. And of course, as with all VR League games, you can watch live coverage of the competitions on the VR League’s social media: Facebook, Twitch and YouTube. Be sure to tune in for the following events: Stage 1 – Open Qualifiers: August 11 – 12 Stage 2 – Round-Robin Group Stage: August 18 – 19 Stage 3 – Semifinals A: August 24 Stage 4 – Semifinals B: August 25 Stage 5 – ESL & Oculus Invitational in Leicester, UK: Sept. 1 – 2 Stage 6 – Oculus Connect 5: Sept. 26