Get ready for the NA Spring Championships this weekend where the top eight teams of the region battle for prestige. Hammers eSports have their eyes on the prize after taking first place in both Spring Qualifiers but can Team SoloMid defend their title? Or can the newly rebranded Team Phoenix Reign claim a title for themselves after coming so close in the past. This will be 3 days of non-stop action, so be sure to tune in June 3rd at 1pm PDT on the Vainglory Twitch channel to keep up!

Before jumping into the preview of the teams, here are the latest brackets from SEMC:

(8) TEAM PHOENIX REBORN

This a team that favours the early game but struggles to keep up the needed aggression in the late game. They prefer off-meta picks, such as Kestrel, which will be sure to trip up their opponents. Interestingly, the only player on their roster with prior live experience, TheBigDog, former member of Rage Pingers, seems to sit in the substitute role, so we will have to wait and see if Team Phoenix Reborn will value experience over existing synergy, or whether they could use this to plug any nerve-induced holes in their game. Team Phoenix saw a rapid ascension into the North American scene and have established themselves with a solid base, but with very few accolades under their belt they may be in need of some concrete finishes.

Team Overview

10th for top kills/min

Average match time: 14:17

Points Q1: 0

Points Q2: 30

Player Overview

GodOfSins (lane): Celeste (x2), Glaive, Adagio, Skye

(lane): Celeste (x2), Glaive, Adagio, Skye StartingAllOver (jungle): Kestrel (x3), Celeste, Taka

Scogent (roam): Catherine (x2), Fortress, Phinn, Glaive

(7) LIBERATION X

The future of Liberation X was in doubt after ttigers split to join Hammers Kinetic however they’ve managed to fight tooth and claw to qualify with some fantastic overall team statistics that show strong synergy. With the NA championships running on update 1.17, this could be the perfect opportunity for Statusbaked to run rampant as Glaive and lead his team to victory. If LibX are smart they will use this as a key point of leverage in their draft strategy, a part of their game that has been lacking in previous championships.

Team Overview

1st for top kills/min

6th for top assists/min

4th for top CS/min

3rd for top gold/min

Average match time: 16:23

Points Q1: 20

Points Q2: 30

Player Overview

Statusbaked (lane): Skye (x4), Glaive (x3); 3rd for top kills/min

PONtheoriginal (jungle): Glaive, Adagio (x3), Glaive, Blackfeather, Krul

E36 (roam): Ardan, Fortress, Phinn (x2); 8th for top assists/min

Martohhh (roam): Catherine, Ardan, Fortress

(6) NEMESIS HYDRA

Nemesis Hydra are one of the oldest and consistently top-performing teams in NA. Hardek and LostBoyToph have experience playing together that is hard to surpass, and the addition of VONC to the mix has added an exciting dynamic to the team. However, their lack of experience as a three-man unit showed as VONC was a loose cannon, consistently on a different page than his teammates. This lack of cohesion is what they need to focus on to bring a truly solid performance to the championships. LostBoyToph has been immortalised into the vainglory hall-of-fame for phenomenal plays in previous championships and this season should be no exception!

Team Overview

2nd for top kills/min

4th for top assists/min

7th for top CS/min

9th for top gold/min

Average match time: 18:33

Points Q1: 20

Points Q2: 30

Player Overview

Hardek (lane): Ringo (x2), Skaarf, Glaive, Adagio (x2), Reim; 9th for top CS/min, 9th for top gold/min

VONC (jungle): Skye (x4), Ringo, Glaive, Taka; 10th for top kills/min

LostBoyToph (roam): Fortress (x3), Ardan (x3), Phinn; 4th for top assists/min

(5) NOBLE ESPORTS

Noble eSports is a team that should not be underestimated, particularly after an impressive quarterfinal performance where they knocked out Hammers Kinetic in a resounding 2-0 victory. Xenotek, a well-known streamer and community figure, has found success with a team that works well with his independent and aggressive playstyle. However, Update 1.17 does not favor Xenotek’s strengths. His traditional hyper-carry laners such as Ringo and Vox suffer heavily at the hands of double weapon power dive comps, meaning a lot of Noble’s success will depend on their time spent practicing.

Team Overview

10th for top assists/min

9th for top CS/min

8th for top gold/min

Average match time: 18:05

Points Q1: 0

Points Q2: 55

Player Overview

Xenotek (lane): Blackfeather (x2), Glaive, Ringo (x2), Skaarf, Adagio (x2), Skye; 3rd for top CS/min, 5th for top gold/min

uNi (jungle): Taka (x5), Adagio, Skye, Glaive (x2)

El-Riesgo (roam): Fortress (x6), Ardan (x3)

(4) TEAM PHOENIX REIGN (FORMERLY EXCRUCIO)

Excrucio took the competitive scene by storm in the Spring Season and it quickly became clear that they would be one of the major frontrunners in the upcoming Live Championships. Oldskool has always been spotlighted as one of the young prodigies of Vainglory and he seems to have found his niche alongside Ezadox and iLoveJoseph, arguably the current top jungler in NA. Team Phoenix Reign are an incredibly young team who will need to learn to keep their head in the game in a live setting. This is a team that shows natural flair, a keen intuition for game mechanics, and strategies that mark them as one of the most well-rounded teams.

Team Overview

8th for top assists/min

2nd for top CS/min

1st for top gold/min

Average match time: 15:43

Points Q1: 20

Points Q2: 100

Player Overview

Oldskool (lane): Skaarf, Adagio (x3), Blackfeather (x5), Skye (x2); 1st for top CS/min, 1st for top gold/min

1st for top CS/min, 1st for top gold/min iLoveJoseph (jungle): Taka (x5), Glaive (x5), Krul

Ezadox (roam): Ardan (x6), Fortress (x4), Glaive

(3) HAMMERS KINETIC

The fan base for Hammers will be split as they send not one but TWO all-star teams to the Spring Championships. Hammers Kinetic have had a meteoric rise and the newly formed roster were crowned the winners in their very first qualifier. Gabevizzle, the former roam player for Gankstars Sirius, has transitioned excellently to jungle, demonstrating a repertoire of plays that would make more established junglers would be envious . However, they will need to maintain their composure and synergy during those high-pressure moments of a game for that chance at first place.

Roster: ttigers (lane), Gabevizzle (jungle), SuiJeneris (roam), FearPoseidon (sub)

Team Overview

6th for top kills/min

3rd for top assists/min

3rd for top CS/min

6th for top gold/min

Average match time: 14:50

Points Q1: 90

Points Q2: 30

Player Overview

ttigers (lane): Taka (x2), Skaarf, Blackfeather, Ringo (x2), Skye

Gabevizzle (jungle): Catherine, Saw, Taka, Skye, Adagio, Kestrel, Reim; 9th for top kills/min

9th for top kills/min SuiJeneris (roam): Fortress (x5), Ardan, Glaive; 1st for top assists/min

(2) TEAM SOLOMID

“TEAM SOLO MIIIIIIID” did I hear PlayOffBeard yell? This is a team that have accrued an impressive number of illustrious achievements already. They’ll no doubt be looking to win their second championship title this weekend after their successful trans-Atlantic victory over Team Secret where they came out on top in an exciting 4-2 series. They’ve suffered a few disappointing upsets in recent community events, but this is a team known for hiding their strategies until the main show when they’re needed most. Team SoloMid favour the late game, and as a result they are the comeback kings and are well known for turning a game on its head very late. We should expect Team SoloMid to enter the championships with a confident mindset that might prove very dangerous for their rival teams. Watch out for their infamous fourth member (often in the form of clutch steals), the Kraken.

Team Overview

6th for top CS/min

4th for top gold/min

Average match time: 17:17

Points Q1: 40

Points Q2: 85

Player Overview

MICSHE (lane): Adagio (x2), Skye (x5), Skaarf, Taka

CullTheMeek (jungle): Blackfeather (x7), Alpha, Krul

FlashX (roam): Ardan (x3), Fortress (x3), Glaive (x2), Catherine

(1) HAMMERS VELOCITY

Velocity have shown no signs of slowing down after their impressive performance at the Winter Championships and this season finished 3rd in Qualifier 1 and 1st in Qualifier 2. We’ve been able to watch their synergy grow with every tournament and the team now have a vast amount of experience playing together. Going in as one of the major contenders for first place at these Live Championships all eyes will be on them to see if they can live up to the expectations and dethrone Team SoloMid, the current reigning champions and longstanding rivals.

Team Overview

8th for top kills/min

7th for top assists/min

8th for top CS/min

5th for top gold/min

Average match time: 15:34

Points Q1: 60

Points Q2: Top seed

Player Overview

DNZio (lane): Adagio (x2), Ringo (x3), Skaarf, Blackfeather (x6), Skye, Vox; 6th for top CS/min, 4th for top gold/min

6th for top CS/min, 4th for top gold/min Aloh4 (jungle): Glaive (x4), Skye (x4), Adagio (x3), Krul, Reim, Adagio

Vains (roam): Catherine (x5), Ardan (x3), Fortress (x5), Glaive; 5th for top assists/min

Matches start at 1pm PDT on Friday 3rd June. Tickets are still available if you want to attend in person and have the opportunity to pick up some swag and meet the teams and developers of the game. If you can’t go, you can catch the live stream and replays on the Vainglory Twitch channel.