📝 FACEIT League 2026 - NA Master Playoffs preview

The North American FACEIT League Season 7 Master Playoffs start soon, the pinnacle tournament of the Overwatch tier two scene.

While the North America FACEIT Master Division Playoffs aren’t as much of a toss-up as EMEA’s, the teams leading the way have real potential to make an impact in OWCS. There are familiar names, OWCS alumni and fan-favourite players all competing for a spot in Phase 2 of the OWCS Open Qualifier and direct qualification to FACEIT League Master in season 8.

Dreamland vs. YFP

To begin the playoffs, top-seeded Dreamland play 8th-seeded YFP, in what should be a fairly simple matchup for the top dogs. Dreamland have become one of the most popular teams in the tournament, and have a few familiar faces on their roster; Aiden “NenWhy” McHenry played for three different teams in NA OWCS last year, and Koen “Graveyard” Dosenberger was on Shikigami in OWCS 2024.

The rest of the squad has seen success in the Overwatch Collegiate scene, and while none were able to overcome what was an Illinois State University superteam, they still placed high and showed their ability to perform at that level.

Notably, star player Alexander “Tred” Madgwick-Smith was signed by Disguised Toast in the off-season, so they will have to rely on their backup tank player Dion “Dion” Aguilar.

Despite Tred’s absence, YFP will likely still find themselves on the back foot, as apart from Dhruv “Rajeem” Pandrangi, who was part of the same Shikigami team as Koen “Graveyard” Dosenberger in OWCS 2024, most of their players lack the top-level experience Dreamland’s do. Several members have had success on a Calling All Heroes team, and Thierry “Noxious” Whitehead even played on the 2023 Canadian Overwatch World Cup team, but Dreamland are likely too big an obstacle to overcome.

NTMR Academy vs. Emote Down Mid

NTMR Academy play Emote Down Mid in the first round, and this is a matchup that could go either way. Both teams have an identical win-loss record and very similar map differentials. EDM had a couple of stumbles against weaker teams early in the season, but have been on an excellent run of form since.

Cartifan22 has been the standout and was scouted by Spacestation Gaming before the start of OWCS Stage 3 2025, but couldn’t join due to roster change limitations. He made up for it by being one of the most dynamic tank players in North America, and escaping the one-trick allegations by picking up Wrecking Ball and Hazard to complement his signature Doomfist.

Alongside him are a very strong DPS line of Carson “pdk” Terry, Ryan “Ryan” Michael Lawless and new Disguised signing Jack “Reyzr” Francis, all of whom are highly touted prospects that have already shown plenty of potential in OWCS last year. Their backline also has OWCS experience, though more limited. Dylan “Grapes” Watts, however, has had more recent success in Collegiate, playing for the 2nd-place Fisher College team.

NTMR Academy are a bit of an oddball team, with infamous Roadhog one-trick Aaron “Dirt” Alioglu on tank. Though he flexes off of Roadhog and onto Sigma most of the time, this team isn’t afraid to try new and inventive compositions, which sometimes pay dividends. Lukana also plays tank, alongside Dirt, who is able to play more traditional main tanks on dive-focused maps. This helps round out the team’s effectiveness, and has taken them to a 10-5 record overall.

NTMR vs. Extinction

The main NTMR squad are tasked with taking down Extinction. In a similar vein to Dreamland vs. YFP Gaming, on paper, NTMR have a clear advantage in individual skill and teamplay. However, Extinction managed to hand NTMR one of their two losses in a 5-map thriller towards the end of the Regular Season.

NTMR look equipped to exact their revenge. Hitscan player Joshua “Chopper” Song played for Timeless in a couple of stints in NA OWCS, and looked good doing so. Freshly signed Disguised player, Julian “Rokit” Pizana needs no introduction and made a name for himself on the version of NTMR that made waves last year, even making it to an international LAN tournament. Despite Rokit’s commitment to a different team, he’s agreed to close out the FACEIT season with NTMR. Leading the spearhead on tank is up-and-comer astdesign, who has been one of the breakout stars of the season.

Despite losing both Luke “Lukemino” Fish to an OWCS Partner Team, NTMR’s roster still has plenty to give.

Extinction are the clear underdogs, despite their win over NTMR in late January. They are known for playing through Luke “pela” Cousins’ Wrecking Ball, but have also been finding success with Thimo “TwolzZ” Wilts playing some of the off-tank heroes that are outside of pela’s hero pool. However, aside from their upset over their soon-to-be opponents, they have struggled against teams above them in the regular season, which may prevent a deep playoff run here.

Kintsugi vs. Amplify

The final match in the first round sees Kintsugi take on Amplify. Kintsugi are coming into this with confidence, with hitscan player Lucy “Winter” Falmoe predicting “an easy 3-0.”

Winter is one of several players on Kintsugi who have had tier one experience in North America. Alongside her is Z “zzz” Harvey, a NTMR mainstay in OWCS who was part of the team that made the 2024 Esports World Cup against all odds. They were also part of the Sakura squad in 2025 that placed 4th in Stage 3. Niels “Natsuki” van Herwijnen was also on that Sakura team and had plenty of ‘memorable moments’ in 2025 at the top level.

Amplify have maintained their core since their brief 2024 OWCS appearance. Although the two teams have fairly similar records, Kintsugi have dropped more games to teams below them in the standings, while Amplify seem a little less likely to lose to an underdog. Nothing is impossible, and this match could certainly go either way despite the difference in name value between the two squads.

What’s at stake?

Despite the large selection of recognisable names and individual qualities on display, this iteration of the FACEIT League Master Playoffs is poised for a thrilling crescendo and conclusion.

With automatic qualification for Phase 2 of the OWCS 2026 Stage 1 Open Qualifiers on the line, direct qualification to FACEIT Master Season 8 for the top 6 and a $17,000 prize pool, there’s everything to play for.