NA Week 2: Disguised's stage hinges on two crucial matches
After a weekend that saw Spacestation come out with a strong statement victory and the current regional champs stumbling, Week 2 is set to keep up the intensity. With a new patch and only three tickets to the Midseason Championship in Paris, every match victory matters.
A new patch
Week 2 begins at the start of the Season 3 - Into the Tiger’s Den balance patch, meaning the new DPS hero Shion and many other changes will make their pro debut.
The biggest areas to watch out for are the adjustments to Jetpack Cat and Bastion. Jetpack Cat has since seen balancing that addresses her ability to sustain targets in the air, while Bastion loses a crucial perk with Armored Artillery. It will be interesting to see how pros manage the changes to the infamous Cat/Bastion composition that played a big role at the Champions Clash.
Mizuki has seen a rise in his pick rate during the Champions Clash and first weekend in North America, and will now also see strong buffs to Katashiro Return. While he was already on the rise, it will be interesting to see if these buffs play a role in determining the support lineups, especially given the weakness of Lucio’s ultimate ability.
For further information regarding the balance patch, please check out our previous article here.
LuneX Gaming vs. Disguised
After a decent start to their Stage 2, LuneX will look to rebound after their close 1-3 loss to Team Liquid. Disguised are also looking to reverse course after losing 1-3 to Team Liquid.
LuneX swiftly defeated The Kafe 3-0 and put up a solid fight against a remotivated Liquid core, but still showed that there is much work to be done after losing several close maps against Liquid. They proved that sticking to their strengths, especially Alexander "Zeb" Shepard’s Orisa and Zarya, can result in more favorable gameplay. And seeing as how the recent balance changes have only made their bad matchups weaker, LuneX seem to be a solid middle-of-the-pack team that can hold their own against the region’s best.
Disguised are still looking to find themselves in this new meta and are learning to play with their new support player, Willem "KiWii" Ryan. Although there were flashes from players like Evan "PGE" Ngo, the team also seems to have problems similar to those of their opponents, given how many errors derailed their chances of winning last weekend.
In the last stage, LuneX defeated Disguised 3-1, knocking them down to Promotion/Relegation. If Disguised hope to avoid that fate twice in a row, they will need to defeat LuneX’s comfort compositions decisively.
Spacestation Gaming vs. The Kafe
In the organisation’s debut last weekend, The Kafe went down without taking a single map against either the Dallas Fuel or LuneX. While they did seem to put up a fight against both teams, it was more often than not short-lived as both their opponents had a stronger clutch factor whenever it was needed.
Spacestation is currently riding the high after winning a one-sided 3-0 match against the Dallas Fuel. That victory was a statement from SSG, who are looking to make it to Paris and prove they are a world contender after a disappointing Champions Clash.
With a team as hungry and angry as Spacestation, The Kafe has a behemoth of a battle ahead of them.
Spacestation Gaming vs. LuneX Gaming
In what could be seen as another Game of the Week contender, Spacestation and LuneX will face off on Sunday.
Both LuneX and Spacestation have seen resurgences since competition began last weekend. Spacestation’s victory over Dallas proved that they are still a consistent threat in this region, while LuneX showed that their power level has steadily been on the rise since this core came in 4th place in Stage 3 of 2025. This matchup will be a clash of styles, seeing as how LuneX live on the sword of their comfort picks while Spacestation executes the current meta at a high level.
As previously mentioned, LuneX managed to keep the series against Team Liquid close. Each map of that series was winnable by either team, but ultimately LuneX fell short in the clutch when it mattered most. Spacestation, on the other hand, is much more refined than Liquid, and has consistently proven that they can outduel any team in this region.
While recent matches between these teams have been closer than the scorelines show, LuneX is entering into this game as the underdog. But given Zeb's recent strengths, Xander "Hawk" Domecq will need to help spearhead his squad in taking down a rising contender.
The Kafe vs. Disguised
In the previous stage while competing under the Extinction banner, The Kafe’s only match victory came against Disguised. That trend continued in the Promotion/Relegation matches, where this core defeated Disguised in the finals to secure higher seeding in Stage 2. As it stands, the record between both of these teams is 2-1 in favor of The Kafe.
Disguised’s lone victory in Stage 1 came at the hands of a weakened Team Liquid, and they have since struggled to find any matchup in their favor. But given the shared history between these two teams, this match would be the time to prove themselves as an organisation.
Depending on how their match against LuneX goes and their loss to Team Liquid last week, this game will most likely be the decider whether Disguised head to Promotion/Relegation for the second stage in a row.
Game of the Week: Dallas Fuel vs. Team Liquid
The matchup between the Dallas Fuel and Team Liquid is gearing up to be this week’s North American Game of the Week.
The Dallas Fuel suffered their first one-sided defeat in the region last weekend, and while they swiftly recovered by beating Kafe 3-0, their result against Spacestation has raised many questions. For Team Liquid, recent roster additions have proven beneficial and were largely the reason they defeated LuneX and Kafe 3-1. With Dallas looking weaker, and Liquid seeming to grow stronger, this match is sure to dictate how the stage will play out.
After their victory against Kafe, Christopher "Cjay" Smith commented on their recent struggles and further acknowledged the Fuel’s preference to play more dive-oriented compositions as opposed to the current meta’s poke-brawl style. Team Liquid is also facing their own set of challenges, given that both Kim "Attack" Jun-hwa and Jeong "KIVIS" Yeon-woo are learning English and playing on ping from South Korea.
Given that both the Fuel and Liquid are still finding their footing in this meta, both teams are looking for the victory to help set the tone for the remainder of the stage. As two favorites to make it to Paris, this match is sure to be a good one.