Week 2 has officially concluded in North America. With qualification to the Midseason Championship in Paris slowly inching forward, every team has brought their A-Game to try and punch one of the three tickets. Some teams have slowly improved, while others are still looking for their own individual identities. 

Game of the week: Dallas Fuel 3 - 1 Team Liquid

“During Week 1…we didn’t have a lot of practice and were playing really sloppy. The patch hitting and having a reset…really, really helped set us back on track, and let us play our own game.” - Rocco "Kronik" Iacobacci

After a disappointing first match against Spacestation Gaming, Dallas Fuel quickly circled back with a decisive 3-0 win over Kafe. However, Christopher "Cjay" Smith mentioned that the team was late to scrim before the start of the stage and that there were concerns about their chances against Team Liquid. 

Liquid had begun Stage 2 with a good 2-0 start after defeating both Kafe and LuneX. While these wins were needed, some cracks remained. Despite this, they remained confident in their chances of taking down the reigning North American champs. 

Right away, Dallas appeared way more invigorated and energized. Kim "Kellan" Min-jae returned to form on his signature Winston, with the rest of the team playing around the dive style much cleaner than they had against Spacestation. Rocco "Kronik" Iacobacci also came out swinging with Overwatch’s newest hero Shion, and completely overwhelmed Team Liquid. Dallas swiftly took Oasis 2-0, forcing Liquid to rethink their strategy.

Kim "Attack" Jun-hwa had started the series on Oasis for Team Liquid, but in order to find footing on New Junk City, the coaching staff swapped in Boston "Infekted" Fine. Although it took a moment to get going, this swap seemed to revive Team Liquid, as Infekted was able to use more comfortable heroes like Orisa and Reinhardt to find the upper hand against Dallas. Xavier "zeruhh" Zambrano, in particular, showcased his strengths on Shion and found the better of Kronik in multiple engagements.

However, any momentum generated on New Junk City quickly dissipated on Dorado and Hollywood. After Map 2, Team Liquid looked lost throughout Dorado, and Dallas walked over them and even snuck the cart away in a heartbreaking C9 on Point C. Things didn’t improve on their attack, as Infekted struggled to find any footing on any tank hero he selected, opting to play Roadhog and D.Va as opposed to taking Kellan head-on in a Winston mirror.  Attack came back in on Hollywood to try and recenter their strategy, but it was ultimately not enough to stop Kronik and Kellan from taking the map in a dominant 2-1, winning the series 3-1 for Dallas. 

This victory was a statement for Dallas, as they proved they are still worthy contenders despite their recent slip against Spacestation. Kronik in particular further proved his mastery of the game, as this now marks the second time in his career that he has picked up a new DPS hero and instantly got results. Dallas now has an easy path ahead: they just need to beat Disguised or LuneX to secure their spot in the Regional Playoffs.

The troubles continue for Team Liquid, who are still looking to find some consistency. Although at times Attack and Jeong "KIVIS" Yeon-woo have brought them much cleaner play than last stage, ultimately there are still lots of growing pains to work out.

Although not entirely out of their hands, Team Liquid’s remaining opponents are Spacestation and The Kafe. If they do not polish their play before next weekend, their chances of making the playoffs may just slip from their fingers. 

“It might be a hot take, but I actually think [Team Liquid] were better with Escanor than with [Attack and KIVIS]...they’re just not meshing too well together.” - Kamden "Sugarfree" Hijada

Player of the week: Ryan "ryan" Lawless

With a new hero in the roster, many players have been experimenting and looking to perfect their own strategies. But the player who has surprised the most with their performance on Shion is the one who flew under the radar: Ryan.

Ryan has consistently been a solid player throughout 2026, giving his team the edge in many different matches that have kept other opponents on their toes. While other weaker teams may be seen as easy wins by some, NA knows that The Kafe have a weapon that has proven capable of pushing even the best teams to their limits.

While the road ahead is challenging, The Kafe can rest easy knowing their DPS line has the firepower to contend with the best of the region, and even learn the new heroes faster than the rest.

Shion shakes up the DPS line

Although it took a few maps, the newest DPS hero Shion has proven to be a lethal pick this week. Her ability to outduel many different flanker heroes, as well as apply pressure from both long and close range, has made her a sleeper pick for many DPS players in the region.

Shion also continues the trend of heroes blurring the lines between main and flex, as Shion was played in a variety of setups by both flex and hitscan DPS players. LuneX opted to run Shion with Cassidy, Disguised and Kafe paired her with Sojourn, Spacestation utilized her with Freja, and Dallas tried combining Shion with other flex DPS heroes like Pharah and Genji. While early compositions currently have her favored as a flex-DPS, keep an eye out for how Shion evolves going forward.

Tanks have largely remained along similar lines as Week 1, with D.Va in particular seeing less playtime due to the recent nerfs to her Shield System major perk. More tank players are taking a page out of LuneX’s book, as various teams consistently selected Orisa for the first time this stage. Hero selection still largely relies on any individual tank player’s preference, as teams opt for the best option that better plays to their individual strengths. 

Supports have since become more flexible than they have in years past, mostly due to the recent nerfs to Lucio’s Sound Barrier. Wuyang in particular has also quietly found his way to being a niche hero thanks to the introduction of Shion, as his abilities pair well with the new flanker. Jetpack Cat’s recent adjustments have weakened its ability to sustain targets in the air, but the flying feline has proven to still have a spot on more vertical maps. 

Heading into Week 3 and then the Regional Playoffs, teams will have more time to gel with Shion and the recent balance changes. Keep an eye out for how the meta evolves, and how teams either stick to their guns or adapt to new changes.   

Match summaries

LuneX Gaming 3 - 0 Disguised

“We’re definitely getting a lot more flexible…with this flexibility, and [Shion] especially, we feel like we can definitely punch up and take over one of the top three teams now.” - Aidan "NenWhy" McHenry

In Stage 1, LuneX was responsible for sending Disguised down to Promotion/Relegation, ending their chances of making the playoffs. This time, with a new support player and a fresh new meta, Disguised looked to get an upper hand after their rocky start against Liquid.

And while Evan "PGE" Ngo did bring a lot of heroics that got the better of xten, ultimately the whole of Disguised fell short once again of taking down LuneX. While there were flashes, especially given how close they were to reverse sweeping New Queen Street and almost taking Flashpoint, LuneX’s understanding of the meta ultimately showed the gap between the two squads. 

For LuneX, this victory further cemented their status as the fourth-best team in North America. Notably, this match was also Shion's debut in the region, and xomba used the new hero to showcase her strengths and even forced an Ajax on Willem "KiWii" Ryan.

But while this was a victory, neither New Queen Street nor New Junk City was the cleanest, as Disguised was close to taking both maps.

Spacestation Gaming 3 - 1 The Kafe

“I think everything that we’ve changed so far has had a shockingly quick, positive effect…” - Head Coach Christopher "ChrisTFer" Graham

With their record sitting at 0-2, The Kafe needed to find a win to avoid falling once more into Promotion/Relegation. Their opponent, Spacestation Gaming, had been looking good after their clean 3-0 victory over the Dallas Fuel in Week 1. 

Despite the loss, The Kafe played this series a lot closer than the scoreline suggests. Routinely, both Ryan "ryan" Lawless and Stevie "sniper" Rivera outperformed their counterparts, with ryan putting on the best Shion performance of the day. Worth noting that Spacestation slightly lifted their foot off the gas, with some unusual hero picks on Circuit Royale. 

With this loss, The Kafe fell to 0-3. To keep their hopes alive, they would need to quickly shake off the loss and prepare for Sunday’s match against Disguised. 

Spacestation may have won this series 3-1, but the victory was not the cleanest. Perhaps it was hubris, or maybe they were caught off guard, but the team ultimately found themselves on the back foot in a few maps throughout this series. Given that Denis "Lethal" Tari and Kamden "Sugarfree" Hijada were playing Sierra and Anran on Circuit Royale, this opened up the opportunity for Kafe to sneak a map win.

But Spacestation is a more experienced opponent, and clutched up when it mattered most. Lethal in particular made the decision to swap to Shion, took over the lobby and got the better of ryan in New Junk City. Regardless of how it was done, Spacestation took home the victory, and narrowed their sights on LuneX.

Spacestation Gaming 3 - 0 LuneX Gaming 

Heading into this match between Spacestation and LuneX, it wouldn’t have been too far-fetched to have expected a close fight. Spacestation started off the stage with a statement win to rechart their course to international competition, and LuneX have been steadily improving as the matches go on. 

This match was close, but ultimately LuneX’s problems from their previous series against another top team continued here. On almost every single map, LuneX was in a position to win but routinely found themselves nickel-and-dimed by making too many small mistakes. While xomba once more showed early mastery of Shion, and Alexander "Zeb" Shepard even forced Xander "Hawk" Domecq into an uneven Orisa mirror, LuneX still remained one step behind Spacestation Gaming. 

Spacestation definitely needed to work for this win, but veteran experience is one thing this squad has over LuneX, and it showed as every player outdid their counterparts when it mattered. This win was the most important of the weekend, as it not only kept Spacestation’s perfect stage alive, but it also officially locked them in for the regional playoffs and a shot at making it to Paris.

For LuneX, thanks to their record against Disguised and The Kafe, as well as help from other teams, they, too, locked in their third consecutive regional playoffs as a core.

The Kafe 3 - 1 Disguised 

“We’re pretty much a crockpot team. Last stage and this stage, we start really slow, and then we cook more and more, and then we start improving.” - Carson "pdk" Terry

After losing 0-3 to LuneX, Disguised needed to win against The Kafe to keep their playoff hopes in their hands. Both of these teams hadn’t faced off since the Promotion/Relegation tournament, where each of them took a series off the other. Now would be the perfect time for Disguised to punch back and rejoin the Partner Team level of quality.

On every map, there were moments where the team seemed to be getting the upper hand, and this was the case on New Queen Street and their sneaky backcap to force Point C on Circuit Royale. But barring some heroics from PGE and experiments with double-flex support backlines and Julian "Rokit" Pizana on Vendetta, Disguised were thoroughly behind throughout the match. 

While they can still end the stage on a high note, their remaining opponents are the Dallas Fuel and Spacestation Gaming. Their playoff chances remain largely out of their hands after this loss, but if they hope to end the stage on a high note, they will need to quickly shake it off and prepare to take on the other partnered organisations.

The Kafe surprised the region by winning this series 3-1, and much like LuneX, they too have slowly but surely been improving their gameplay.  The team also experimented with substituting in newly signed tank player Colin "Astro" Czulinski, who first saw playtime during their series against Spacestation Gaming on Saturday. Astro and Sniper rotated tank duties throughout this match, and have since solidified their roles within the team. Astro came in to play main tanks, while Sniper stays on the off tanks. 

Similarly to Disguised, The Kafe’s playoff chances are somewhat out of their hands. However, with a weakened Team Liquid left on the schedule, along with an extra boost from some of their opponents, Kafe might just sneak into the top four alongside LuneX and Spacestation.