Banner image: Ubisoft / @ericananmalay
The North America League started this week following the first matches of the Brazil and the Europe League, which were played between Mar. 11 and Mar. 14.
Following the arrivals of Ben "CTZN" McMillan and William "Spoit" Löfstedt in the region, all of theirr fans were looking forward to the beginning of the competition.
Keep on reading to know how the league debutants did in their first week in the competition, and how the rest of the teams performed.
Dream start for Oxygen Esports
Oxygen Esports top the standings by the conclusion of the first week of the North America League. Despite playing as the team's support and main hard breacher, Mitch "Dream" Malson led the green roster.
In just four play days, Dream has already completed or attempted 10 plants. He was the team's best player in the roster's debut in the competition, as they defeated beastcoast by 7-3.
Oxygen's first and so far only defeat came at the hands of their former teammate Gabriel "LaXInG" Mirelez, as Parabellum left Oxygen gasping for air.
It's also worth mentioning Ethan "Nuers" James' performances, especially against DarkZero Esports, where Oxygen won 7-2. He was also crucial against M80, where Evan "Yoggah" Nelson finished as the best player against his former teammates with a SiegeGG Rating of 1.44.
Spoit and CTZN kept quiet in NAL debuts
William "Spoit" Löfstedt and Ben "CTZN" McMillan's debuts in the North America League 2023 were the main focus this week in NA. However, they didn't go as expected.
Despite the Swede's performances on the first day, the European was kept quiet in M80's games against Oxygen Esports and Mirage. After winning against Mirage 7-3, the Brazilian-majority roster lost to the green organization after both Spoit and David "Iconic" Ifidon went negative.
Lucas "DiasLucas" Dias was M80's best player of the first week of competition as he had the fourth-best performance in the league with a SiegeGG Rating of 1.20.
Meanwhile, Soniqs' start to the North America League hasn't been good. After losing in maximum overtime against Spacestation Gaming, the team lost in regulation time against beascoast before they managed to defeat Parabellum. Now, Soniqs are sitting in sixth place.
CTZN's start has been far from perfect, as the British player has gone negative in every game this season. Instead, Pablo "Gryxr" Rebeil has led the team as he now averages a SiegeGG Rating of 1.28.
SSG's new roster impresses
Spacestation Gaming were one of the big doubts of the first play day, as the astronauts headed to the North America League 2023 with three new players and two new staff members.
So far, so good. The former Astralis members and Bryan "Merc" Wrzek have melded together with the two leaders of SSG's spaceship, Alec "Fultz" Fultz and Matthew "Hotancold" Stevens.
Although Spacestation currently sit in second, just one point behind Oxygen Esports, the astronauts' current place in the standings could be completely different.
Spacestation's first three games ended in 8-7 scores, as they won two and lost one. The only game to not reach overtime was the one against Parabellum, where SSG won 7-4.
Njr imperious, MrB makes beastcoast debut
DarkZero Esports had an impeccable start to the North America League with a 7-2 victory against Mirage and an 8-7 win against Spacestation Gaming.
Roberto "Panbazou" Feliciano went big for the purple squad against Mirage, as the player got a SiegeGG Rating of 1.75 after obtaining an entry balance of 5-0 (+5).
However, looking at all of the team's performances so far, Nick "njr" Rapier has been the best for DarkZero Esports. The American's SiegeGG Rating of 1.38 makes him the best player in the league now.
Following the team's victories against Mirage and M80, Oxygen defeated DarkZero Esports by 7-2. Now, the purple squad sits in fourth.
Right behind them we find beastcoast, as three of their five players made their top-flight debuts. The former Reality TV core surprised many, especially Lachlan "MrB", who is now the sixth-best rated player in the league.
After going winless in Day 1, beascoast defeated Soniqs and Spacestation Gaming to prove that their talent is there.