NACL '23 Winter: Season Preview

The NACL returns for another season here on SportsGamer, with the stakes even higher than before. This new event not only features a large increase to the prize pool for the top 2 teams,  but perhaps the largest prize to be obtained is a trip to Helsinki to face the top team in Europe to determine who will hold the current title of “6s World Champion”. At least until the next set of teams clash between the two regions. Let’s go through the event format and how the regular season and playoffs will work before we actually talked about the team themselves. 

The regular season will feature four groups of 11 or 12 teams facing off in a group play where you well face every single team in your group twice. Six teams from each group will move on to the single elimination playoff bracket. The top two teams of each group  will get an automatic bye to the second round of the playoffs,  while teams ranked 3rd through 6th in each group will advance to the first round of the playoffs. While the first round will go as normal playoffs as proceeded, the second round will introduce the challenge system.  The challenge system will allow the top seeds from the regular season to select their opponents for their upcoming play-off round.  Whether teams will use this to get the best matchup for their team, or by setting up an entertaining series or rivalry, the possibilities are endless. The challenge system will only be used for the second round of the playoffs, and further rounds will be a reseeded playoff bracket.

With crossplay coming to NHL 23 EASHL, teams from both consoles will be able to play consistently in events like this. There will be more PlayStation teams that have come together and play in more events, and we will get to see where they stack up against the Xbox teams that have been playing in events for years. The potential for a dark horse PSN team is there, its whether they can rise to the challenge. 

Now, let's talk about the groups.

Group 1 is a very top-heavy matchup  with some interesting teams towards the middle end of the group in regards to seeding.  IslesGT comes in as the clear favorite to win their group, after a very impressive Ducks campaign which is still ongoing at the time of this writing. IslesGT is loaded with talent and will look to compete for that ticket to Finland in February.  The addition of @McFleuryadds yet another piece from the dominant Olympia that looked unstoppable. This team already has shades of its predecessor, and are poised to be a threat. Scary Hours is also no slouch, with a deep playoff run no surprise to this group, and have won titles before. The 6s scene is always better with @Gwan in it than without, and will slide into this deep squad effortlessly.

The rest of the group features teams with pedigree, but some room to prove themselves. Hidden Potential is back with the familiar duo @Shockz and @CT 66 but add fresh blood to the team such as @Flinnur and @Nick Veds, as they look to bring the brand back to the top of the pyramid. Turning Point has plenty of experience as a whole as well as a team, and are looking to get over the “elite team” hump rather than just a good playoff team. The rest of the group all depends on who surprises with their growth the most. Teams like Versatility, and Tolerance have shown the capability to snatch the final spots, but are still rather green when it comes to consistency. 

Group 2 contains some heavy hitters, but the mid table is wide open. Teams like Entourage, Instinct, and The Underdogs should realistically wrap up those top three spots.  All three of these teams have the consistency and the skill to reach the top end of  the group pretty easily and should have no trouble getting out of the group.  Legacy recently made top 8 in the Ducks event,  and while this is still a team  that should be making out of this group the majority of the time,  time will tell if  they are consistently a contender for top eight or further, or find themselves in that good team category that a lot of teams are in currently. 

After these teams,  any of these teams could realistically make the playoffs and no one would be surprised.  A lot of these teams have made playoffs in plenty of events before as individuals,  albeit with different teams. If certain teams are able to gel with their new rosters and show a higher level of chemistry compared to others, they should get the leg up to finish high in their group. I wouldn't be shocked to see any of these teams as high as 3rd in the group,  as there are a lot of teams that can surprise some of the favorites if they aren't careful. 

Group 3 contains the battle of the NHL teams. Both Caps Gaming and Anaheim Ducks Gaming field rosters in this group, and both will be battling for the top spot in the group. Teams like Eclipse, No Mercy and Evolution have had success in the past, and are banking on their roster moves to bring them back to their previous level.

With multiple PlayStation teams in this group, this will be the true test of where the two consoles stand against each other. The wildcard team in this group for me is One Unit, a team that is fairly new to the scene, but has come out swinging since starting. The team has dark horse potential to top the group and make a run in playoffs. This will be the true litmus test of whether they are a potential top 10 team, or a team that find themselves hovering around the top 25.

Finally, group 4 is a well balanced group between consistency and potential. Composure is the standout team here, and adding @officialmark07 to the blueline will add some familiarity to an already tight knit group. Former Delusions core Strictly Business has made a splash since forming, currently top 8 in the Ducks Opening tournament. The additions of @YungGren and @ProMoe to forward, along with moving @OFs back to right defense appears to be paying off, and the biggest question will be whether they can continue this pace going forward. 

The Flawless brand returns after a hiatus for some time, and will look to return to the top end of the NA scene. The PSN squad has been in the top 8 before, and will look to rekindle past success with their previous branding. Heroes and Catch 22 have an interesting rivalry, as these teams have mixed and matched between the 2 rosters for many events, so there is a certain level of familiarity and competition to their matchup. 

This event has everything you could possibly want for storylines. From the established veterans looking to win it all, to up and coming rosters looking to make their mark on the scene. The depth of teams participating is unmatched, with all teams being no slouch to play against. Some will rise to the challenge, but only one will punch their ticket to Helsinki and the world finals.

Be sure to follow twitch.tv/sportsgamergg to watch the action live, primarily on Sundays and Thursdays at 10pm ET.