The organizers of StarSeries Fall 2026 have revealed which eight squads will compete in the North American Closed Qualifier. The online competition is scheduled to take place between July 28th and August 2nd.
Three prominent organizations turned down their invitations: M80, Wildcard, and Liquid. Their absence is attributed to a clash with BLAST Bounty Summer 2026. While that tournament's online stage wraps up by July 26th, the Malta-based LAN finals coincide with the qualifier dates, making it impossible for these teams to participate remotely from North America.
Among the confirmed participants, NRG stands out as the most experienced squad with substantial tier-one LAN credentials. Other notable competitors include Marsborne, Voca, and Chicken Coop, all of which have demonstrated promising performances recently.
An interesting wrinkle involves SportsBetExpert, who secured their invite through an 11th-place finish in the July VRS rankings. However, the team has undergone major roster changes with the exits of Adam "WolfY" Andersson, Ian "motm" Hardy, and Derek "dare" Brown. This raises questions about their eligibility.
Potential outcomes include SportsBetExpert forfeiting their slot, reducing the field to seven competitors, or passing the opportunity to Zomblers as the next-ranked team. Alternatively, they might retain their position by using WolfY or motm as stand-ins.
The complete participant list features NRG, Voca, Chicken Coop, Marsborne, LAG, SportsBetExpert, Iowa Stormboar, and regain. Competition kicks off on July 28th.
