Everyone loves to laugh at NA until it’s open qualifier season.

Then, everyone shuts up and whips out their dusty stars and stripes banner.

“We’re an NA org, we promise!” protest Brazilian team after Brazilian team as they all try their darnest to get into the easiest regional qualifier.

That trick worked for LOS’ new team (the org that merged with TeamOne last year) as they made it to the closed qualifiers, and the same charge can reasonably be levelled at Liquid too — the Dutch organization has two Brazilians, two Canadians, a Latvian, and a Dane and you’ll never guess which qualifier they chose to compete in.

It’s not like you can blame them, it’s just a bit weird on the TO side — and makes it harder for ‘true’ NA teams to qualify.

But, Complexity and Wildcard are bucking the trend: full-NA (we count hallzerk) lineups who were the first two teams to make it to the Americas RMR.

By the time you read this, three more teams will have made it, the winners of Liquid-PA and M80-Nouns, but the bragging rights will still belong to EliGE and stanislaw’s sides. Check in on results here.

Six more slots are still available, but there is set to be a favorite exiting early as daps’ NRG meet LOS in the elimination 1-2 stage of the Swiss group stage.

Everyone wants a slice of that sweet sweet $110 million pie, but even in the ‘easy’ region, banana skins are aplenty, and who knows who will be next to slip.