Oxygen and Dark Ratio qualify for NA Challengers 2023 Split 1

Dark Ration and Oxygen Esports secured the last two spots at the NA Challengers 2023 Split 1 through open qualifiers, joining Disguised and Breakthrough on the road to Ascension.

Dark Ratio and Oxygen Esports have qualified for the NA Challengers, making it one step closer to the Ascension Tournament. In the first two rounds of the competition, Oxygen handily dispatched underdog teams Nearest Airport and Mochi Fanclub.

Disguised’s new squad, which was put together by well-known streamer Disguised Toast, upset Oxygen 2-1 to knock them into the lower bracket. Oxygen, however, decimated The Silk Road in the final round, taking Ascent and Breeze in a dominant fashion to book their slot at the Challengers.

Dark Ratio overcomes The Nation to make it to the Challengers

After being sent to the lower bracket early on by The Nation, the Dark Ratio team pulled off a stunning comeback, winning four straight elimination matches and closing off with revenge against The Nation to get their ticket to the Challengers. Earlier in the tournament, The Nation swept Dark Ratio in dominant fashion in the opening round of the top 16.

However, Dark Ratio settled their score with Jacky “Stewie2K” Yip’s squad with an incredible 2-1 victory thanks to the incredible performances of William “Will” Cheng and Anthony “ZexRow” Colandro, who picked 69 and 71 kills, respectively.

Dark Ratio displayed outstanding composure and teamwork to defeat the highly anticipated roster, denying them the spot in the main event. Dark Ratio, however, only required the grind of the lower bracket to overcome the start-studded team who had put them through the edge of elimination.

The Nation and Silk Road prepare for their last shot at the Challengers

Six of the 12 teams participating in the NA Challengers League have already been invited by Knights Arena, the tournament’s organizer. Four teams qualified through the Open Qualifiers, while the final two teams will qualify through the Last Chance Qualifiers, which will be held from January 17 to 22.

The Silk Road, Nation, OR Esports, and other teams that didn’t make the cut through open qualifiers will compete in the LCQ, which will be their last shot to qualify for Challengers. Although there are no clear favorites, the aforementioned teams appear to be in top shape and will be popular picks for the LCQ as evidenced by their performance in the qualifiers.

NA Challengers 2023 Split 1: All participating teams:

• TSM (Invited)
• G2 Esports (Invited)
• FaZe Clan (Invited)
• The Guard (Invited)
• M80 (Invited)
• Shopify Rebellion (Invited)
• Dark Ratio (Open Qualifier
• BreakThru (Open Qualifier)
• Oxygen Esports (Open Qualifier)
• Disguised (Open Qualifier)
• TBD (LCQ)
• TBD(LCQ)

Image Credit: Wojciech Wandzel/Riot Games