M80 M80 Inactive took a 3-1 win over The Guard The Guard Inactive JonahP Jonah Pulice trent Trent Cairns neT Michael Bernet valyn Jacob Batio tex Ian Botsch in the grand final of Challengers League: North America, claiming their second VCL NA title of the year heading into Americas Ascension.

Marc-Andre "NiSMO" Tayar and Mohamed "johnqt" Amine Ouarid were the stars in M80's championship run during this split, averaging a 1.21 and 1.18 rating throughout. Gianfranco "koalanoob" Potestio, despite slightly small numbers, tied for the most first kills per round (0.24), drawing the most first bloods (107) of the split.

M80 and The Guard both finished the regular season with a 4-1 record, although the latter finished second in their group. Moist Moguls Moist Moguls Inactive aproto Alex Protopapas sym Tyler Porter brawk Brock Somerhalder flyuh Xavier Carlson thief Brady Dever claimed the top seat of Group B with a flawless record. M80's only group stage loss was to Shopify Rebellion Shopify Rebellion Inactive v1c Victor Truong mada Adam Pampuch (2-0), for which they quickly got revenge in the opening round of the playoffs.

M80 swept through their other two upper bracket opponents, Oxygen Esports Oxygen Esports Inactive and Moist Moguls, on their way to the grand final. The Guard were sent to the lower bracket in their semifinal against Moist Moguls, one round after having relegated FaZe Clan FaZe Clan Inactive POISED Kevin Ngo mummAy Anthony DiPaolo TiGG Tanner Spanu BABYBAY Andrej Francisty supamen Phat Le . After getting knocked down, they went on a three win-streak.

In the lower bracket, The Guard eliminated G2 Esports G2 Esports North America Unranked jawgemo Alexander Mor trent Trent Cairns valyn Jacob Batio JonahP Jonah Pulice leaf Nathan Orf and Oxygen with clean 2-0 sweeps. They met Moist Moguls in the lower bracket final, coming out on top in a tight-knit 3-0 that came down to various individual plays and clutches. In doing so, The Guard qualified to Ascension but would still fight for seeding and the regional championship in the grand final.

Both teams held a Shorty-only pistol round in respects to Karel "Twisten" Ašenbrener.

M80 took the first blow on Fracture (13-11), but replied with a flawless Lotus (13-1), as well as two close wins on Haven (13-11) and Split (13-11). M80 crowned themselves the VCL NA champions — earning their second title of the year — and will head into Ascension with just two match losses to their name in 2023.

koalanoob stepped up for NiSMO and johnqt in the grand final, where the first downed 78 players (17 first bloods) with a match-high 1.24 rating. Alexander "zander" Dituri's lowest rating of 0.97 was higher than that of four of The Guard's players, showcasing M80's grand final dominance.

Americas Ascension runs from June 30 to July 11 between the six best teams of the Americas' Challenger Leagues. M80 and The Guard will be joined by The Union The Union Inactive Askia Estevão Ferreira GuhRVN Gustavo Ferreira pancc Fillipe Martins ntk Lucas Martins raafa Rafael Lima and 00Nation 00Nation Inactive artzin Arthur Araujo shion Gabriel Vilela b4rtin Bruno Câmara xand Alexandre Zizi bezn1 Gabriel Luiz da Costa from VCL Brazil, as well as FUSION FUSION Latin America North Unranked GLYPH Conner Garcia Xhowi Luis Enmanuel Corcino Garcia prask Mike Cortbani Fresht Juan Pablo Preciado and 9z Team 9z Team Inactive deigara Gonzalo Funes Tuli Giulliano Pozo Massone rubkkoide Facundo Chavez mizu Gabriel Gonzalez david David Olivares from LATAM North and South. These teams will be fighting for the only open 2024 VCT Americas spot.