NAL Week 2 Preview: Spoit and CTZN clash, top six to be defined this week

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Heading to the second and final week of the group stage, Oxygen Esports currently tops the standings with 9 points. Spacestation Gaming and M80 follow the green roster as they sit in second and third with 8 and 7 points, respectively.

Starting tomorrow, the final week of action of the North America League 2023 Stage 1 group stage will run until Thursday. Keep on reading to find out more about this week's matches.

For more information on what happened in the first week of the competition, check out our North America League 2023 Stage 1 Week 1 Roundup.

Spoit and CTZN face off in European  fragging clash

Although Europe has won the last three international events in Rainbow Six Siege, the scene has recently seen two of its deadliest players switching regions.

Ben "CTZN" McMillan was the first of the two as he joined Soniqs from G2 Esports to represent the North American lineup at the Six Invitational 2023. Later on, William "Spoit" Löfstedt followed in his footsteps as the Swede signed for M80. Tomorrow, both players will clash in North America for the first time since leaving Europe.

So far, both players have struggled and are far away from their best numbers in the old continent. Heading to the second week of action, Lucas "DiasLucas" Dias and Pablo "Gryxr" Rebeil have been the best for M80 and Soniqs, respectively. Meanwhile, with SiegeGG ratings of 1.03 and 0.91, Spoit and CTZN are yet to have a rock-solid performance in America.

Since the Swede's professional debut, Spoit and CTZN have met on three occasions -- two times in the European League and one in the Six Berlin Major. In all three games, Spoit's side was the winning team.

In their first clash, Spoit obtained a SiegeGG rating of 1.62. Later in the stage, Spoit and Rogue defeated G2 Esports in the Six Berlin Major quarter-finals, where the Swed was the MVP of the match with a SiegeGG rating of 1.18. Finally, in Stage 3 of the European League, Spoit got a SiegeGG rating of 1.00 in Rogue's 7-4 victory against G2 Esports.

SSG against NAL's Top 4

Spacestation Gaming had a tough start to the season as the astronauts were sent to maximum overtime in three of their initial four matches. Fortunately for the squad, their two overtime victories against Soniqs and Mirage on Day 1 and the team's regulation win against Parabellum Esports momentarily put SSG in second place.

However, things won't get any easier for Spacestation Gaming. In the second week of competition, Spacestation Gaming will only face sides in the top four of the North America League, starting with M80 and DarkZero Esports on Wednesday and Oxygen Esports on Thursday.

It's very important to understand that Spacestation Gaming have a big hill to walk now. The organization went through deep changes in the pre-season transfer window, as they didn't just welcome three new players but also changed the entirety of the staff team.

Despite the situation of the team, Spacestation Gaming got very decent results from the first week of the stage. Jack "J9O" Buckard and Alec "Fultz" Fultz were the best players on the roster, averaging SiegeGG ratings of 1.22 and 1.16.

Now, Spacestation Gaming has the chance of topping the standings, with their clash against Oxygen Esports possibly being what builds the final top two.

Busy week for DarkZero Esports

After only playing three games in the first week of action, the purple squad will play four matches throughout Wednesday and Thursday.

DarkZero Esports' matches on Wednesday promise to be intense, as they will face Spacestation Gaming and Soniqs. Meanwhile, on Thursday, the Six Charlotte Major champions are the favorites to beat Parabellum Esports and beastcoast.

Coming from the first week of action, Nick "njr" Rapier is the highest-rated player in the North America League 2023 with a SiegeGG rating of 1.38 while maining Jackal and Smoke.

With five points in the team's first three games, DarkZero Esports should confirm a top-six finish somewhen this week. It would be a big surprise if the lineup missed out on the final bracket of the North America League 2023 Stage 1.