After nine weeks of grueling competition, North America's premier division has reached the final stage where teams will battle for regional glory and their share of the massive $14,000 prize pot.

Format

As with recent seasons, the Invite postseason will feature the top four teams from the regular season in a double-elimination bracket. Matches for each round will be played within a given 48-hour window at a time agreed to by both teams. The maps for each round of the playoffs are fully predetermined by league admins.

Schedule

• August 7th-9th: Upper Round of 4 (Snakewater, Sunshine, Granary)
• August 14th-16th: Upper Final (Gullywash, Granary, Metalworks)
• August 14th-16th: Lower Round of 4 (Gullywash, Granary, Metalworks)
• August 16th-18th: Lower Final (Badlands, Metalworks, Sunshine)
• August 21st-23rd: Grand Finals (first series: Product, Process, Badlands; second series: Snakewater, Gullywash, Sunshine)

Prizes

• 1st: $5,600
• 2nd: $3,500
• 3rd: $2,800
• 4th: $2,100

Teams

froyotech

• Scout: Freestate
• Scout: b4nny
• Roamer: paddie
• Pocket: TLR
• Demoman: Muma
• Medic: phorofor

In a move similar to the one that formed iT, team captain b4nny reassembled a broken team with up-and-coming players and aimed to fashion it into a top team. Unlike that time, however, his new team actually did prove itself, coming back from the lower bracket to win it all once again against Ronin with the help of a few veterans. This season, froyotech sits at the top of the standings heading into playoffs, and there is almost no doubt that this is its season to lose, with Ronin looking shaky.

That's not to say that froyotech is preordained to win playoffs—the games it split against Ronin have been extremely close and decided by a difference of only one round. In addition, the team did have to mount a comeback against FROYO BLACK after being down 3-2 in the first half. Beyond that, though, the team has looked fairly solid. These playoffs will prove to be an important test of its readiness heading into Insomnia58 with a newly-returned TLR, and the team will certainly want to take in the momentum of the North American championship with them heading into the global LAN.

The team is definitely serious about taking this, as TLR, b4nny, and paddie have all been putting in serious time outside of normal team playing schedules, even as other teams have taken a complete break the week before playoffs. The effects of the extra practice will hopefully be seen with them stepping up in the playoffs and future events.

TLR is back (picture by Austen "tagg" Wade)

Ronin

• Scout: yomps
• Scout: Shrugger
• Roamer: Ma3la
• Pocket: rando
• Demoman: Bdonski
• Medic: Nursey

It was only just half a year ago that Ronin was the undisputed ruler of the North American scene, with perennial champion froyotech in pieces and contender Street Hoops eSports thoroughly outclassed. Unfortunately, that proved to be short-lived, and the team reverted to their Season 19 performance: trading games with froyotech during the regular season, securing an upper bracket series advantage with a best-of-three win over froyotech, and then losing despite that advantage in the grand finals.

This season, however, Ronin's woes seem to have extended beyond the perennial nemesis of b4nny—the team has seen player availability issues scuttle a reappearance at Insomnia and cloud its future prospects. Within this season, it has seen a nemesis rise in the form of -bird noises-, which outclassed it in a game that was later converted to a forfeit and then had a very close game to close out the season. Ronin can take a bit of comfort, however, as its victory in that last game eliminated -bird noises- from the playoffs, and results against other playoff teams FROYO BLACK and EVL Gaming have been fairly strong.

The team's greatest asset is in its scout pair shrugger and yomps and in its demoman Bdonski, all of whom have proven to be the impact players of the team due to strong focus that doesn't waver even when the situation is chaotic and the pressure is mounting. They will have to step it up once again in the playoffs if RONIN is to contest froyotech as we've come to expect from them.

Make it rain (picture by Austen "tagg" Wade)

FROYO BLACK

• Scout: slemnish
• Scout: cyzer
• Roamer: tagg
• Pocket: bl4nk
• Demoman: Habib
• Medic: shade

FROYO BLACK, the offshoot of froyotech, seemed to descend from the heavens as a new top team ready to immediately begin contesting the top ranks of Invite. Many were expecting the team to fiercely battle for the top spot, especially with illustrious names like clockwork, duwatna, and lansky having floated around at various points of the preseason. The reality proved to be much less rosy—while the team has certainly shown its mettle in taking a playoff spot relatively comfortably, the reality is that the team never was able to compete for the top two seeds, having been unable to come up with wins against either froyotech or Ronin.

In perhaps an ominous sign for the future, FROYO BLACK suffered three straight losses against the three other playoff-bound teams to close out the season; momentum certainly isn't on their side. With the regular season behind it, however, the team will definitely be looking to reset and make a credible challenge for the title. The combination of deep experience and proven talent on FROYO BLACK makes it a force to reckon with any day, and if its members step up and bring their play to the next level, no match is unwinnable.

In particular, Habib and bl4nk have been a major force to reckon with, especially when in sync with shade, and they'll be called on for more massive performances during the playoffs. slemnish is also key as the dynamic element of a flank that is omnipresent, bringing out the sniper rifle and making plays when needed.

A black marker for that blank space (picture by Austen "tagg" Wade)

EVL Gaming

• Scout: Scizor
• Scout: sen
• Roamer: garbuglio
• Pocket: highfive
• Demoman: delpo
• Medic: zilly

Fans and supporters of EVL Gaming will be undoubtedly sighing with relief as Ronin narrowly beat -bird noises- to eliminate it from the playoffs, thus securing the team's spot. That's not to say the team didn't make its own luck, having beaten -bird noises- in a close overtime game and mounted the comeback against FROYO BLACK in the latter half of the season to place itself as the leading contender for the final spot.

With the regular season over, however, EVL Gaming will have to step up to make a decent showing in the playoffs. It does have a bit of hope, though—while the team has been dispatched fairly easily by both froyotech and Ronin, close matches against FROYO BLACK make an upset and third place a very attainable goal.

There are several players to watch on this team as it looks to make its mark on the playoffs. The well-known Scizor has proven to be a very persistent threat, both in his scout play and his offclassing to sniper. delpo has also made a name for himself as one of the best demomen in Invite, an impressive feat given this is is both his first season in Invite and his first season as a demoman. garbuglio, who's been fairly consistent throughout the season, has emerged as yet another threat through a standout performance as the top-performing player in the team's match against FROYO BLACK despite being a roamer. All three will need to perform extremely well for the team to closely contest their upcoming playoff matches.

Thanks to Vand for his contributions to this article.