The CRL Spring 2022 Season is here, and it’s been chock full of amazing mechanics, top-level gameplay, and surprises that few saw coming. Many teams have worked hard to maintain or improve their performance from last season, and it’s evident in the gameplay we saw in the qualification matches for League Play. NA Qualifier #1 was held on Sunday, January 30th and Qualifier #2 was held the following Sunday, February 6th. Both conferences (East and West) showed immense talent, and many teams who underperformed last season redeemed themselves this season, qualifying for League Play. To quickly summarize the format of these Qualifiers, each Qualifier is a double elimination bracket, and both brackets are Bo3 until round of 16. After round of 16, each match is a Bo5. There are multiple pools from each region, adding up to the total amount of League Play slots available for that region. In each Qualifier, there were 8 pools for East and 7 for West, with the winner of each pool advancing to League Play. Additionally, there are two extra teams who auto-qualified for League Play because they made it to the National Championships last season and haven’t changed their team rosters: UNLV and Columbia College. Hundreds of teams signed up to compete in CRL this season, so it would be impossible to analyze each and every one, but we will briefly discuss the top 30 teams who qualified for League Play.
Qualifier #1
East
In East pool 1, Northwood Blue were able to win each series in dominant fashion, losing only one game to UVA in the Winner’s Semi-Final, and winning 3-0 against Siena Heights University in the Grand Final. This Northwood team is stacked, with last season’s Northwood Blue members “Buddy,” “Pirates,” and “hockE” being joined by the likes of former Northwood White players “Noxes” and “LionBlaze” after former Northwood White player “tcorrell” announced his indefinite departure from CRL. Northwood White absolutely dominated CRL last season, and we could see Northwood Blue do even better this season.
In East pool 2, Stockton University were the dominant force in their pool. Stockton were able to take every series in a perfect sweep until the Grand Final, where they won 3-2 against the Indiana Hoosiers who put up a good fight. Stockton continue to impress, qualifying for League Play both last season and this season.
In pool 3, Seton Hall University had a close call against the Wisconsin Badgers in the Winner’s Quarter Final, with Seton Hall winning by a slight margin of 3-2. However, they were able to advance all the way to the Grand Final and win 3-1 against Oakland Esports to qualify for the second season in a row.
Pool 4 showed an amazing performance from the UCF Knights who only dropped 2 games in the entire bracket, winning every series and beating Florida Poly 3-0 in the Grand Final. The UCF Knights performed well last season, qualifying for League Play in Qualifier #1. This season, they’ve added former UCF Knights Academy player “Bolbi” as well as player “Rainn” to their existing roster of “LukeRL,” “Azfura,” and “Bambii.”
Pool 5 showed a great performance from St. Clair Saints Gold, with a close series of 3-2 against the George Mason Patriots in the Winner’s Final, and a full sweep of 3-0 against the University of Florida in the Grand Final to qualify for the second season in a row.
In pool 6, VESPA were able to make it to the Winner’s Final, where they lost 3-1 to GT Swarm and got sent to the Loser’s Bracket. They were determined to exact their revenge, though, and after sweeping Syracuse Orange 3-0 in the Loser’s Final, they were able to play GT Swarm again in the Grand Final, sweeping them 3-0 as well. VESPA qualified for League Play last season too, advancing in Qualifier #2.
The Akron Zips absolutely decimated pool 7 until they hit the Grand Final, where they narrowly defeated UCF Knights Academy 3-2. Akron severely underperformed last season after losing some of their best players to graduation, but it’s good to see them return to form and become a top CRL team yet again.
Finally, RIT Orange were able to take pool 8 after clawing their way back up from the Loser’s Bracket. They did well up until the Winner’s Semi-Final, where they were swept 3-0 by USF Esports. They were then able to make it to the Loser’s Final where they had a rematch against USF and gave them a revenge 3-0 sweep to advance to the Grand Final, where they beat the OSU Beanz 3-2. RIT Orange have shown clear improvement since last season, as they were unable to qualify for League Play in Fall.
West
In West pool 1, LSU were able to come out on top, winning by a small margin of 3-2 against UW Esports in the Winner’s Semi-Final, then beating A&M Esports 3-1 in both the Winner’s Final and the Grand Final. LSU is a team with a lot of talent, and it’s great to see them qualify for League Play this season after being unable to do so last season.
West pool 2 showed UT Arlington crushing their way through the bracket all the way to the Grand Final, where they had a rematch against the CSU Rams after sending them to the lower bracket in the Winner’s Final. They were able to take the Grand Final 3-1 and advance to League Play for the second season in a row.
In pool 3, Mizzou Gold were able to cut their way through their competition all the way to the Winner’s Final, where they beat Boise State Orange 3-2 and sent them to the Loser’s Bracket. Then, in the Grand Final, they went head to head with Boise State Orange and won 3-2 yet again, allowing them to advance to League Play for the second season in a row.
Pool 4 showed the CSUF Titans advancing all the way to the Winner’s Final, where they were able to squeeze out a 3-2 win against the CSM Orediggers. Then, in the Grand Final, they were able to take a 3-1 win against UNT Esports, and a 3-0 win against the same team in the Grand Final reset. CSUF was a “bubble” team last season, falling below the top ten and being unable to qualify for League Play. However, this season they have redeemed themselves, and with so much talent on their team, it will be exciting to see how they perform in League Play and onward.
Pool 5 showed the Ottawa Braves climbing out of the Loser’s Bracket after losing 3-2 in the Winner’s Final. Undeterred, they swept Keyano Huskies Esports 3-0 in the Loser’s Final, then beat SDSU 3-1 in the Grand Final and beat them 3-2 in the Grand Final reset. This was truly a comeback of epic proportions, made even more epic by the fact that this is the first year competing for the Braves.
Pool 6 had Missouri S&T cutting through much of the competition, making it to the Winner’s Semi-Final where they beat the University of Minnesota 3-2. They then defeated University of Utah Red 3-1 in both the Winner’s Final and the Grand Final to qualify for League Play. Missouri S&T were another bubble team that did not qualify for League Play last season. It seems like they’ve improved, and we wish them the best moving forward.
Finally, in pool 7, Boise State Blue were able to easily make their way to the Winner’s Semi-Final, where they won by a small margin of 3-2 against CU Boulder Black. After a sweeping 3-0 win against Nebraska Esports in the Winner’s Final, they were able to win 3-2 against CU Boulder Black yet again in the Grand Final. Boise State Blue were another bubble team in the Fall Season, so they’ve caused an upset this season by qualifying for League Play.
To read about Qualifier #2, click here.
