After a disappointing 1-3 defeat to Team 8, Galeforce eSports fans didn’t have a good answer as to why the previously highest ranked NA team were no longer performing at their best. Made of five veteran players, GFE was one of the few teams that seemed destined for international competition and a stable roster.

However, now that playoffs are over, it looks like the NA region is falling back into it’s old habits of roster swaps and a lack of region unity. After the announcement that both Jon 'Equinox' Peterson and Khalif 'Khroen' Hashim (the latter will continue to stream and sub for GFE) will no longer be part of the team, Manny 'Fury' Medina of Tempo Storm posted this tweet:

In response, the outspoken manager of the NA team B Step, Jared “Zoia” Eggleston replied with a series of rather passive aggressive “LOLOLOLOLOL”s. When questioned about his apparent amusement with Fury’s comments, he accused Tempo Storm of scrim blocking his team before the playoffs:

A team is only as good as their competition and the concept of “blacklisting” a team from scrims is usually frowned upon. All it serves is to make the region as a whole weaker against other parts of that world that scrim openly. Traditionally, this is a short term strategy that can help a team in a regional qualifier, but leaves them less prepared for international play. Zoia’s accusation hints at a larger problem which may be the explanation for NA’s year long fall from international threat to Twitch chat meme.

Town Hall drama?

It isn’t uncommon for Zoia to discuss behind the scenes drama on the popular NA Heroes show, TownHall Heroes, so it comes to no surprise that, this Wednesday, more info on the roster swaps and scrim blocking accusation will surface. Longtime followers of the NA region may recall the time that Zoia revealed shocking details regarding the collapse of the 2015 Tempo Storm roster:

“Players are depressed every single day. I get players coming to me in tears- they don't want to be here, they don't want to play.” - Zoia in 2015 on Town Hall Heroes, episode 83.

As a matter of fact, Zoia seems to be ramping up for an equally “fun” episode tomorrow.

On the Reddit thread discussing the topic, Zoia confirmed that tomorrows episode of Town Hall heroes will feature more explanation of his frustrations with Tempo Storm as well as “slimier teams” that are also on his chopping block. Perhaps after the dust is settled, NA will emerge a stronger region that is capable of consistently challenging EU and KR. If not a strong region, it certainly is an entertaining one.