Despite a few last gasps of cold, Winter is finally at an end. The days are getting longer, trees are blossoming, and the last vestiges of bitter weather are finally drifting away. Gone are the chilly days and long nights, and the snowball fights will have to wait another year. Spring is here, and that can only mean one thing.

That’s right. It’s the Brawlhalla Spring Championship.

And what a difference a few months can make. The Winter Championship kicked off the Brawlhalla Circuit and, for the most part, only served to reinforce what we already knew: LDZ is the best, Boomie is incredibly talented, and there’s always room for an upset in Brawlhalla.

Now, things are different. Though LDZ is still among the most feared competitors in the Circuit, he sits in 3rd on the US Rankings, behind doubles teammate Boomie and this season’s dark horse noeL. Boomie, having had a taste of success at CEO Dreamland, has kept winning, and now leads the pack by a hefty margin that is only growing.

In doubles it’s the fresh pair of Starlight & Astronaut who have reigned supreme, consistently finishing on the podium in major events. Thanks to a pair of powerful performances at CEO Dreamland, Crockie & Doppey have muscled their way into the upper doubles echelons and Boomie & LDZ are a constant threat, but it’s last year’s BCX Doubles Champ and his new partner at the head of the field.

LDZ and Boomie – On a Whole Different Level

“I mean this is obvious, but it’s LDZ, him and Boomie actually. They’re definitely the best two players in the world.” said noeL during an interview at CEO Dreamland.

“Boomie and LDZ, they’re ahead of the game, and they know where you wanna move. So when they throw out hitboxes it’s for a reason.” noeL went on. “Whenever you play them, it feels like they’re restricting your movement. It feels crazy.”

With LDZ unable to make it to CEO Dreamland, Boomie ran through the field in a supreme performance, not batting an eye in taking the singles competition on the Winner’s side of the bracket. His Blasters play was particularly impressive, as he wielded Diana and Ada to claim Dreamland gold. With a major SS Circuit win under his belt, Boomie has shown that he has no intentions of slowing down, taking victory in the 1v1 Stream.me Legends Series tournament just shortly afterwards.  

LDZ on the other hand, has been struggling of late. He had an unusually subdued performance during the Stream.me Legend Series, where he took losses from underdogs ithrowow and Cody Travis to finish in 17th. This slip-up let noeL overtake him on the Circuit standings, and push LDZ down to 3rd place on the leaderboards.

With these missteps behind him, LDZ will have something to prove as he heads into the Spring Championship. Holding the title of Winter Champion, LDZ will be expected to defend his crown, and he will no doubt be planning to do just so. As one of the most adaptable players in the Circuit, you can be sure that LDZ has learned from recent losses to Starlight and Astronaut in the BCS Spring Showdown where he finished 3rd. At the Spring Championship he will be on the hunt, hoping to put those lessons into action.

The Rest of the Threats

It will be up to noeL to keep working, training, and surprising everyone. Since his victory at Final Round XX, noeL has placed remarkably well. The dark horse of the competition at CEO Dreamland, he beat EU’s Maltimum to seal a place in Grand Finals. Although he was ultimately unable to topple a rampaging Boomie, he issued another reminder that he is a leading threat in the Circuit.

He followed his Dreamland performance with another 2nd place at the Stream.me Legend Series, where he added Stevenator and wrenchd to his list of vanquished foes. At both events he impressed with his flexibility, juggling patience and offense deftly to make sure that his opponents were always on the back foot. He will need more of the same if he wants to keep his podium streak up at the Spring Championship.

NoeL will have the likes of Starlight snapping at his heels, who will be eager to improve his current spot in 4th place on the leaderboards. He finished 4th at CEO Dreamland, and his 1st Place finish at the BCS Spring Showdown has given many of his fans new energy. During that tournament he won 3-0 over LDZ, and didn’t lose a single set on his path to victory. Will he be able to repeat this performance during at the Spring Championship? Or will his history of being unable to clutch it out at big 1v1 tournaments come back to haunt him?  

There are a whole host of other players threatening to upset the top four, with the likes of Stevenator and wrenchd performing excellently at CEO Dreamland who placed 9th and 7th respectively in the Winter Championship. Stevenator fell just short of Top 8 at CEO Dreamland, a frustrating finish for a player who has become a threat in singles bracket to complement his excellent doubles play. You can be sure he’ll be bringing his all to the Spring Championship.

And could a new skin for his favored Ember inspire wrenchd to new heights? With victories over players like Astronaut and Cyclist, and a Top 8 finish at Dreamland, he’s already proved that he can make it to Top 8. He’ll want to go even further at the Spring Championship.

Could Doubles Prove Surprising?

Cyclist & Isidroo could play a similar role in the 2v2 event. In the Winter Championship, the fresh duo opened eyes by defeating some of the strongest teams on the continent. Pugsy & eggsoup, Stevenator & SillyGobi, and Remmy & Cody Travis all fell victim to the pair, who finished in 3rd place. In the end, it took Astronaut & Starlight to end their tournament run.

That team is certainly a fan favorite to take the Spring Championship title, having fallen just short in the Winter event. Astronaut & Starlight have quickly proven themselves an excellent team. Starlight, already established as one of the strongest doubles players thanks to his World Championship win, has formed a team with Astronaut that is strong enough to take on the best in the world, despite their newer status as a duo.

Astronaut has had his struggles on the singles side of things, but in doubles, the pair have remained consistently threatening, with a 2nd place finish at CEO Dreamland their most recent success. Astronaut himself has proved almost unkillable, invariably playing the patient role and freeing Starlight up to be the aggressor, a role he has excelled in. With Starlight stealing stocks left, right and center and Astronaut living forever, their team goes deep in bracket at every event they enter.

Who Else To Watch Out For

With over 5,000 entrants across the 4 events, there are dark horses in each event. On the NA side of things, STTP Wilson is a long standing Queen Nai main who is an ever present power in bracket. Sitting just outside the Top 10 in the US rankings, Wilson has every chance to shock anyone in bracket. Wilson is impossible to sleep on, much like some other players who could pull surprises in the bracket.

One such player is Cody Travis, known as one of the few long standing blasters users in NA. With Boomie showing off just how strong the weapons can be, Travis will be out to prove that he should be spoken about in the same breath as Boomie when it comes to top blasters players. You can expect a strong showing from him, likely deep in the bracket.

There are a whole host of other names who can cause an upset in the NA bracket: eggsoup, Remmy, ithrowow, and Cyclist are all more than capable of surprising top players. And with over 2,000 players signed up on the NA side alone, no one can sleep on newcomers during this event.

Because if there is one thing we know for sure about Brawlhalla, it’s that there is always room for an upset.