---
title: "NA League 2026 Event #1 (Preseason Week 1)"
date: 2026-04-07
author:
   - name: YELLOW
     link: https://sendou.ink/u/great-hero-yellow
---

#### *The Splatoon 3 North American League 2026 begins, and this one has it all\!*

<img width="1200" height="675" alt="NAL2026-p1e1" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/6fa658c7-3bc4-49c8-a86c-5008a6830a5d" />

Almost four months after the end of the 2025 Splatoon 3 North American League, the NA League returns for a 2026 edition, with plenty of familiar faces, maps, and modes. Jordan, Zach, and Mellana are our hosts, with Piko on the spectator camera. 

There’s no slow starts this time: the level of action you’d expect from the last event of the Regular Season kicks off in Preseason Week 1\! Knockouts, shutouts, game five sets, and even a Grand Finals bracket reset took place on Saturday, April 4\. 

Although throughout the event, the Splattercolor Screen was used, its audio and visual effects did not show up on stream, so those who are sensitive to it can safely watch the replay. 

These teams earned their way to the top cut this week: 

1. TZS (better known as Triggerfish Zones Supremacy)  
2. Windsurfers  
3. InkThys  
4. 11 ft 8 Bridge  
5. triple dippers  
6. bunnybunny  
7. Broke Birds  
8. Reignfall

Only a handful of players in this lineup have made it to a top cut stream in the previous NA League, so with plenty of fresh talent on display, we dive in\!

## **Winner’s Quarterfinals: InkThys vs. 11 ft 8 Bridge (0-3)**

Starting off the Splatoon 3 North American League’s 2026 season is the classic Splat Zones pick on one of the new map options, Robo ROM-en. For most of the game, the teams traded the lead, settling at a close 28-27 favoring InkThys halfway through. With 19 seconds remaining, 11 ft 8 Bridge took the lead and brought it all the way to a knockout victory before the clock reached zero. 

Next, the teams went to Crableg Capital for Rainmaker. They kept the score close, first 61-62, and then 40-41. InkThys would remain at 40, while 11 ft 8 Bridge pressed forward with less than a minute and a half remaining, taking the Rainmaker all the way to 1 tick left. The last 15 seconds in the game had all players in mid throwing ink at the Rainmaker shield. The victor was 11 ft 8 Bridge, 99-60.

<img width="1000" height="561" alt="WQF_RMcrableg" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/42ed4dad-fcd9-4665-9d67-132b4c3836e8" />

Game three was Tower Control at Hagglefish Market. Wasting no time, 11 ft 8 Bridge already had the tower at 46 by the time the first minute passed. Halfway through the game, they scored a wipeout on InkThys. The final score was 64-28, to 11 ft 8 Bridge, securing them the set shutout, 3-0\!

## **Winner’s Semifinals: triple dippers vs. Broke Birds (3-1)**

With 11 ft 8 Bridge advancing to face TZS next, the stream shifted to the other bracket for Winner’s Semi-Finals: triple dippers vs. Broke Birds. Triple dippers would have an advantage going into this match, having a few players on their side from team FOAMS NA, who were often seen in the top 16 of the 2025 NA League. 

Game one started at MakoMart for Tower Control. Both teams took their turn with the lead in the first two minutes. Triple dippers, behind in score, wiped out Broke Birds and drove to surpass Broke Birds’ 43 points. They got to 42—one point behind Broke Birds—before getting wiped out themselves. The game would end with that one point difference: Broke Birds winning 58-57.

<img width="1000" height="562" alt="WSF_TCmakomart" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/c01d78a0-60ad-424d-8663-dcbe533a2933" />

*Broke Birds’ silver., signaling This Way\! to their teammates after finishing the wipeout.*

Back to Hagglefish Market, for Splat Zones this time, Broke Birds took an early advantage by wiping out triple dippers 20 seconds in. They kept the zone for a minute longer before triple dippers threw every special they had at the zone to stop Broke Birds at 6\. Their momentum kept them going, for a wipeout on Broke Birds, then a lead switch, and finally a knockout victory with a little less than a minute and a half left.

Game three was Rainmaker at Undertow Spillway; triple dippers cleared their first checkpoint fairly quickly, and Broke Birds responded by taking the lead back… At the cost of being wiped out. A lead to 46 isn’t anything to rest on, and soon triple dippers had the lead again. They lost the Rainmaker at 7; upon popping it, they wiped out Broke Birds, allowing them to knockout with 1:18 to spare\!

It didn’t take long for Turf War to show up in the 2026 NA League, and it debuted at Museum d’Alfonsino. The teams adjusted their comps for the mode—a Colorz Aerospray made an appearance. As for the gameplay, as one would expect from Turf War, things remained even up to the final seconds. In the last 20 seconds, Broke Birds faltered, and the final score was 56.1% to 38.5%, to triple dippers.

## **Winner’s Finals: TZS vs. triple dippers (3-2)**

Up until now we’ve seen knockouts, 3-0 set shut-outs, and victories decided by just one point. It’s about time we get two more events to have everyone on the edge of their seats: 100-to-0 games and a game five set\! 

Opening Winner’s Finals was Turf War at Robo ROM-en; while teams focused on painting over splatting, as the game reached the halfway point, TZS fell behind, having the Danger\! warning above their heads. In the last 45 seconds, TZS was wiped out, and triple dippers won 64% to 32%, for a clean 96% total ink coverage. 

Game two went to Splat Zones at MakoMart, for the first of two 100-0 knockouts. TZS took the zone in 15 seconds, and the story ends there. Triple dippers had no chance to touch the zone, and at 3:45, TZS had their knockout win. 

<img width="1000" height="562" alt="TZS_zonesmakomartWF" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/b6d3d37b-6d4b-43a2-8299-c97e9c05d3db" />

*TZS, just ticks from knocking out, down two players while triple dippers is down 3\.*

Game three, Tower Control at Inkblot Art Academy, was the same story, only with triple dippers as the lead. At 4:35, triple dippers hopped on the tower, and rode it all the way to the end without pause, even wiping out TZS just a tick before knocking out, at 3:43. 

Our first repeat map and mode, Rainmaker at Undertow Spillway, had the same flow as a game of Turf War: mostly stalemate-y until the final seconds. Triple dippers cleared their first checkpoint, then TZS followed. No new points were scored until the last 8 seconds, where KrakenMare grabbed the Rainmaker and leapt forward, taking the lead by two points. Although the game went into overtime, TZS remained victorious, 68-40.

Finally, Clam Blitz at Museum d’Alfonsino was forced out by a game five to determine who went to Grand Finals and who went to the Loser’s Bracket. TZS was already scoring within the first minute, and they kept doing so, frequently. While all eyes were on triple dippers advancing into TZS’s plat, all the way across the map, TZS snuck in and scored to a knockout, ending the game 30 seconds early. 

<img width="1000" height="561" alt="WF_clamsmuseum" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/f244f99f-8521-4caf-b97e-e12c0d6ed0c6" />

*Triple dippers on their opponent’s plat, having to 180° after seeing TZS’s Power Clam super jump all the way to their basket.*

## **Loser’s Semifinals: Broke Birds vs. Reignfall (3-0)**

Loser’s Semifinals repeats a match in Winner’s Quarterfinals between Broke Birds and Reignfall, which we didn’t see on stream earlier. Broke Birds won 3-1 over Reignfall initially, and if they do it again, they will meet triple dippers in Loser’s Finals for another repeat set. 

Again, Splat Zones at Robo ROM-en would make an appearance. Broke Birds’ initial push left them at 45, which would be a tough hill for Reignfall to climb. By the time they got close, Broke Birds moved the goal to 8\. Reignfall put forward their best effort, but the clock ran out while the zone was neutral, leaving Reignfall just shy of the win, 82-92.

Game two, Inkblot Art Academy for Tower Control, saw Broke Birds trade Chai for Skaboop, but the focus was all on Golias and the Cometz Octobrush. Reignfall’s downfall was focusing on Golias while the rest of Broke Birds was clearing checkpoints and eventually, taking the tower to the knockout, for a second Broke Birds victory. 

Game three had another “chai swap”, as this time Reignfall swapped out demONdaz for evil chai, doubling the amount of Brushes at Scorch Gorge for Rainmaker. 

<img width="1000" height="562" alt="LS_twochai" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/e4fb2cbf-109b-45cc-9921-ad1ba7336996" />

*Yes, “Chai vs. evil chai” was a joke both teams worked together to provide to the stream.*

Broke Birds forged their way to an early advantage of 32 shortly after clearing their first checkpoint. Reignfall fought back, being met with two wipeouts. Broke Birds would take the third game, 68-30, and go on to rematch triple dippers in Loser’s Finals. 

## **Loser’s Finals: triple dippers vs. Broke Birds (3-1)**

Triple dippers and Broke Birds back at it again, both ready to see a different result from Winner’s Semifinals. There, triple dippers won 3-1, and both teams were hoping for a 3-0 the second time around. 

Starting off at Splat Zones at Hagglefish Market, triple dippers took the zone first, and their initial push brought them all the way down to 19\. What sounds like a tall order, Broke Birds made look easy, surpassing 19 in one go. They were halted just short of the knockout with a neutralized zone, but silver. clutched out a quad and brought Broke Birds to a knockout. 

<img width="1000" height="562" alt="LF_zoneshagglefish" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/37923285-d271-4fce-97b0-9c4dc97ca7a3" />

Clam Blitz at Museum d’Alfonsino returned—triple dippers went from 100 to 44 in one 30-second push. Broke Birds struggled to get forward, only getting their first points in overtime, and wouldn’t score enough to take the lead. Triple dippers won 56-20. 

With the set tied, Tower Control at MakoMart was next, and it took nearly two minutes for the tower to finally pass the 90-point mark. But when it did, it was triple dippers on a roll to the end. Broke Birds tried to stop triple dippers from knocking out by sending in the Kraken Royale, but two specials were enough to keep it at bay, and triple dippers had the knockout secured.

<img width="1000" height="562" alt="LF_TCmakomart" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/c50c19d7-b773-48be-9424-e0b5b7b07f34" />

*Golias’s Kraken Royale on the tower, about to tank FOAMArcher’s Ink Vac burst.*

Rainmaker at Scorch Gorge set game four. Broke Birds took their checkpoint first and dove all the way to 36\. They held onto this lead for about two minutes, but after triple dippers cleared their first checkpoint, they deployed three specials to protect their Rainmaker carrier as they swam to a new lead. The game went into overtime, but once more Broke Birds couldn’t make the play they needed, and triple dippers won 83-64. 

## **Grand Finals: TZS vs. triple dippers (0-3)**

The Grand Finals set that everything else was leading up to brings another face-off between Triggerfish Zones Supremacy and triple dippers. The set was sure to be tense, given that their last set went to a game five.

Grand Finals began with Clam Blitz at Scorch Gorge. TZS scored minimally, only getting Power Clams in one at a time. Triple dippers, meanwhile, brought their score to 51 in one big push, taking the lead, and defended it through overtime, for a game one victory 49-30. 

Urchin Underpass appeared for the first time, for Tower Control; TZS swapped out KrakenMare for DRF, hoping the Tri-Slosher ASH-N’s Splattercolor Screen would give them an edge. Unfortunately as we’ve seen from triple dippers, once they get going, it’s hard to stop them; after they cleared their first checkpoint, they went all the way through the second. TZS tried catching up, but fell short, 53-75. 

Manta Maria also appeared for the first time in the 2026 NA League, for Rainmaker. TZS denied triple dippers their checkpoint and wiped them out, which led to TZS getting their lead all the way to 22\. It took until the last minute for triple dippers to clear that checkpoint, and taking a page from TZS’s Winner’s Finals playbook, they dove ahead to take the lead by two points in the final seconds, winning 80-78. 

<img width="1000" height="561" alt="GF_RMmantamaria" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/6a64a0e5-8a18-43b1-afc2-79cd3afc9163" />

*Nicochico making a game-winning dive for points, dodging everything TZS threw at them.*

With triple dippers coming from the Loser’s Bracket and having won Grand Finals 3-0, it was time for a Grand Finals Reset\!

## **Grand Finals Reset: TZS vs. triple dippers (3-1)**

The first event of the 2026 NA League keeps on giving, and we find ourselves with a Grand Finals Reset\! From a 3-2 set, to getting 0-3’d, the storyline between these two teams has enough gas for one more rematch. 

Kicking off with Turf War at Urchin Underpass, triple dippers brought out both the N-ZAP ‘85 *and* ‘89. TZS was much more aggressive this game, constantly being found in the walls of their opponent’s base. In the last minute, the map was looking to favor TZS just slightly, but they went down three players in the final 10 seconds, giving triple dippers enough time to ink ahead for a 48.6% \- 42.1% win.

Game two was Tower Control at Undertow Spillway, and TZS swiftly rode the tower through two checkpoints, to get to 43\. Triple dippers got to 55, and after that, the game stalled, with no more points gained until close to the end, where TZS extended their lead. In overtime, triple dippers went down three players; TZS reclaimed the tower and tied the set 1-1 with their 71-51 win. 

The next game was Rainmaker at Scorch Gorge. Triple dippers cleared the checkpoint first; TZS followed and took a narrow lead. They continued pushing, getting all the way to 16 after a series of small pushes. Unleashing specials one by one, triple dippers ran the Rainmaker down the hallway, but was stopped just short of the lead. They couldn’t put together another push in overtime, and TZS won another game, 84-82. 

The Grand Finals Reset was at set point for TZS, being a repeat of Clam Blitz at Museum d’Alfonsino. This was the same map and mode combination which TZS won the tiebreaker during Winner’s Finals, so it wasn’t looking good for triple dippers from the outset. 

It took halfway through the game for anyone to score; triple dippers took down three of TZS’s players to end up with a solid first push to 47\. TZS consistently had plenty of clams, but a lack of ink made it difficult for them to approach the other basket. By overtime, they hadn’t scored once. The chance arose when triple dippers went down two; players jumped in, and in less than three seconds, TZS took the lead, 56-53.

<img width="1000" height="526" alt="GFR_clamsmuseum" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/5a933590-3181-47c4-a484-13e05d324022" />

*In overtime, the score is tied 47-47; the final clam soars through the air as TZS is mid-Triple Splashdown.*

After facing triple dippers three times across 12 games, TZS comes out as the winner of the first event in the Splatoon 3 North American League 2026\!

*And there wasn’t even a single game of Splat Zones in all seven Grand Finals matches.*

<img width="1200" height="321" alt="finalbracket" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/363ad6f4-d89f-4a33-a52c-3009cc4de3aa" />

Original Posting Date: April 7, 2026 at [Splatoon Stronghold](https://www.splatoonstronghold.com/news/na-league-2026-e1-p1)

Written and formatted for publication by [YELLOW](https://bsky.app/profile/great-hero-yellow.bsky.social).
