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Stronghold Article: SWS26 Recap: Western Qualifier #1 (#3282)

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---
title: "SWS26 Recap: Western Qualifier #1"
date: 2026-08-02
author:
- name: YELLOW
link: https://sendou.ink/u/great-hero-yellow
---
#### *It’s time for the West to earn their right to compete on the global stage.*
<img width="1200" height="675" alt="sws26_westernqualifier1" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/71cba717-e36a-49bd-b6bb-a214b50ffab3" />
On Saturday, July 18th, the first of two Western Qualifiers for the Splat World Series Playoffs was hosted on IPL’s [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@iplsplatoon) and [Twitch](https://www.twitch.tv/IPLSplatoon) channels. A total of 22 teams signed up to secure one of three tickets to the SWS26 finale in early August.
The tournament was a double-elimination Splat Zones-only event featuring a strike/select system for maps, offering a layer of strategy to counterpicking. The storyline developed across nearly four hours of competitive Splatoon action.
Kbot and Pat opened the event on the commentator block, and starting with the second Winner’s Semifinals set, Magic replaced Kbot and joined Pat on the mic. Ely was operating the spectator camera throughout the tournament.
### **Winner’s Rounds 2 and 3**
Winner’s Round 2 was the first round on stream—Winner’s Round 1 was skipped—and began with NOnexistenceN vs. 37 (a pickup primarily of players from team 37 handsome boys from the North American League). In the Best of Three set, 37 came out on top after knocking out their opponent at Crableg Capital and Mahi-Mahi Resort.
After the first set, a second game from Winner’s Round 2 was streamed and saw Hypernova face off against Whirlwind, a pickup of players from Usagi Fanclub and Doom Desire. Hypernova knocked out the first game at Shipshape Cargo Co., but Whirlwind tied the set with a knockout at Um’ami Ruins. Hypernova took the set win after winning 90–81 at Barnacle & Dime.
Hypernova returned for Winner’s Round 3 (Quarterfinals) to take on Thriller Bark, a team half composed of players from Black Lotus. After three knockouts at Hagglefish Market, Barnacle & Dime, and Undertow Spillway, Thriller Bark advanced to the Winner’s Semifinals.
## **Winner’s Semifinals 1: Rip pig 9 vs. Pathway (3–1)**
The first two qualification matches of Western Qualifier \#1 were during the Winner’s Semifinals round, and would conclude the Winner’s Bracket—the tournament did not continue to Winner’s Finals or Grand Finals. The first qualification match on stream was Rip pig 9 vs. Pathway (Zekrom, cap, Miner, speck; from team Poltergeist).
Rip pig 9 banned Eeltail Alley and Lemuria Hub. Pathway banned Urchin Underpass and Flounder Heights. The first game opened with a disconnect, but shortly after continued at Crableg Capital.
Rip pig 9 steamrolled through game one; Pathway was barely able to be more than a bump in the road. Pathway’s Booyah Bombs slowed Rip pig 9 down, but could not stop Rip pig 9 from knocking out with more than a minute remaining on the clock.
<img width="1200" height="675" alt="rp9Victory" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/1a6f9813-e503-4470-a2e8-936727c0176f" />
*The players of Rip pig 9, all well-known among top level Competitive Splatoon: DATKID (playing as william jr), Xenith, phoenix, and y0shell.*
After Rip pig 9 chose their map strikes, Museum d’Alfonsino and Bluefin Depot, Pathway selected Um’ami Ruins. Pathway’s opening saw them almost get the 100-to-0 knockout, but were stopped just short at 3 ticks remaining. The game went to the very end, and Pathway emerged victorious, 97–77.
Pathway’s map strikes were Brinewater Springs and Mincemeat Metalworks. After Rip pig 9 chose Barnacle & Dime as the map selection, the commentators were excited to see y0shell bring the Inkline Tri-Stringer.
Two minutes into the game, Rip pig 9 was stopped from *also* attempting a 100-to-0 knockout, left at 2 ticks remaining. Pathway got some points to their name, but the knockout was inevitable, and Rip pig 9 had just one more win to take the set.
Game four went to Hagglefish Market after Rip pig 9 banned Scorch Gorge and Shipshape Cargo Co. This game saw more of a fight between teams, with the lead changing hands a few times. Pathway, unfortunately, was wiped out twice in the latter half of the game, and their Triple Inkstrikes couldn’t cap the zone in time before Rip pig 9 took another knockout and the first ticket to the Splat World Series Playoffs.
## **Winner’s Semifinals 2: FTWin vs. Thriller Bark (3–0)**
Between Winner’s Semifinals sets, Kbot swapped out with Magic on the commentator block. The set between FTWin and Thriller Bark would be the second ticket to the SWS26 Playoffs, and also the last set of the Winner’s Bracket. The loser of this set would have one last chance in the Loser’s Bracket to earn a spot on the West’s roster.
The map strikes included Um’ami Ruins and Barnacle & Dime from FTWin, and Mahi-Mahi Resort and Shipshape Cargo Co. from Thriller Bark. Game one’s map was randomly chosen, and the selection was Marlin Airport. Thriller Bark, for all of their dominance early in the tournament, fell in less than a minute and a half to FTWin, only able to get 17 points before their opponent took the zone and never gave it up.
<img width="1200" height="675" alt="WS2_marlin" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/1cbf3743-693e-42b0-b867-5279ab9625c4" />
*An Ink Vac shot from Burstie splats two of Thriller Bark’s players, leading to the team having three players down and enabling FTWin to further lock their opponent in their base.*
FTWin chose to strike Undertow Spillway and Flounder Heights. Thriller Bark selected MakoMart as their counterpick. Thriller Bark was able to run away with the lead, to 21\. FTWin kept taking their opponent down by three players, which let them get closer and closer to the lead. FTWin, at 1 tick remaining, knocked out again after their Super Chumps capped the neutral zone.
For game three, FTWin banned Humpback Pump Track and Manta Maria; Thriller Bark’s last selection was Hagglefish Market. While Thriller Bark had the zone first, it wasn’t long before FTWin took the lead. Afterward, they wiped Thriller Bark out, cementing their third and final knockout, and their place on the West’s roster at the SWS Playoffs.
### **Loser’s Quarterfinals: Pathway vs. NOnexistenceN (2–1)**
Before the final ticket was given out, the stream turned to the Loser’s Quarterfinals, to watch a storyline from earlier in the event develop. Both Pathway and NOnexistenceN returned to the stream; NOnexistenceN had beaten 37 2–1 in the Loser’s Bracket to redeem themselves after Winner’s Round 2, and Pathway was coming in off their loss against Rip pig 9\.
NOnexistenceN took game one at Shipshape Cargo Co. in a knockout. The next two games, at Um’ami Ruins and Undertow Spillway, ended in knockouts for Pathway, sending them to the Loser’s Semifinals for the last set of the tournament.
## **Loser’s Semifinals: flower man vs. Pathway (3–2)**
Flower man vs. Pathway was not a fresh faceoff in the event—both teams met in Winner’s Quarterfinals, where Pathway won 3–0 against flower man. The final set between the two went all the way to a game five, with each game ending in a knockout.
The set started on Robo ROM-en, a map previously selected by flower man in their earlier set. Flower man’s map bans were Urchin Underpass and Bluefin Depot, while Pathway banned Crableg Capital and Flounder Heights.
Pathway started the game with the zone, but flower man quickly took the lead less than 30 seconds in. Pathway tried to recap the zone with two specials, but ended up down three players instead. They stopped flower man at 5 ticks remaining, then ended up at 10 ticks remaining themselves before their progress was stopped. With 12 seconds left on the clock, flower man won the match in a knockout.
Game two’s map strikes from flower man were Museum d’Alfonsino and Marlin Airport. Pathway selected Um’ami Ruins, a stage they had shown to be very proficient on against Rip pig 9 and NOnexistenceN.
The game began the same as Pathway’s game against Rip pig 9, except Pathway was Rip pig 9 in this case: their opponent got all the way to 3 ticks remaining before they were able to stop the snowball before it became a knockout. Pathway recovered, splatting several players from flower man to keep their hold secure. Flower man was wiped out in the last minute and a half, leading to Pathway’s knockout.
Game three went to Manta Maria following Pathway striking Brinewater Springs and Shipshape Cargo Co. The zones and the lead traded hands, from flower man to Pathway, then back to flower man, where flower man then wiped out Pathway and went on to knockout with just under a minute and a half on the clock.
Flower man’s next map strikes were Hammerhead Bridge and Eeltail Alley. Pathway elected to go to Hagglefish Market.
A delayed wipeout on flower man let Pathway extend their lead nearly to a knockout, before flower man’s Reefslider took the zone, stopping Pathway at 2 ticks. Between a wipeout and a delayed wipe from another flower man Reefslider, the outlook for Pathway wasn’t looking good. Thanks to their earlier points gain, they were able to secure the knockout with about a minute to spare.
With the set tied 2–2 and a game five to decide the victor, Pathway opted to strike MakoMart and Humpback Pump Track. To the appall of the commentators, the last game of the Western Qualifier \#1 would be decided at Scorch Gorge.
Both teams were already down two players in less than 30 seconds. Pathway ended up at a numbers disadvantage consistently. Although they had the first lead in the game, before the first minute was up, flower man was already ahead.
Down to their last player just a minute and a half in, Pathway found themselves taking fourth place in the tournament after flower man claimed the last knockout, third place overall, and the fifth slot on the West’s roster for the Splat World Series Playoffs.
<img width="1200" height="675" alt="flowermanVictory" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/19bbaeb7-143b-40cb-a391-bec82222ff91" />
*Team flower man, seeded \#11, who forged their way to the global stage in August, upsetting teams like \#3 seed Pathway, the Black Lotus pickup Thriller Bark, and BlankZ.*
The West’s roster now has five teams with invitations to the SWS26 Playoffs. The roster so far includes PxG and Milky Way, who were invited from the Global Gauntlets. Per a [post on Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/xshadowind.bsky.social/post/3mqxb3i6g322i) from Moonlight’s Shadowind dated July 18th, 2026, he will be joining Milky Way’s roster for the Playoffs in place of Ice.
With the conclusion of this event, Rip pig 9, FTWin, and flower man are joining the other two invitees. Milky Way is not the only team playing with a modified roster, as FTWin’s roster, at least for this event, included leafi and SnipeZ\! in place of Sam and Biscuit.
Three spots still remain open on the West’s team. Meanwhile, for Japan, four teams were already announced in [IPL’s Kickoff PV trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFKuDxcTITo):
1. King of Ham (led by Todo)
2. GaoGao Dragon (led by Momo)
3. Vacuum World (led by Hitokuchi Takeru)
4. CutieNK (led by TKF)
Due to low signups for the Eastern qualifier, the event was canceled. The other four teams to round out Japan’s roster will be decided by AREA CUP closer to the Playoffs.
What does the 2026 season of Splat World Series have left on the horizon? There is still the Western Qualifier \#2, taking place on Saturday, July 25th, which will decide the West’s final three teams. After that, it’s time for the two-day Playoffs starting on August 7th (8 PM PT / 11 PM ET **on Friday evening** for NA; 5 AM CET / 12 PM JT **on Saturday afternoon** for non-NA).
With plenty still in store, make sure you’re there to see it all go down\!
Original Posting Date: August 2, 2026
Written and formatted for publication by [YELLOW](https://bsky.app/profile/great-hero-yellow.bsky.social).