Fnatic had cruised into this North American Regional Semi-Final as favourites having topped Group B, whilst NRG had fought tooth and nail to scrape past Team Liquid as the Group A runner-up. Group form prevailed with NRG unable to make the necessary adjustments in time, allowing Fnatic to take the best-of-five in three straight maps from an eclectic pool that included Eichenwalde, Dorado, Hanamura, Volskaya and Nepal.

Eichenwalde

Seagull's Mei cheerily attacks through the village streets meeting little resistance from the Fnatic defence who have taken up position at the back of Point A. NRG to disengage briefly to take account of their ults after Buds' Roadhog takes down milo. On re-entry they invest a Nano Blossom for a single pick on Buds just as coolmatt69 catches the attackers in a Graviton only to get frozen out by Seagull, saving the rest of NRG so they can clean up and capture.

Despite having Graviton and Earthshatter immediately available for the next phase, NRG falter through poor coordination, disjointed fights and Gods taking an expensive Nanoboosted dive into the pit of death. From that point on Fnatic are happy to trade out their ults to regain a foothold on defence, but find themselves lacking sustain when enigma's Graviton comes in for the team kill. After a big reset from Fnatic only ten seconds remain; NRG are gearing up for the final push with three ults available, but a clutch shield from Stoop denies the Graviton Blossom as milo dies before get delivering his Earthshatter setting the stage for another Nanoboosted Buds wipe to shut down the attack in the home straight.

Opening on Tracer, iddqd immediately finds the Lucio and Ana picks in the backline and continues chipping away for a 4K to activate the payload with a luxurious 5:25 on the clock. Fnatic's attack is a brutal blitzkrieg during which the battering ram barely stops moving. Resistance from NRG is sporadic at best. The end is neigh as Buds blasts his way through an Ice Wall to deliver a Death Blossom with the dregs of a Custa-boost before NRG reset briefly, but the ult disadvantage is too much and they are soon overwhelmed. 1-0 Fnatic.

Dorado

NRG look to recompose themselves with a Dorado comfort pick. The map commences with mirrored compositions. Gods on Reaper with Seagull again favouring the offensive Mei find their first victim in Reinhardt as Stoop gets walled off, snowballing the Point A fight for NRG. Rolling forward, brimming with confidence and ults, they pop everything except Earthshatter to wipe the defenders outside the church. Fnatic respawn, scrambling for a fight in the courtyard; Buds Boosted Reaper immediately takes a dirt nap courtesy of milo and despite initial disadvantage the prolonged fight tips in NRG's favour.

Fnatic manage to reset inside the power station. Both teams are stacked with ults and an even fight ensures the defenders' spawns are able to play their part as coolmatt69 returns to the fray with a big Graviton wipe. Only 1:15 on the clock as NRG reassemble to engage with a full complement of ultimates; initially Nano Gods gets nothing done, impaired by Ice Wall and Blizzard, but enigma holds out to deliver the jackpot Graviton and complete the push.

In what could be politely described as a foolhardy move, NRG open with the same risky forward hold that they have used throughout the tournament. Fnatic look unsurprised, swiftly killing off enigma's Zarya before wiping the rest of NRG. Tracer is quickly traded in by iddqd for Bastion as he looks to further punish the mistake. The subsequent "fight" on Point A is an absolute slaughter, after which iddqd switches to McCree and guns his way to the courtyard. Seagull buys his team a breather with Genji, but is outplayed by high ground McCree on the second attempt. Fnatic cap with 3:30 remaining and continue to steamroll through, completing the round on the back of a meandering Nano Blossom from Buds that ends in NRG's spawn.

NRG are back on attack, but only have one minute (plus overtime) to complete the map. Mirrored comps feature again as Fnatic pick their fight atop the Point A ramp. Seagull's Mei commits hard to isolate the tanks again, but there is no follow up to break Stoop's shield or coolmatt69's barriers. The lack of damage in NRG's composition is painfully apparent - particularly in light of the time constraints - and the ramp becomes their final resting place. The odds are heavily stacked in favour of Fnatic and they take a risk-free approach on attack. NRG play dangerous game, choosing to fight on the cusp of the capture zone and after the Nano trade Fnatic simply edges the payload forward to take the map.

Hanamura

With their tournament life on the line NRG head for Hanamura where they open on attack. Gods struggles to make an impact on Widowmaker, eventually outsniped by iddqd's icicles. Later he Ice Walls off a Nano'd milo, but somehow the frozen glowing gladiator survives; Sound Barrier comes in the as wall crumbles alongside Fnatic's Point A hold.

NRG struggle to break Point B as iddqd puts on a clinic as McCree, showboating for the cameras with a sick shutdown of Seagull's Dragon Blade – flashbang in to Nanoboost headshot sees Twitch chat explode with PogChamps. Like St. Peter, the Swede would go on to deny NRG's Genji Jesus three times in a dominant display from Fnatic. The final fight saw NRG with a 4-2 ult advantage, only for them to be zoned out by iddqd's Dead Eye then isolated and outnumbered in mismatched fights.

Fnatic just need to capture Objective B to win outright and iddqd sets about it with purpose, dashing behind as Tracer to flank top right and kill Gods unsuspecting McCree with a gravity-defying Rewind. The initial fight swings back in favour on NRG after enigma wins the Zarya battle and Seagull cleans up as Mei. A second push fizzles out and Fnatic rush right for a third time, straight in to a Graviton, Nanohardt and Blizzard.

Their last ditch effort looks doomed as milo connects the three man Earthshatter, but with no ults to combo a Boosted Stoop simply stands up and dusts himself off before clearing the point, killing dummy's Ana in the process and further enabling Custa to dominate the healing battle. NRG concede Point A.

There are still three minutes for Fnatic to push Point B, but they make a meal of their first push. The second attempt proves fruitful as NRG lose both tanks in seconds to Buds entering from mid right with his customary Nanoboost. Suddenly faced with a lack of sustain and point blocking ability NRG try to cling on, but have been utterly out played. Fnatic take map three and take the series.

NRG eSports finish the tournament tied with Cloud9 in 5th-8th place earning $18,000, whilst Fnatic proceed to face EnVyUs in the North American Regional Final that comprises 4 NA players from a possible 12. It's pretty clear that Europe are the real winners here!