Where do NA teams stand two weeks before the Major invite deadline?

It is exactly two weeks before the final regional VRS rankings are locked and the official invites to the StarLadder Budapest Major are sent out on October 6th.

Where do each of the NA teams stand? Currently there are six NA teams in contention for making the Major, according to the current VRS standings and HLTV's Major invites predictions. And it feels like at least one will end up on the outside looking in.

NRG

NRG has effectively guaranteed a spot in the Major, and are vying for a direct spot in Stage Two.

NRG currently sits 4th in the VRS Americas rankings with 1315 points, and are predicted to take one of the two direct Americas spots in Stage Two. A strong September for the NRG roster has put them in an enviable position, after finishing first place at Fragadelphia Fragville and in the ECL S50 NA Cup 1.

Newest addition Aran "Sonic" Groesbeek was instrumental to their success at Fragville, the team will look to build more chemistry with him at ESL Pro League S22. Their first match in Stage 1 of Pro League will be against GamerLegion on September 28th.

M80

M80 has effectively guaranteed a spot in the Major.

M80 are currently ranked 5th in the VRS Americas rankings with 1267 points, and are currently predicted to just miss out on the Stage Two spot.

HLTV currently estimates that Legacy and NRG will claim the Stage Two spots, leaving M80 to start in Stage One. Still, M80 did well to effectively lock in their Major spot with a spectacular showing at BLAST London, by beating NAVI and Fnatic and remaining competitive against the likes of Vitality and MOUZ.

Like NRG, M80 will also compete in ESL Pro League S22, starting with an opening round match against Virtus.pro.

Passion UA

Passion UA has a strong chance of qualifying for the Major, and will likely start in Stage One.

Passion UA are currently ranked 8th in the VRS Americas rankings with 1191 points, and HLTV predicts they will retain that spot and qualify for the Major.

After stumbling at DraculaN in their first showing since leaving Complexity, Passion UA rallied at StarSeries Fall with a very important win against Gentle Mates.

They have two LAN events beginning next week: DraculaN 2 and Urban Riga Open 1. Performing super well at both gives them a chance to maybe take a Stage Two spot, but alternatively a disastrous showing at both events could put their Major spot at risk.

Wildcard

Wildcard has a solid chance of making the Major.

Wildcard are currently ranked 9th in the VRS Americas rankings with 1120 points, and HLTV predicts they will retain that spot and qualify for the Major.

Wildcard's third place result on LAN at Fragadelphia Fragville and yesterday's first place finish at ECL S50 NA Cup 2 have elevated them into a much safer position in the rankings.

They'll try to lock in their spot by qualifying for and competing in the Birch Cup, a $15K LAN in Gdańsk, Poland that begins with an open qualifier September 26th. Wildcard are also expected to attend Fragadelphia Blocktober from October 2nd-5th.

SkinRave

SkinRave are a coinflip to make the Major.

SkinRave are currently ranked 10th in the VRS Americas rankings with 1078 points, and HLTV predicts they will retain that spot and qualify for the Major.

The former BLUEJAYS core have both Marsborne and a number of Brazilian teams chasing their spot right behind them in the Americas rankings.

SkinRave are expected to attend Fragadelphia Blocktober from October 2nd-5th, and they are also slated to compete in ECL S50 NA Cup 3, which begins October 5th.

Marsborne

Marsborne will likely just miss the Major.

Marsborne are currently ranked 13th in the VRS Americas rankings with 1035 points. HLTV predicts they will climb up to 11th, but still miss the Major.

Marsborne have certainly made things interesting after bringing on Danny "Cxzi" Strzelczyk last week, but falling to Wildcard in the final of ECL S50 NA Cup 2 and finishing second might mean the difference between making the Major and watching from home.

Like SkinRave, Marsborne are also expected to attend Fragadelphia Blocktober and compete in ECL S50 NA Cup 3.