At least one North American club had already secured a berth in the Major before the third Regional in each of the three Splits from the previous season. This season, Gen.G Mobil1 Racing and Complexity Gaming are the only two teams who may secure berths in San Diego for the Winter Cup on their own merits.
Last time around, Gen.G won the Winter Open, defeating Complexity in the championship match. They can cement their berth by making it to the championship match, which would mark their sixth consecutive appearance overall and fifth in North America. By winning the Winter Cup, Complexity Gaming will be able to reserve their seat.
Several more teams are still seriously contending for San Diego behind those two clubs. This includes G2 Esports, the defending Winter Major winners, who lost to Gen.G in the Winter Open quarterfinals. Dignitas, who placed third or fourth last time around and is undoubtedly still in the running, suffered in the Winter Cup Closed Qualification, finishing 3-2 after a 1-2 start.
Group A
Gen.G and Dignitas, two Winter Open semifinals teams, are in Group A along with OpTic Gaming and KOI, two teams that placed last in their group. Last time around, Gen.G, Dignitas, and KOI faced off in the group stage.
Gen.G defeated both KOI and Dignitas, while Dignitas triumphed against KOI. As KOI are still searching for their first series victory of the season, OpTic Gaming will be eager to bounce back and fight for their first Major as a team (0-12).
Group B
Prior to the 2021–22 Spring Split, NRG and FaZe Clan were one of the top rivalries in the North American RLCS. They hoped to carry on that form this time around after looking their best in over a year at the Winter Open. The previous time M80 and FaZe Clan faced battle in the Playoffs, M80 emerged victorious in an unexpected manner.
Being one of only two North American organizations to create all-circuit era LANs, FaZe Clan will be aiming to recover and maintain their run (alongside G2 Esports). Shopify Rebellion struggled to a 1-9 game record in a challenging group their previous outing. Will they become better this time?
Group C
The current Winter Major champions, G2 Esports, are in charge of a strong group. When they last faced off, G2 Esports defeated Version1 3-1 to take top place in the group. After a poor 9th–12th place finish at the Winter Open, Version1 and Pittsburgh Knights will both be seeking a solid performance.
Ghost Gaming, who had a successful 3-1 record in the Closed Qualification, will be making their third appearance of the season.
Group D
With the rivalry between Spacestation and Complexity from their tiebreaker for the 2021–22 Fall Major, the two South American imports Complexity Gaming and FURIA, and a desperate race to qualify for the Major among the top three teams, Group D features the most stories of any group in the competition.
Complexity already have a foot in the door after making it to the championship game the previous time around, but they can't afford to disappoint in a challenging group. At the Winter Open, Spacestation Gaming placed fifth through eighth, which was their worst regional performance of the year.
FURIA experienced the same outcome, therefore both teams will be hoping for a solid start this time. After being absent from the Autumn Split, Akrew will be in their second tournament in a row.
