SendouQ Season 10 Finale Recap
When seed #12 almost upsets seed #1 during game one of the tournament, you know you’re in for a treat
On Saturday, February 28, 2026, Sendou.ink held the tenth iteration of its Splatoon 3 community top cut tournament, the SendouQ Season 10 Finale. Only the top 12 ranked teams per SendouQ season are invited to participate. Season 10 covered December 2025 through February 2026, correlating with Splatoon 3’s in-game Chill Season.
The Group Stage is a Best of 5, where the two best teams between Group A and Group B advance to the single-elimination Top Cut for the Best of 5 Semifinals, with Finals being a Best of 7. The tournament is Splat Zones-only, with a $500 prize pot reward.
The English livestream was run by Inkling Performance Labs (IPL) with a dual stream in Japanese through a collaboration with AREA CUP. The English cast for the Group Stage was Rissa and Sapph, and Cyren and OBT took over for Top Cut. The Japanese casters were Hemi and Razzy. Pipedream was on the spectator camera.
These twelve teams, ranked by SendouQ points (not seed), qualified for the Season 10 Finale:
- BlankZ
- Flow Dragons
- Duck Motif
- ezmd
- BEt
- PxG
- Nala Fanclub
- Hypernova
- Ascension
- SUPER FIGHTING MII TEAM SUPREME
- Pounds
- Sun-Eater
Between the twelve teams, a huge handful of players were making their debut in a SendouQ Season Finale, mixed in with those who are frequent sights.
Bluesky post from BEEP listing all of the new faces appearing in the SendouQ Season 10 Finale.
Group Stage
Only one set per round of the Group Stage was shown on stream, so viewers didn’t get to see every piece of the action just by watching IPL’s stream. But the casters gave the highlights in between games to keep everyone up to speed.
With this being the first major tournament since 11.0.0 dropped and changed the game, paired with so many newcomers to the Finale, we got to see some fresh team comps. It took all the way until Round 5 of Groups to see the first S-BLAST ‘91 on stream, having been passed over in favor of the new powerhouses in Blaster and Custom Blaster.
The Group Stage stream bounced between Group A and Group B, following Duck Motif vs. BlankZ, ezmd vs. SUPER FIGHTING MII TEAM SUPREME, Flow Dragons vs. Nala Fanclub, Hypernova vs. Duck Motif, and ezmd vs. Nala Fanclub.
Duck Motif vs. BlankZ was an excellent set to kick off the tournament, being taken to a game 5, but once it concluded and the casters had time to see how the other sets were faring, everyone was given shocking news from Group A:
Sun-Eater, a team composed entirely of players debuting in a SendouQ Season Finale, ranked Div 1 in LUTI, seed #12 for the event, had taken PxG, seed #1 and winners of multiple Season Finales, to a game 5 in Round 1.
Sun-Eater’s success story didn’t end there; they got the shut-out 3-0 over BlankZ and BEt and took Hypernova to a close 3-2 set, before taking a loss against Duck Motif 1-3, but still securing their spot in the Top Cut.
Meanwhile, Group B was experiencing their own nail-biting storyline:
Flow Dragons, another team entirely new to a SendouQ Season Finale—with the exception of Noctis, captain of EYG x Black Lotus—had torn up the entire group, not dropping a single set and losing only one game, which was to the other Top Cut qualifier from Group B, Nala Fanclub.
Round 5, between Nala Fanclub and ezmd, was a fight to determine which of the two teams would make it into Top Cut alongside Flow Dragons. Due to the set going to a game 5, regardless of the fact that Nala Fanclub lost, it still secured them just enough points to eke ahead of ezmd to advance in the tournament.
Top Cut
With Top Cut being between PxG (seed #1), Sun-Eater (seed #12), Flow Dragons (seed #3), and Nala Fanclub (seed #7), this marked the first time since the Season 7 Finale that ezmd (seed #2) didn’t make it to Top Cut.
Sun-Eater, the team of Assis, Boopy, Kito, and Ace, the underdogs of the Season 10 Finale. Image source: synapse_spl Twitch stream
Semifinals - PxG vs. Nala Fanclub (3-0)
The first set of Top Cut went to PxG and Nala Fanclub. Game one was at Undertow Spillway, where the game was tied at 31-32 in PxG’s favor since the game timer read 2:37, up until the end, where PxG would win by that one point, 69-68.
Scorch Gorge, a map not too commonly chosen for Splat Zones, was the counterpick for game two. Nala Fanclub struggled to get a strong enough foothold in the game to get any meaningful points; PxG ended the game in a knockout with just over one minute to spare.
Taking Nala Fanclub down to their last player, PxG would retake the zone for those last two ticks needed to knockout. Image source: IPL YouTube stream
Lastly, the game went to another double-zone map, Um’ami Ruins. PxG kept up the pressure on Nala Fanclub, continuously living in their spawn to lock out their opponent from the zones. At the two-minute mark, PxG took another knockout to seal the shutout set win, 3-0, and advance to Finals.
Semifinals - Flow Dragons vs. Sun-Eater (3-0)
Flow Dragons and Sun-Eater met for the first time in the tournament at MakoMart. The game was a back and forth that got as close as it possibly could; don’t let the KO speak for itself—the score was 1-2 with Sun-Eater in the lead. The game went into overtime, where Flow Dragons would pass Sun-Eater for the overtime knockout victory.
In overtime, Flow Dragons tied with Sun-Eater, just one tick from taking the win in the closest possible game of Splat Zones. Image source: IPL YouTube stream
The next game went to Wahoo World. Flow Dragons’ strongest offensive tactic in this game was to lead the charge with an Ultra Stamp, protected by an Ink Vac, which they used more than once to regain the zone. Flow Dragons knocked out Sun-Eater at the halfway point on the game timer.
The last game in the set took place at Museum d’Alfonsino. Between one team having a Mini Splatling and the other having a Splatana Wiper, there was almost always an Ultra Stamp on the field. At 3:19 on the clock, Flow Dragons wiped out Sun-Eater, and a few seconds later, took their third and final knockout win, for a 3-0 set and ticket to Finals.
Flow Dragons, from left to right: め, Azu, Momo, and Noctis; all but the latter are in their first SendouQ Season Finale. Image source: IPL YouTube stream
Finals - PxG vs. Flow Dragons (4-3)
The Finals set of the SendouQ Season Finale changes from a Bo5 to a Bo7, where the first team to four wins takes the victory. PxG had yet to meet Flow Dragons, but Flow Dragons was coming off of a 3-0 over Sun-Eater, who had given PxG a scare, so this set was already one to keep eyes on.
Game one began at Inkblot Art Academy. PxG firmly held the zone from the onset, only stopping at 16 after Flow Dragons had to throw an Ultra Stamp, Ink Vac burst, and Triple Splashdown at the zone. They only got to 84 before PxG had the zone again, and to seal the win, they wiped out Flow Dragons seconds before knocking out at 2:20.
PxG (left) and Flow Dragons (right) weapon comps for the Urchin Underpass Splat Zones game. Image source: IPL YouTube stream
Urchin Underpass was the pick for game two, coming with its expected comp shakeup. Both teams took their turns with the zone, but PxG struggled to hold it, finding themselves down three players multiple times. The final score was 97-74, and the win was Flow Dragons’, which was the spark that ignited what was to come.
Game three went to Undertow Spillway. Flow Dragons brought in a double-Ultra Stamp setup, which was PxG’s ultimate downfall. In overtime, PxG, playing defense, lost two players to a single Ultra Stamp, leading to Flow Dragons reclaiming the zone, taking their next victory, with a score of 90-69.
Eeltail Alley was PxG’s counterpick, and the game was well in their favor at the start. They took the zone first, and a single strike from Soulja’s Triple Inkstrike splatted three members of Flow Dragons. Once more, Flow Dragons had another game down to the wire, but in overtime, they would come out on top for the third time in a row, 97-92.
The set was now at its match point for Flow Dragons—if PxG wanted to get their third SendouQ Finale win in a row, they needed to take the set all the way to game seven.
“One game at a time, boys. One game, outta here.”
“It’s just two games, you know.”
- PxG’s commentary during Soulja’s stream (@jayy_sushi on YouTube)
Game five was PxG’s time to remind the world about their reputation. Grey returned to his S-BLAST ‘91. Noah, on the E-liter 4K, took down two players and activated Flow Aura. With almost two minutes to spare, PxG stopped Flow Dragons’ win streak with a knockout.
Humpback Pump Track saw Noctis bring out a Gold Dynamo Roller, for its first time on stream. The commentators questioned the variant over the vanilla Dynamo Roller, but its Super Chumps did trap PxG in place for Azu to swim in and take out three members of PxG with a single S-BLAST ‘91 shot, for a wipeout.
Azu’s POV getting a triple on PxG. Image source: replay code RPCK-FQXQ-XBTT-T444 from Grey’s Bluesky.
But the wipeout didn’t end PxG’s run just yet. They recovered in time to stop Flow Dragons right before they took the lead from them, and would continue on to get another knockout win, taking the Finals to a game seven!
Flow Dragons’ counterpick for their last shot at victory was to Brinewater Springs, a choice called “bold” by the commentators, with reason. PxG’s E-liter 4K was a deadly roadblock for Flow Dragons, and Brinewater Springs was a playground for it, able to snipe opponents from across the map from safety.
Their answer to the problem? A double-Big Bubbler composition, with a Zink Mini Splatling and Blaster, paired with a Snipewriter 5H for Tacticooler and Forge Splattershot Pro for Booyah Bomb.
PxG and Flow Dragons traded the lead, but going into the second half of the game, it was Flow Dragons shortly ahead, 35-51. As the game continued, PxG stopped Flow Dragons at 12, and with 33 penalty points to burn through before getting to chip away at their 51 ticks, the road ahead was difficult, and led into overtime.
Overtime began with PxG having 12 penalty points left, and another 13 ticks to go to pass Flow Dragons. Flow Dragons was already down two players, but just as PxG ran out of penalty, Azu tossed a Booyah Bomb onto the zone, neutralizing it.
PxG reclaimed the zone quickly; Gos and Soulja focused on painting, letting Grey and Noah handle splatting opponents. Azu dipped and dived, evading the PxG offense to make their way into the zone to help Momo neutralize it, but was a hair too late, as PxG surpassed Flow Dragons’ score to take the lead, 89-88.
For the third time in a row, PxG claims gold in the SendouQ Season Finale! Gos and Noah have now each won half of all Season Finales (five), and Soulja and Grey have won four each.
PxG’s victory photo; from left to right: Grey, Noah, Gos, Soulja. Image source: @greyspl.bsky.com.
With Japan’s increasing interest in Western majors, and especially with the upcoming Splat World Series sequel, 2026 seems primed for a new age of Competitive Splatoon, where the gap between Japan and the West starts closing.
Original Posting Date: March 3, 2026 at Splatoon Stronghold.
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