SWS26 Recap: Global Gauntlet 1 Finals

Welcome to the warm-up to the global stage. Will the West win more than one game this time?

On Friday, April 24th and Saturday, April 25th, the First Edition Global Gauntlet reached its peak with the Global Gauntlet Finals, with a dual English-Japanese stream hosted by Inkling Performance Labs (IPL) and AREA CUP. The event was so highly anticipated that even Sendou.ink souped up the platform to be able to provide special features in time for the Finals.

To warm up for the Best of 5 Round Robin tournament, half an hour before the stream opened, Kbot and Popgun hosted a preshow, featuring special guest Shadowind. The trio also provided an analysis desk.

On the IPL English cast stream, Pat and Sasu ran with the first commentary block, and Fufu and Dark picked up the second half of the action. Hemi and Nitorabichi were locked in for commentary on the AREA CUP Japanese stream. Ely operated the spectator camera throughout the event.

The Teams

Each team participating in the Global Gauntlet 1 Finals earned their place by either being one of three top Western teams from one of two qualifiers, or being hand-picked by AREA CUP to represent Japan.

The teams and players who made up the West’s roster:

1. FTWin: [K]yo!, Biscuit (<3 rafe), sam, Burstie
2. ezmd: Silver, Devin4K, phoenix, kiki
3. Azure: xenith, Volty, y0shell, hexen, Thunder
4. PxG: Grey, Gos, Noah (Yu_Liter), Jordan (soulja)
5. Black Lotus: Noctis, anger, Naives, piiiro
6. No Mercy: Obito, SnipeZ! (MESMERIZER), σri_, Coolace, Ant

The teams and players who made up Japan’s roster:

1. ZEST: Chocopero, shuma, Riukun, kou
2. Utopia: Rubytan, Art, Inaten, Kashiwa
3. 07 Quartet: Suemaru, SAMURAI KASATO (Kasato), nemu 𝛼, Zitachi
4. EmpEror: lobster!, naegora, Neespa, Chiaki
5. swing: Momo, Norishio, reimaru, Sena
6. ISM rhythm: Livia, Grandroll (Garandou), Yocchan Ika, Goyame

The Gauntlet

The main event, dubbed “The Gauntlet”, was a six-round, Best of 5 Round Robin where Western teams only faced Japanese teams, as the Global Gauntlet’s main goal is to maximize playing time with the opposite region.

Like the Global Gauntlet Qualifiers, the Finals were also a Splat Zones-only tournament with all stages legal. The main deviation from the norm is the strike/select system:

• When the set begins, both teams take turns banning two maps each. The higher seed gets to pick their two maps of choice to ban first.
• The first map that the teams play on is randomly selected out of the pool of non-banned maps. The randomly-selected map is not banned after game one.
• After the first game, the winning team bans two more stages. The losing team selects the map for the next game.
  • This continues after each game until the set ends.
• Map bans reset after the set concludes and will not carry into the next set.

Round 1 - PxG vs. ZEST

The first map bans went to Urchin Underpass and Manta Maria on the side of PxG. ZEST banned Mahi-Mahi Resort and Crableg Capital. The randomly-selected map for game one was Robo ROM-en.

The tension crackled in the air for the West as the Global Gauntlet 1 Finals kicked off. ZEST took control of the zone first, and throughout the game, continued to push up into PxG’s spawn to lock them out, even wiping them out after Shuma got a triple near the halfway point.

Shuma gets the wipeout on PxG, enabling ZEST to set up a Crab Tank on the platform and keep their opponent locked out from the zone. This play gets ZEST all the way to 13.

PxG earned handfuls of points at a time, but never enough to take the lead… until Grey repaid the triple, allowing PxG to move up and take their score from 55 and some penalty points to the knockout, with 14 seconds to spare.

And the West rejoiced! We had our one win against Japan! Not only that, but reports rolled in that FTWin had also taken a game from JP team swing, ensuring that however the rest of the event played out, the GG1 Finals would have a better result for the West than 2025’s Splat World Series.

PxG, the match winner, banned Humpback Pump Track and Wahoo World next. ZEST picked Brinewater Springs as the stage.

ZEST’s runback paved a brutal path for PxG to climb; thirteen seconds into the game, Chocopero was in PxG’s spawn, scoring a triple. ZEST extinguished PxG’s attempts to rally up; PxG managed their first points of the game with a Triple Splashdown, stopping ZEST at 15. Points started to roll in for PxG, but ZEST took the zone back, and the lockout began anew. PxG tried retaking with Triple Inkstrikes, but capped the zone too late—ZEST had the KO.

The set was tied 1–1. FTWin reported another win against swing—a knockout. For game three, ZEST banned Eeltail Alley and Lemuria Hub. PxG counterpicked to Bluefin Depot.

PxG, for the first time in the set, took the zone first. They didn’t hold it long before ZEST, with Chocopero pulling out his famous Squeezer, swarmed in. In a blink, they had the lead. PxG’s Triple Inkstrikes saved the game, stopping ZEST at 9. The inciting incident which let PxG close the score gap was a wipeout, three-quarters thanks to soulja.

A double with a Splat Bomb, a third over a Splash Wall and from around the wall—soulja leads PxG to wipe out ZEST and rein the game back in.

Triple Inkstrikes, putting in overtime this game for both sides, stopped PxG at 33, then later prevented ZEST from burning all of their penalty points. In the last minute, PxG took the lead, but were stopped one tick from knocking out. Noah, taking two players down with one E-liter 4K shot, helped PxG take the zone and keep it, for a 99–91 win.

PxG and FTWin, both with two wins against Japan—but wait, there’s more: ezmd also won their first game, against ISM rhythm. Half of the West’s teams now had that accomplishment that only PxG was able to earn last year.

For game four, PxG banned Inkblot Art Academy and Shipshape Cargo Co., leading to ZEST choosing Sturgeon Shipyard as the map.

ZEST had game four in the palms of their hands nearly the whole two minutes the game lasted. No Triple Inkstrikes could fuel an extended PxG push this time—the team managed 8 points total, to ZEST’s knockout, sealing the ending with a wipeout on PxG.

The set, tied again, headed for a decisive game five. Ezmd finished 1–3. Azure, Black Lotus, and No Mercy went 0–3. FTWin lost to swing in a reverse sweep, 2–3. All eyes were now on PxG, the last Western team standing in Round 1. Could they take the set?

ZEST banned Museum d’Alfonsino and Mincemeat Metalworks. PxG selected MakoMart.

PxG took the zone first, only for 4 ticks before being wiped out and losing the lead 30 seconds in. ZEST’s opening got them to 39. Two minutes in, PxG’s fights denying ZEST their retaking specials let them secure the lead. They kept the pressure up, making sure ZEST rarely had two players on the field at once. One last time in Round 1, PxG’s Triple Inkstrikes capped the zone at the crucial last second, giving them the knockout!

“We knew PxG was the team to look at, to see a victory for the West. And they deliver: ROUND ONE, they get the 3–2 and win this set. Beautiful play right here, by PxG.” — Pat

The first win for the West was by no means easy, even for a team like PxG, who otherwise hasn’t dropped a single set in any other tournament so far in 2026. Both teams won on their counterpicks—the set came down to PxG taking the first win at Robo ROM-en, the random map selection.

Round 2 - ezmd vs. 07 Quartet

The follow up to the euphoric Round 1 saw ezmd vs. 07 Quartet, who was coming off of a 3–0 over Azure. The preliminary map strikes from ezmd were Urchin Underpass and Humpback Pump Track, and 07 Quartet’s were Manta Maria and Inkblot Art Academy. This left an opening for the inevitability no one wanted: Lemuria Hub!

The E-liter 4K players, Devin4K and Kasato, were the stars of the first 30 seconds, between Kasato splatting another player only 5 seconds into the game, to the spec cam catching both of them having a friendly peekaboo game with one another:

Kasato and Devin4K have a playful exchange with one another. They aren’t paying attention to the objective, but Zitachi, sneaking closer, intends to crash the party.

While the E-liters had their fun, 07 Quartet capped the zones. They pressed forward hard, locking ezmd out so oppressively that it would be more appropriate to call what happened spawn camping. Just one minute and seventeen seconds in, 07 Quartet knocked out. Both Kasato and Suemaru avoided being splatted the entire game.

While ezmd didn’t win the first game of Round 2, another Western team took their first win against Japan: Azure, against Utopia, scoring the knockout. After 07 Quartet chose to strike Marlin Airport and Scorch Gorge, ezmd’s Eeltail Alley selection would be instrumental in them paying their opponent back.

Ezmd claimed the zone first while 07 Quartet was staggered, thanks to Devin4K getting three splats in 30 seconds. Constantly down two or three players, 07 Quartet was now in the same shoes they put ezmd into the previous game. From 100 to 0, ezmd knocked out in just over a minute and a half. 07 Quartet couldn’t even neutralize the zone.

From silly to serious, Devin4K leads ezmd to an early zone capture by taking out three opponents in the first 30 seconds, including one just frames from escaping via super jump.

For game three, ezmd chose to strike Mahi-Mahi Resort and Brinewater Springs; 07 Quartet selected Flounder Heights as the map.

07 Quartet secured their “king of the hill” status early by taking ezmd down to their last player. Their lockout was so tight-knit that at one point, Suemaru took a break behind a wall and stood still until an Autobomb sniffed them out. Ezmd used all of their efforts to barely take one zone over and over, but couldn’t get a full cap. Desperate and staggered, the game came to a messy end—a knockout for 07 Quartet.

The next maps to be banned were Hammerhead Bridge and Museum d’Alfonsino. Crableg Capital was ezmd’s choice to make their last stand.

The zone belonged to ezmd at the start, but by the end of the first minute, both the zone and the lead were 07 Quartet’s. More than that, 07 Quartet had most of the map control, and above all else, the aggression to keep ezmd from dropping off their platform to get to the zone. Once the zone went over to 07 Quartet, ezmd couldn’t get it again. The final game in the set went to 07 Quartet in another knockout.

The members of 07 Quartet, from left to right: Zitachi, Nemu Alpha, Suemaru, and Kasato, who were about to play back-to-back on IPL’s stream.

After the KO-heavy set, IPL’s stream briefly tuned into [K]yo’s stream to see how FTWin was faring against ISM rhythm, waiting for Round 2 to end before Round 3, which would be between FTWin and 07 Quartet.

Once the results of the round rolled in… the West hadn’t won a single set in Round 2. PxG had finally lost a set in 2026, having gone 2–3 against swing. Azure also had a 2–3 set loss, against Utopia. Both ezmd and FTWin went 1–3, and Black Lotus and No Mercy faced another 0–3.

Round 3 - FTWin vs. 07 Quartet

By the time this set kicked off, two other sets in Round 3 had already concluded: Azure and Black Lotus had both lost 0–3, to EmpEror and ZEST, respectively. Fortunately, the teams were quick with their strikes (FTWin with Eeltail Alley and Bluefin Depot, 07 Quartet with Manta Maria and Urchin Underpass), so the games could kick off quick!

The map was Crableg Capital, where 07 Quartet was fresh from dominating ezmd. The story wasn’t the same with FTWin, whose aggressiveness outmatched 07 Quartet’s. All four members of FTWin were in 07 Quartet’s base—yes, even the Snipewriter 5H—giving their opponent no safe place to stand. Within two minutes, FTWin secured their knockout victory.

FTWin banned Brinewater Springs and Museum d’Alfonsino. 07 Quartet selected the double-zone Um’ami Ruins as their map, a calculated choice seen through their double .52 Gal comp (and by extension, double Splash Wall comp).

Like the last set, the outcome of game one was contrary to game two. FTWin struggled to keep players up, backs against the wall of their spawn as 07 Quartet splatted them one after the other. The tactic of literally walling off chokepoints using Splash Walls helped 07 Quartet take the knockout without letting FTWin get a single point.

07 Quartet’s Splash Walls effectively kept FTWin locked into their side of the map, forcing the players to take one of two vulnerable side routes.

After their quick victory, 07 Quartet banned Humpback Pump Track and MakoMart. FTWin counterpicked to Wahoo World. The weapon picks left a lot of situations down to main weapon skill, as no one on 07 Quartet had bombs, and only one player per team had a quick-deploying, high-damaging, painting special.

The first half of the game was textbook Splat Zones: the zone flipped, the lead changed hands, teams didn’t overextend and led charges with specials. At the halfway point, FTWin, with 1 tick remaining, was wiped out, keeping 07 Quartet alive. FTWin recouped, then got wiped out again. Growing desperate as 07 Quartet ran out of penalty points, three members of FTWin super jumped in, promptly getting punished by Zitachi.

Only three of FTWin’s players super jumped in. Who—and where—was the fourth one?

[K]yo!, taking the opposite route to the zone while 07 Quartet was occupied with FTWin’s jumps, throws Triple Inkstrikes and caps the zone, stopping 07 Quartet at 13.

[K]yo! took the zone and held on long enough for FTWin to respawn. In the final 15 seconds, armed with an Ink Vac, 07 Quartet took FTWin down three players and claimed the zone, initiating overtime. The Ink Vac returned in overtime. FTWin was down two players. 07 Quartet was out of penalty points.

The zone went neutral as 07 Quartet reached 3 ticks remaining. [K]yo!, again with the hero play, got behind 07 Quartet and unleashed the Triple Inkstrikes onto the zone. Although he was quickly splatted, all three Inkstrikes were thrown, painting the zone pink and giving FTWin the very, very close victory, 99–97.

At set point for FTWin, they picked Barnacle & Dime and Undertow Spillway as strikes; 07 Quartet responded with Inkblot Art Academy as their map selection.

The zone was claimed by 07 Quartet first, but not for long; FTWin splatted three opponents and had the zone within the first minute. Shortly after, the lead was theirs as well. Ticks flew by, coming to a halt at 13 when 07 Quartet’s Triple Splashdown capped the zone. FTWin wiped out 07 Quartet and locked them away from the zone while clearing their penalty points, and wrapped the set up with another knockout.

“It’s FTWin. They can do it. They CAN do it; they’ve shown that they can do it, over and over. Now, the big question is: WILL they do it?” — Pat, start of Round 3, Game 1

Following the end of FTWin’s 3–1 set, which was the most dominant Western win over Japan yet, the results from the rest of the round revealed that Japan had won every other set. PxG took one game from ISM rhythm, but ultimately ended up 1–3. The other Western teams went 0–3.

Round 4 - FTWin vs. Utopia

FTWin stayed on stream while their opponents swapped places. They were set to face Utopia, a team with whom they had a history together: FTWin vs. Utopia was the very first game on stream of the 2025 Splat World Series Finals. While Utopia did win that set 2–0 with KOs, FTWin gave them a tough fight.

Popgun, Kbot, and Shadowind hopped on stream for an analysis desk segment while Pat and Sasu traded places with Dark and Fufu. FTWin banned Museum d’Alfonsino and Um’ami Ruins—the former pick being unsurprising, as the first map FTWin met Utopia at and lost. Utopia’s strikes were Marlin Airport and Robo ROM-en. The action resumed at Flounder Heights!

Game one was a different tune between these teams than last year, which was great for Utopia—FTWin, not so much. They went down three players quickly, and while respawning, Art terrorized their base, pulling FTWin’s full attention and netting Utopia half of the zone timer uncontested. Fully shutting down FTWin, Utopia knocked out in less than a minute and a half.

Utopia’s Art, not just living rent-free in FTWin’s spawn, but charging them for the space, too! Art’s diversion bought Utopia 40 ticks before they were splatted.

Utopia banned Eeltail Alley and Shipshape Cargo Co. The map that FTWin selected was Wahoo World, which was also the game two map these teams played on in Winner’s Quarterfinals last year. While FTWin had just lost at Flounder Heights, another Western team earned their first victory against Japan on that map: No Mercy, vs. ISM rhythm.

Utopia kept their cheery tune alive in game two, every bit as aggressive as before. Art pincered FTWin from behind, pulling all of the aggro again while the rest of Utopia took shots from afar. Again, another sub-minute and a half knockout from Utopia. Two games into the set, and FTWin hadn’t earned a single point yet.

The next two maps to be banned were Crableg Capital and Lemuria Hub. FTWin selected Urchin Underpass as the next, and potentially last, map of the set.

FTWin finally breathed life into the set, earning points and taking the lead from Utopia early. The teams pushed back and forth with one another; Utopia just barely snuck past FTWin for a one-point lead. FTWin pushed back harder, cutting short Utopia’s specials, to take the lead back. They went down three players, but their momentum let them topple into the knockout, keeping the set going.

Biscuit and his Heavy Splatling, carrying all of FTWin’s hopes and dreams, outpaints the 3v1 to bring FTWin’s first win of the set.

FTWin’s choices for map strikes were Brinewater Springs and Bluefin Depot; Utopia turned around and selected MakoMart, which would favor both teams well.

Utopia’s holds on this zone were few, but lengthy, while FTWin was forced to take points in bursts. FTWin’s paint output was slightly less than what Utopia had; they made up for it with fights. The gap between points started closing, and after taking Utopia down three players, they secured a strong enough foothold to seal the knockout, with a Triple Splashdown for flourish, and tie the set 2–2.

The moment had arrived for FTWin, to make-or-break the reverse sweep on their SWS demon, the only returning JP team from last year. They banned Undertow Spillway and Barnacle & Dime. The IPL stream saw Hammerhead Bridge for the first time, as Utopia’s pick.

Despite the long map, Utopia’s farther-reaching comp secured the zone in 11 seconds. FTWin was cut down to two players, then three, beginning to stagger heavily as Utopia pushed up further and further. While Utopia was locking out, FTWin managed to take the zone for a mere three ticks to give themselves some points, but the run was snuffed out just as quick. For the third KO in the set, Utopia won in less than two minutes.

Rubytan and Inate share a fist bump to celebrate the Round 4 win, bringing their set record to a 2–0 against FTWin.

The 2–3 loss for FTWin was the best the West brought to Round 4; PxG, Azure, and No Mercy had all gone 1–3, and ezmd and Black Lotus trailed at 0–3.

Round 5 - Azure vs. swing

Azure and swing shared their first time on stream in Round 5. Azure banned Sturgeon Shipyard and Lemuria Hub. Swing banned Crableg Capital and Shipshape Cargo Co. Their set started at Eeltail Alley, bringing to light a fight between top level Roller players in Volty (Azure) and Sena (swing).

The game began in favor of Azure, running to the zone and getting key picks while capturing the objective. They kept fights at the edge of the zone, but were pushed back too far, letting swing in. Swing, once the zone was in their control, went from 100 to 0 and claimed the knockout win.

Swing’s strikes targeted Azure’s E-liter 4K and Carbon Roller, removing Bluefin Depot and Humpback Pump Track from the map pool. Azure pulled out the MakoMart pick.

Azure was the team coming out swinging from the onset in game two, getting an early wipeout on their opponent and taking the lead. Swing couldn’t approach the zone without losing players; they had to take Azure down by half to finally stop them at 18. For all of Azure’s offense, they struggled when put on defense, letting swing get points in strides. What looked like a win for Azure ended up a KO for swing in the final minute.

“I feel like a kid on Christmas, Dark. I am giggling and kicking my feet all the way throughout this.” — Fufu, on Volty’s early-game pressure keeping swing away from the zone.

Azure’s last chance to stay in the set took place at Um’ami Ruins, after swing banned Flounder Heights and Brinewater Springs. At no point had anyone on either team changed weapons yet, sticking with their strongest to the end.

Swing earned the first points of the game while Azure persistently neutralized the zones, unable to cap them. Azure’s first point gain was just that—one point—until the halfway point where they finally built up steam. They closed the distance, just five ticks to the lead, when Norishio’s Zipcaster shot in, taking down two players in one go. All momentum lost, Azure was locked out from the zones and suffered another knockout.

The members of swing, from left to right: Sena, reimaru, Norishio, Momo, winning the first 3–0 set on IPL’s stream.

As Round 5 came to a close, the calendar turned for West Coast players, passing midnight Pacific Time and putting everyone on the same Saturday in time for the final round of the GG1 Finals: the highest seed of both regions, PxG vs. EmpEror.

Round 6 - PxG vs. EmpEror

PxG and EmpEror were both walking into the final round of the event from a 3–0 sweep in Round 5. The difference was, for PxG, this was the first 3–0 the West had all morning. EmpEror, meanwhile, had a perfect 3–0 record for every single set, not losing once.

And yet, before the set even began, the West had reason to cheer: Black Lotus, who had yet to win once, finally won their first game: a knockout against 07 Quartet. Going into the set with every Western team having at least one victory over Japan, the stream revisited Wahoo World for the third time, after PxG banned Urchin Underpass and Flounder Heights, and EmpEror banned Eeltail Alley and Bluefin Depot.

From the start, PxG played like they were going to be THE team to hand EmpEror their first loss of the day. Forcing a delayed wipeout on EmpEror not once, but twice in the span of 60 seconds, PxG took their lead to 39 before EmpEror rallied up. Although it was only halfway through the clock, it felt like an eternity passed, and as EmpEror took the lead, that eternity turned into the blink of an eye.

Both teams fought viciously for the zone. Over the span of ten seconds, every player gets splatted at least once, some twice.

PxG struggled to get close to the zone, no matter what angle they took. Triple Inkstrikes paused EmpEror’s points at two remaining, but with only Gos left standing, EmpEror outpainted the opposition to take yet another knockout.

EmpEror banned Museum d’Alfonsino and Marlin Airport. PxG counterpicked to a different ‘M’ stage, Mincemeat Metalworks, which was also appearing for the first time. EmpEror forgoed their backline, leaving the ranged support to their .96 Gal while the rest of the team sported close-range picks.

Again, PxG looked in top form at the opening, taking the zone first and earning a handful of points. The game was adaptation on the spot for EmpEror as they got a feeling for how PxG would approach, and when they broke through once, PxG wasn’t able to get back in, even with Triple Inkstrikes. Another clean knockout for EmpEror.

EmpEror’s strikes went to Mahi-Mahi Resort and Lemuria Hub. PxG put all of their bets on ol’ reliable: MakoMart. It was now or never to break EmpEror’s dominating streak!

The winds had changed direction, blowing at EmpEror’s backs. Their adaptation period had ended. The zone was in their hands first, and never left it for the rest of the game. Perhaps for the first time in all of 2026 so far, PxG had no chance to breathe before their opponent was in their face, wiping them out, delivering a knockout in just one minute and thirteen seconds.

EmpEror, the team who broke PxG’s perfect formal tournament streak, while maintaining their own lossless run.

EmpEror was the only team during the Global Gauntlet 1 Finals that PxG could not win at least one game against. Compared to 2025, where the crowning achievement was one single game the entire event, to only one set without a win, the improvement is clear. Not just from PxG, but from the rest of the West as well, with each team winning at least once—and most of these teams weren’t even at last year’s Splat World Series.

The skill gap between regions is still large. But to help close it further before the Splat World Series 2026 main event, there is one more Global Gauntlet to look forward to!

The Second Edition Global Gauntlet

The sequel to the First Edition Global Gauntlet has been moved up in schedule by one week. The first GG2 Qualifier has been eliminated, instead merging with the SendouQ Season 11 Finale, which takes place on Saturday, May 23rd, 2026.

The following week, on Saturday, May 30th, the Global Gauntlet 2 Qualifier will be held. The top three teams from each qualifying event will be invited to the West’s roster for the GG2 Finals, regardless if they participated in the GG1 Finals or not.

Both the SendouQ Season 11 Finale and Global Gauntlet 2 Qualifier take place during the Western Timeslot: 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET / 7 PM CET / 2 AM JT.

The Global Gauntlet 2 Finals have also been moved up one week, and take place during the International Timeslot: 8 PM PT / 11 PM ET on Friday evening / 5 AM CET / 12 PM JT on Saturday afternoon. For NA players, this means the GG2 Finals begins the night of Friday, June 5th and will roll over into the next morning. For all other regions, the event will start early in the day on Saturday, June 6th.

In case you missed any events during the First Edition Global Gauntlet, you can check out IPL’s Splat World Series: Global Gauntlet #1 playlist on YouTube, which features their REWOUND series of videos, providing full commentary to the unstreamed matches from the Finals!

Make sure you tune in for the next Global Gauntlet to catch the best talent in the world!

Original Posting Date: May 23, 2026 at Splatoon Stronghold.

Written and formatted for publication by YELLOW.