SWS26 Recap: Global Gauntlet 2, Qualifier 2

The West needs five teams for the Global Gauntlet 2 Finals—four will be determined here!

On Saturday, May 30, 2026, IPL hosted the second qualifier for Western teams to pick up a spot to compete in IPL and AREA CUP’s second region-vs-region invitational, the Global Gauntlet. The two Global Gauntlets serve as warm-ups between regions before the main Competitive Splatoon event of the summer: the Splat World Series 2026.

All SWS26 events are Splat Zones-only tournaments, with all stages legal. Map selection follows a 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.

For this event, Winner’s Bracket Rounds 1 and 2 were Best of Three sets, followed by Best of Five Winner’s Semifinals and Loser’s Round 4 sets. The tournament ended after the Winner’s Semifinals and Loser’s Bracket Round 4, not advancing to Winner’s Finals, Loser’s Semifinals/Finals, or Grand Finals, as the top four teams from the event would all be given an invitation to the GG2 Finals.

Commentating the three hour event were Fufu and Sasu, and on the spectator camera was Ely, bringing the hype, highlights, and action to viewers on both IPL’s Twitch and YouTube streams.

Winner’s Bracket Round 1 - Swarm vs. healthy diet food groups (2–0)

The Second Edition Global Gauntlet Qualifier 2 began with Swarm vs. healthy diet food groups. The first two rounds of the event were a Best of Three, so there was little room for mistakes to be made. The final outcome came down to just a few ticks, just a few seconds, and was perhaps the closest set all day, despite the surface-level 2–0 score.

Game one, Swarm banned Bluefin Depot and Lemuria Hub, while healthy diet food groups banned Flounder Heights and Crableg Capital. The randomly-selected map was Inkblot Art Academy; coming down to overtime, Swarm won in overtime, 93–92.

Game two, Swarm chose to strike Hagglefish Market and Mahi-Mahi Resort; healthy diet food groups selected Museum d’Alfonsino. The game went to overtime again, with healthy diet food groups losing the zone just 5 ticks from the lead, losing 90–94—Swarm advanced to the next round.

Winner’s Bracket Round 2 - Polaris vs. New Meta (0–2)

Swarm, New Meta, Polaris, Sonion, and Sun-Eater advanced from the first round. Polaris and New Meta were the only teams fighting another advancing opponent; all of the other teams instead faced a higher-seeded team who began the tournament in Round 2 (Milky Way, Rinascita, and Crickets).

Polaris banned Barnacle & Dime and Bluefin Depot, and New Meta banned Urchin Underpass and Wahoo World. Game one was at Undertow Spillway, where New Meta knocked out in about a minute and a half.

New Meta next banned Crableg Capital and Lemuria Hub, and Polaris counterpicked to Robo ROM-en. The game came down to overtime, and from the tie, New Meta neutralized the zone, forcing Polaris back one point, and claimed the win, 86–85.

Winner’s Semifinals Part 1 - Milky Way vs. New Meta (3–0)

New Meta advanced to face Milky Way in the first qualification match of the event. The winner of this set would finish the tournament early with a ticket to the Global Gauntlet 2 Finals taking place the following week.

For game one, Milky Way banned MakoMart and Museum d’Alfonsino. New Meta banned Barnacle & Dime and Bluefin Depot. The map selected at random was Robo ROM-en.

Milky Way capped the zone first, traded with New Meta, then ended up back in the lead before the first minute ended. They set up a lock out to secure a major amount of points, and by the time New Meta broke free, the best they could do was neutralize the zone a few times before Milky Way knocked out.

For game two, Milky Way’s map strikes were Sturgeon Shipyard and Eeltail Alley; New Meta’s map selection was Wahoo World.

Early on, New Meta suffered a wipeout, losing the lead, but reversed the situation onto Milky Way, taking them down three players and getting the zone back. Their hold lasted until 10 ticks to KO, but they struggled to maintain control when they kept going down in pairs. In a fight over neutral, Milky Way cleared their penalty points to take the lead, and New Meta narrowly avoided the knockout, losing 90–96.

Halfway through the game, Isabel gets a triple splat, stopping Milky Way’s zone timer at 19 ticks before they could take the lead from New Meta.

For game three, Milky Way banned Urchin Underpass and Humpback Pump Track. New Meta counterpicked to Flounder Heights, resulting in both teams mirroring a Tri-Slosher Nouveau and Heavy Splatling.

It took about 45 seconds for the zones to be capped; Milky Way had to take New Meta down three players to do so. New Meta was able to use a Reefslider to take the zones once, but they couldn’t hold them for very long. They struggled to get back after being splatted, and would ultimately take another knockout loss and be sent to the Loser’s Bracket while Milky Way finished their tournament run and qualified for the GG2 Finals.

Winner’s Semifinals Part 2 - Rinascita vs. Crickets (3–1)

On the other side of the Winner’s Semifinals was Rinascita and Crickets. While the team names may not be familiar, the players certainly are! Rinascita is made up of Volty, y0shell, phoenix, and Yeti; the latter being fresh off of a win with PxG at the SendouQ Season 11 Finale. The players on Crickets included kiki, Mino, Silver, and Jay. Between the two teams, three-quarters of ezmd were present and about to fight!

Game one went to MakoMart after Rinascita opted to strike Lemuria Hub and Museum d’Alfonsino, and Crickets chose to strike Flounder Heights and Urchin Underpass.

In a very quick game, Rinascita took Crickets down three players to take the zones and held firm, getting the lead in short order, and within a minute later, had the knockout. The match lasted less than a minute and a half.

Game two went to Barnacle & Dime as Crickets’ choice of map after Rinascita banned Manta Maria and Undertow Spillway.

Again, Rinascita took the zone and lead from Crickets after taking the team down to their last player. Y0shell, for good measure, even splatted two players with one E-liter 4K shot, and for good measure took another for a triple. Rinascita was stopped at 10 ticks remaining, and in two major pushes that followed, in the last stretch, Crickets was able to take the lead and go all the way to the knockout, tying the set.

Dueling Crab Tanks between Yeti and Silver, who did this at least once per game. It would become evident as the tournament continued that Silver really liked Crab Tank vs. Crab Tank.

Game three saw Crickets ban Eeltail Alley and Brinewater Springs. Bluefin Depot was Rinascita’s map selection.

Crickets were never far from Rinascita in terms of points during the game. First Rinascita brought their score to 39, then Crickets followed up and fell just short of the lead at 40. Rinascita then moved to 15 ticks remaining. As overtime began, Crickets was at 17, but the zone was quickly overtaken by Rinascita, giving them the win, 85–83.

Game four went to the last available double-zone map, Um’ami Ruins, once Rinascita banned Robo ROM-en and Wahoo World.

Rinascita got all the way to 14 ticks before Crickets had a chance to get any points for themselves. In a major push of their own, Crickets nearly evened the score, 29–14, with almost half of the game timer left. Rinascita lost the zone just two ticks from KO’ing. Overtime began—the zones were neutral, Crickets had no penalty and needed 8 ticks to win. The overtime clock ended before the zones were capped, and Rinascita won, 98–91.

Milky Way and Rinascita both had now completed the tournament, earning their spots at the Second Edition Global Gauntlet Finals. Only two more spots remained to be claimed on the West’s roster!

Loser’s Round 4 Part 1 - Sonion vs. New Meta (1–3)

Moving into the Best of Five Loser’s Round 4, the third qualification match was between Sonion, who hadn’t been on the IPL stream yet, and New Meta, who was coming back for their third time on stream.

For game one, after New Meta banned Barnacle & Dime and Bluefin Depot, and Sonion banned Flounder Heights and Urchin Underpass, Robo ROM-en was the randomly-selected map.

Sonion took the lead from New Meta briefly before New Meta took it back within a handful of seconds. This time, they took the lead to 16 before Sonion’s Crab Tank was able to splat New Meta’s players, giving Sonion the chance to get more points. New Meta attacked from different angles, regaining the zone, and wiped out Sonion as their final ticks melted away, giving them the knockout.

Game two went to Hagglefish Market. New Meta’s map strikes were MakoMart and Crableg Capital.

Sonion took the zone first this time, but the scrappy match saw both teams trade the lead, and as the action intensified, traded only penalty points as the zone changed sides more and more. A wipeout on New Meta gave Sonion the chance to get an impactful lead, and the game concluded in favor of Sonion, 93–64.

For game three, Sonion banned Undertow Spillway and Wahoo World. New Meta selected Manta Maria as the map afterward.

Both teams went down three players while the zones were neutral, leaving Sonion’s Snipewriter 5H player and New Meta’s N-ZAP ‘85 player standing. Neither player engaged the other until their teammates respawned, and New Meta came out with not only possession of the zones, but the knockout win.

Game four saw New Meta strike Mincemeat Metalworks and Brinewater Springs. Sonion picked Mahi-Mahi Resort as their map of choice to make a final stand.

Within 20 seconds, Sonion had the zone, taking New Meta down in a delayed triple. New Meta reversed this onto Sonion, taking their opponent down three to get the zones and lead. A delayed wipeout on Sonion kept New Meta in control, going from 100 ticks to only 1 tick remaining, before Sonion bounced back. A double on Sonion gave New Meta the zone back, to knockout shortly after, winning their ticket to the GG2 Finals!

Landing on the water normally means an instant splat, unless you’re Isabel, who rolled right onto the pool and safely made it back to land with another dodge roll, right before knocking out.

Loser’s Round 4 Part 2 - Polaris vs. Crickets (1–3)

The final match of the second Global Gauntlet 2 Qualifier, for the last spot on the West’s roster for the Finals. Both Polaris and Crickets had their time on stream already, but neither had a chance to win yet, and only one would walk out with it.

Game one went to Robo ROM-en, again, by random selection. The map strikes were Eeltail Alley, Mincemeat Metalworks (Crickets), Manta Maria, and Flounder Heights (Polaris). Both teams brought their Snipewriter 5H and an Order Slosher.

Crickets lost the zone to an enemy Crab Tank, and returned the favor by taking the zone back with their own Crab Tank, right before Polaris could get the lead. Another Crab Tank, plus Triple Inkstrikes, let Polaris hold onto the zone long enough to take the lead by one point, but lost it immediately. Polaris’s inability to hold the zone for long led to a win for Crickets, 88–67.

For game two, Polaris selected Mahi-Mahi Resort as the map after Crickets chose their map strikes, Humpback Pump Track and Urchin Underpass.

Triple Inkstrikes were the key player from this game onward, helping both teams secure the zone time after time. Crickets having a Triple Splashdown boosted their instant zone-cappability, and in overtime, were the reason they were able to outpaint Polaris’s Triple Inkstrikes to take the lead, winning 87–86.

For game three, Polaris chose Hagglefish Market, their hopes riding on this one last chance to stay alive in the set. Crickets chose to strike Sturgeon Shipyard and Brinewater Springs.

Very quickly into the match, Crickets were wiped out, letting Polaris burn away points. Over a ten-second period early into the game, nearly every player was splatted at least once, sent to respawn. As overtime began, the zone was neutral, with Polaris in the lead. Both teams threw Triple Inkstrikes; Crickets’ were slightly earlier than Polaris’s, letting Polaris’s Inkstrikes paint over their opponents’, taking the zone to win, 74–81.

Sam (Polaris) and Silver (Crickets) engage in a Crab Tank fight; a frequent occurrence in this set, and this game in particular, where this happened at least three times.

Game four had Polaris banning Undertow Spillway and MakoMart, leaving the map selection up to Crickets, who chose the knockout-favoring Barnacle & Dime.

Polaris started the game with the zones, only losing it when a Crab Tank forced them to retreat. Crickets kicked up their aggression, locking out Polaris and even wiping them out while they were still in spawn. Before the game clock was halfway through, Crickets had knocked out for the win, sealing their deal with the West’s roster for the GG2 Finals!

The Second Edition Global Gauntlet Finals: Who’s Going?

The four teams for the West decided during the Second Edition Global Gauntlet Qualifier 2 were very accurate to seed, with seeds #1 and #2, Milky Way and Rinascita, taking the first two tickets in the Winner’s Bracket, then seeds #3 and #4, Crickets and New Meta, taking the Loser’s Bracket tickets. The only upsets at this event were by just one seed placement.

The first few teams for the West’s roster were decided during the SendouQ Season 11 Finale, where PxG and The avengers accepted their spots at the GG2 Finals. A third team was supposed to be chosen as well, but the third place team, ezmd, declined the offer. Later, The avengers would drop from the event, and in their place, IPL invited Healbook, who accepted the offer, excited to return to the global stage after SWS25.

As IPL ramped up the hype leading up to the Finals, participating teams were slowly announced throughout the week. These are the 12 teams who will go head-to-head in the region-vs-region Global Gauntlet 2 Finals:

From the West:

1. PxG
2. Milky Way
3. Rinascita
4. Crickets
5. New Meta
6. Healbook

From Japan:

1. Vacuum World
2. King of Ham
3. CutieNK
4. Always Here
5. Mellow Good
6. Yamato Spirit

The Second Edition Global Gauntlet Finals will take place during the International Timeslot, which is 8 PM PT / 11 PM ET on Friday, June 5th for North America and 5 AM CET / 12 PM JT on Saturday, June 6th for the EU and Japan.

Later in the day, another tournament series will be wrapping up, with Nintendo’s Splatoon 3 North American League reaching its eighth and final week of the Regular Season, determining who will make the cut for the Playoffs on June 20 - 21st. Saturday will certainly be packed full of the highest level of Competitive Splatoon action! Make sure you’re tuning in!

Original Posting Date: June 5, 2026 at Splatoon Stronghold.

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