A total of 164 North American Teamfight Tactics players qualified to compete at the first Set Eight tournament, the Defender Cup, with four earning a direct invite to the Monsters’ Attack! Mid-Set Finale.
Similar to the North American Cup season during Set Seven, the TFT Set Eight Defender Cup took place over the course of four days. The first two days showcased 128 players from the NA ladder snapshots, with only 32 advancing to the second weekend of play and day three. Joining those 32 players were the top 32 from the ladder snapshots, making it a total of 64 players competing during day three of the NA Defender Cup.
New to the NA Cup series was changes to the final day of competition. Day four at all the TFT Cups features 32 players competing in five games. The top 16 advances to game six and the top eight advance to game seven. Players who finish in the top four earn a direct invite to the MId-Set Finale on March 3 to 5.
Several veteran TFT players advanced to the second weekend, including AMDE, C9 k3soju, sètsuko, TL Robin, Dishsoap, DQA, TL Kurumx, and Ramblinnn. Also competing were a large number of up-and-coming tournament players seeking to earn their place among the best TFT players in North America.
Jan. 22 Day four Defender Cup standings and format
Day four of the TFT Defender Cup featured a total of seven games and 32 players. Players were split into four lobbies, with lobbies getting reseeded every two games for a total of five games. After five games, the top 16 highest-scoring players advanced to game six. And only the top eight highest-scoring players of the day advanced to game seven.
All players who made it to the top eight earned an invite to the Corrupted Cup in February. And the top four players at the Defender Cup earned a direct invite to the Set Eight Mid-Set Finale that is scheduled to take place from March 3 to 5.
Lobbies were reseeded after two games, with Dishsoap sitting atop the day four leaderboard with 15 points, tied with Yogurrt. Also sitting in the top eight were sètsuko, Wasianiverson, Prose, TL Robin, and Cottontail.
TFT Defender Cup finals
Following five games played during day four of the NA Defender Cup, 16 out of 32 players advanced to game six. Just missing the cut were TFT veterans like C9 k3soju, Iniko, and Prestivent. Making the top 16 cut were players like Xiao Dian Dian with 32 points, as well as sètsuko and Cottontail.
Points were not reset heading into game six, which determined the top eight players who advanced onto game seven—the final game of the Defender Cup.
Here were the top eight players who advanced to the seventh and final game at the Defender Cup, with all eight players earning an invite to the Corruption Cup in February.
- Cottontail: 38 points
- sètsuko: 37 points
- Xiao Dian Dian: 37 points
- Ji: 37 points
- TL Robin: 35 points
- Dishsoap: 34 points
- Prose: 33 points
- Wasianiverson: 32 points
Points for game seven continued over, with the top four TFT players earning an invite to the Set Eight Mid-Set Finale.
Here were the top four TFT players at the NA Defender Cup.
- Cottontail: 44 points
- Dishsoap: 42 points
- TL Robin: 42 points
- Xiao Dian Dian: 41 points
Jan. 21 Day three Defender Cup standings and format
Day three of the TFT Defender Cup showcased 64 players across eight lobbies with lobbies getting reseeded every two rounds. A total of six games were played, with the top 32 advancing to day four. Bonus points were also awarded to players who finished in the top 12 at the end of day three.
- Ninth to 12: One bonus point
- Eighth to fifth: Two bonus points
- Top four: Three bonus points
After three games played, Wasianiverson sat atop the leaderboard with 23 points, followed by Ji, Iniko, and RippleOverdrive. Also in the top eight were Cottontail and Prestivent with 19 points, along with BC Socks, Kyvix, and Ramblinnn with 18 points.
Heading into day four of the NA Defender Cup, the bottom 32 who weren’t advancing to the final day contained a large number of veteran players, from SpicyAppies and BC Socks to DQA and AMDE. Earning the top 32 slots were several experienced tournament TFT players like Iniko, Dishsoap, Clear, and Cottontail. And also thrown into the mix were several newcomers to the NA final day of a Cup tournament.
Here were the top 32 TFT players advancing to the final day of the NA Defender Cup:
- Iniko: 40 points and three bonus points
- Pitzy: 38 points and three bonus points
- Clear: 36 points and three bonus points
- Ji: 36 points and three bonus points
- Wasianiverson: 35 points and two bonus points
- Dishsoap: 35 points and two bonus points
- Cottontail: 35 points and two bonus points
- BossoSkills: 34 points and two bonus points
- Ramblinnn: 34 points and one bonus point
- AsheMoo: 34 points and one bonus point
- Cream: 34 points and one bonus point
- Prestivent: 34 points and one bonus point
- sètsuko: 33 points
- Stellar Minhee: 33 points
- Sphinx: 33 points
- Xia Dian Dian: 33 points
- Kyivix: 32 points
- Garchompro: 32 points
- Gird: 31 points
- Stop Drop Roll: 31 points
- RippleOverdrive: 31 points
- Yogurrt: 30 points
- C9 k3soju: 30 points
- Prose: 29 points
- Humbug: 29 points
- Jdzielinski22: 29 points
- Mike4Mike: 29 points
- TL Robin: 29 points
- Jukeyou: 28 points
- Defias: 28 points
All standings at the NA Defender Cup will be updated following gameplay each day.
