1st - Curse
                                           2nd -             Team NomNom
                                           3rd - FeaR
                                           4th - Team SoloMid

After six weeks of the SoloMid Series Circuit, only four of the eleven participating teams made it to the final and (absurdly long) group stage. Unsurprisingly, the series' eponymous team, TSM, earned the most points going into the championship, despite several weeks of extremely lackluster performances. Curse was the runner-up, excelling in the second half of the tourney despite extensive roster changes (Voyboy, Salce, Westrice, Elementz, and Rhux, to name a few). The former Quantic team who was released from their original sponsor adopted the name of Team NomNom (& Friends, occasionally). While they never won a week, they consistently placed highly enough to guarantee a spot in the championship. Finally, FeaR, who joined several weeks into the tournament, managed to scrounge up enough points in three weeks to secure the final opening in the group stage.

The SoloMid Series Finals, or "The Chip" as Wombat affectionately referred to it (VOD), was a mixed bag. For every exciting nail biting match there was an equally boring stomp. There were some definite highlights throughout the tournament but they were often sandwiched between games that were decided in the first five minutes or drawn out farm-fest. Although the tournament and its highs and lows, it gave us an interesting look into the current state of the North American scene. While big names such as CLG and Dignitas were missing from the event, the rest of the participants still comprised some of the best talent NA as to offer, except for Team SoloMid.

That's a little harsh. TSM is not a bad team by any means, they are simply in a slump. After the dominance they exerted over NA in Season Two, anything else would be viewed as a disappointment. There was still hope though; their string of losses had been at the hands of foreign teams. This was their chance to silence the critics and prove they were still the best team in North America and they blew it. Things were looking good for TSM as they took the first two games off of Curse in the first BO5 and then it was all down him from there. They proceeded to lose the next three games in-a-row conceding the match to Curse. They then lost 3-1 against NomNom in their second group stage match and were finally shut out by FeaR 0-3 in the 3rd place match. TSM's play can best be described as sloppy. They made questionable decisions all tournament long and often threw away their lead by getting caught out of position. Whether or not their fall from grace is due to lack of practice or other teams improving remains to be seen, but come the Championship Series all eyes will be on TSM to see if they can reclaim the dominance they once held over other NA teams.

FeaR was also in a position to prove themselves. Ever since their acquisition of Aphromoo they have been a fairly strong online team. However, they have been nothing but lackluster at LANs. They needed to demonstrate they still had the ability to win online, but they came up a bit short. They fell victim to the same sloppy play that plagued TSM throughout the tournament. FeaR's future remains uncertain as rumors have indicated there is a very likely possibility that Aphromoo will leave FeaR and join CLG as their new support. Without their star player, FeaR's performance in Season Three is going to be under even more scrutiny.

In sharp contrast to FeaR and TSM, NomNom and Curse showed clear signs of improvement coming into this tournament. NomNom took second place only dropping two matches to Curse, the eventual winners of the tournament and Curse looked fairly dominate throughout the entire thing. Both teams recently underwent fairly drastic roster changes than seem to be paying off. Based on these performances, it's clear these two teams are going to be worth watching out for in Season 3. At the end of the day, the SoloMid Series Finals wasn't the most exciting tournament, but during this pre-season break, it gave us a first-hand look into how the NA teams are stacking up before Season 3 officially starts.

Team to Ward Watch:Curse
During the majority of Season 2, Curse had the unfortunate stigma of perpetually being the 4th best team in North America. There were sparks of talent throughout the season but they were constantly overshadowed by the NA Troika of TSM, CLG, and dig. It was obvious something was going to have to change in order for Curse challenge these top teams. This change came with the acquisition of Top laner Voyboy, who replaced the underperforming Westrice. Voyboy's impact on Curse was apparent from day one. During this tournament, Voy won his lane more times than not and carried Curse to victory multiple times by stomping his lane, roaming, and applying immense map pressure. Voyboy wasn't the only member who stepped up during this tournament as Nyjacky and Cop also had solid performances throughout. The Voyboy-era has shown nothing but promise for the team. Curse is nowhere near invincible but they looked stronger than ever during this tournament.

Honorable Mention: Team NomNom
The past couple months have been a tumultuous time for the NomNom line-up. In the span of two months they parted ways with Orbit Gaming due to poor management and had their new sponsor Quantic Gaming dissolve. In addition to the sponsorship changes, the team underwent some roster changes with Nientonsoh moving to AP mid and WildTurtle becoming their new ADC. This new line-up looked a little shaky at first but their performance here showed they have started to work out the kinks. The overall team synergy with WildTurtle was noticeably improved and Nien looked to be more comfortable in the AP position. The raw talent of each individual player is undeniable, so as long as their teamwork continues to develop NomNom is going to be a force to be reckoned with in the future.

"See champion, Kill champion" Award:Voyboy (Group Stage: TSM v Curse, Game 4)(VOD)
Voyboy excels on assassins and this tournament was a perfect showcase of this. He played champs such as Elise, Akali, and Gragas and dominated the 1v1 top lane match-up. Voyboy has mastered the calculated tower dive often nabbing a kill and escaping with sub-100 health. He dominated his lane simply by killing the enemy over and over and often put them so far behind the enemy top laner wasn't even a threat to Curse. Once he had a significant lead he just roamed to other lanes and made big plays which often lead to a kill. Even when he was all the way across the map no one was safe as he broke out the Homeguard/Teleport combo which allowed him to travel across the map at incredible speed and blind side the enemy team with his presence. Voyboy carried Curse to victory simply by doing what he does best, killing the enemy.

Honorable Mention: Nientonsoh (Group Stage: Team NomNom v TSM, Game 2) (VOD)
There was a time earlier this year when Nien was considered to be one of the best ADCs in North America. When it was announced he was going to take over the AP position for the then Orbit Gaming, fans were skeptic as they felt this would be a waste of his talent. At first the critics seemed to be right as his overall performance at the new position was fairly unimpressive. But his performance this tournament proved he had become more comfortable with his new role. He seemed to know the limits of his champs and generally won his lane out farming and out killing the competition. He played a variety of champs but had a lot of impressive plays with Twisted Fate and Vlad (two very different style of champs). His Vlad was especially deadly as he would dive the enemy under tower and often engage even when he was outnumbered and still come out alive. His champion pool is already diverse and as he continues to refine his mechanics Nien will be a scary mid in Season Three.

Olympic Javelin Track and Field Award:Team SoloMid (Third Place Match: TSM v FeaR, Game 2) (VOD)
First match of the SoloMid Series Championships. TSM, the leader in Circuit points, against Curse, the distant second. After two great games, TSM looked in top form, smashing the competition. But in Game 3, with the help of some huge plays, Curse took a game off TSM. That was the beginning of the end for Team SoloMid. Not only would they go on to lose the series against Curse, but they also lost every other game they played that weekend. Most of the games didn't even look close, particularly in their 3rd/4th place match against FeaR, when expectations dictated that TSM would at least get one game. Nope. Nothing. For the team that looked the best coming into the Championships and started with two stellar games, TSM's first loss put them off their game entirely. And if it only takes one group stage match for TSM to throw a whole tournament, then it might be time for them to hit the books.

Honorable Mention:FeaR (Group Stage: FeaR v Team NomNom, Game 4) (VOD)
Team FeaR's first match also looked like it was in their favor when it finally made the stream on the first day of group play. Though they lost their second game, their third was incredibly well-played. It was a slow, patient, and boring-to-watch style, sure, but their ability to gank all over the map and wait for key pickoffs made it look like they would win the match easily. The beginning of Game 4 even seemed to confirm this hypothesis, when Aphromoo continually punished Turtle's overaggressive Vayne, despite Turtle's early kills. Yet, even when Turtle seemed determined to help FeaR catch up from their early deficit, NomNom managed to come back and win when FeaR failed to capitalize on the kills they were handed and constantly engaged poorly. Game 5 was even more one-sided: NomNom took a 10k gold lead at the 16 minute mark, soundly defeating the team that had seemed so strong not two games beforehand. While NomNom played extremely well and earned their victory, the times (particularly Games 3 and 4) where FeaR appeared to have the match in the bag made the eventual loss that much sadder.

“I got the Reset (yes!)” Big Plays Award:Cop and Voyboy (Group Stage: TSM v Curse, Game 3) (VOD)
Every once in a while, a team of professionals cease to look like a group of five different players and begin to appear like one person, individually microing champions to achieve a common purpose. This is a mark of an exceptionally coordinated and skilled team. Despite losing the first two matches of their first group stage match against TSM, Curse began to rally in Game 3. Around the 24 minute mark, Curse moved towards Dragon with TSM in tow. While Curse nearly killed Dragon, a clutch steal from TheOddOne secured the objective for TSM. They followed up by engaging into the Curse line, taking out Elementz, SaintVicious, and Nyjacky and only losing Dyrus. The situation looked bleak for the remaining members of Curse and TSM threw themselves at the pair, determined to get the Ace. Yet Cop and Voyboy kited beautifully, engaged at the correct moments, jumped in and out when they knew they would survive, and never turned their backs on the opponents. Their dance through the jungle was stunning and when it was over, the Curse players stood victorious over the four TSM opponents pitted against them. This victory got Curse their own Ace and a huge gold lead and it turned the momentum of the game and series in their favor.

If there's anything to be learned from the SoloMid Series Championships, it's that the NA server's power dynamic is going to change in Season 3. For the whole of Season 2, there was little diversity in the tournament standings of NA teams; in short, TSM wins, everyone else is second tier. But if this championship is any indication of what is to come, it means that TSM's star is falling. Which isn't to say that they won't be a top contender throughout the season but it's doubtful they will have the sovereignty they once did. Instead, teams of ascending strength like Curse will be far more likely to take first. No matter what, this will be a good thing. At the very least, North American tournaments won't always have the same names at the top, or maybe the same names will switch spots on the podium more often. But, at best, the increased competition will bring a greater desire to practice to all NA teams, raising the bar for professional-level skill across the whole region. With the ever-increasing strength of teams from Europe, China, and Korea, an incentive to improve may be exactly what NA needs.