The two qualifying sides will face off against Bad News Bears and Extra Salt in the closed stage for a single spot at the main event.

The teams competing in the North American closed qualifier for DreamHack Masters Spring have been determined, with Triumph and High Coast prevailing in the final round of the open qualification stage over Rebirth and Recon 5, respectively.

It was a high-stakes grudge match between Triumph and Rebirth as Danny "⁠Cxzi⁠" Strzelczyk had been replaced by David "⁠cynic⁠" Polster on the former team just days prior. Cxzi had wasted no time in making the jump to Rebirth and immediately claiming revenge mere hours after the change, taking down his former teammates in an ESEA Premier match-up.

The qualification series between the two sides unfolded in almost identical fashion to their previous bout as they each secured their own map picks with relative ease, forcing an Inferno decider. There, Alan "⁠Shakezullah⁠" Hardeman's troops were able to claim revenge, taking the map 16-9 to book their ticket to the closed qualifier.

Shakezullah and company claimed revenge over Rebirth

On the opposite side of the bracket, High Coast were initially set to face off against paiN, but the Brazilian team withdrew from the qualifier on day two after it was revealed that they already had a spot in the main event as a result of winning DreamHack Open January.

Recon 5, who paiN had beaten in the round of eight, arrived as a replacement to take on High Coast, who notably played the qualifier with Ian "⁠motm⁠" Hardy in place of Jonathan "⁠djay⁠" Dallal. The change proved to bear fruit for Ben "⁠ben1337⁠" Smith's side as they made short work of Recon 5 in a two-map series, with Josh "⁠PwnAlone⁠" Pigue and motm leading the way with 1.77 and 1.45 ratings, respectively.

The opening match-ups for the double-elimination closed qualifier bracket, which will play out from March 6-7 and see one team earn a spot in the main event, are as follows:

Bad News Bears vs. High Coast
Extra Salt vs. Triumph

Bad News Bears #36 Peter 'ptr' GurneyJonathan 'Jonji' CareyGabe 'Spongey' GreinerNick 'alter' JacksonMichael 'Swisher' Schmid Ben 'ben1337' Smith Age: 22 Team: High Coast Rating 1.0: 0.90 Maps played: 566 KPR: 0.62 DPR: 0.69 David 'cynic' Polster Age: 23 (2000-2024) Team: Triumph Rating 1.0: 1.09 Maps played: 283 KPR: 0.74 DPR: 0.65 Jonathan 'djay' Dallal Age: 27 Team: High Coast Rating 1.0: 0.96 Maps played: 527 KPR: 0.67 DPR: 0.70 Danny 'Cxzi' Strzelczyk Age: 20 Team: Rebirth Rating 1.0: 1.02 Maps played: 197 KPR: 0.73 DPR: 0.72 Extra Salt #28 Aran 'Sonic' GroesbeekEdgar 'MarKE' MaldonadoJohnny 'JT' TheodosiouJosh 'oSee' OhmJustin 'FaNg' Coakley Ian 'motm' Hardy Age: 21 Team: Extra SaltB Rating 1.0: 1.05 Maps played: 650 KPR: 0.72 DPR: 0.68 Triumph #61 Alan 'Shakezullah' HardemanAustin 'Cooper' AbadirDavid 'cynic' PolsterBrendan 'Bwills' WilliamsWesley 'viz' Harris High Coast #43 Rodrigo 'RCF' FigueiredoJonathan 'djay' DallalBen 'ben1337' SmithJosh 'PwnAlone' PigueBrandon 'bew' Roberts Rebirth #68 Zack 'XotiC' ElshaniSebastian 'retchy' TropianoDanny 'Cxzi' StrzelczykEthan 'reck' SerranoCarson 'nosraC' O'Reilly Josh 'PwnAlone' Pigue Age: 30 Team: High Coast Rating 1.0: 1.08 Maps played: 545 KPR: 0.72 DPR: 0.64 Recon 5 #57 Dominick 'JazzPimp' DimpfelTyler 'tweiss' WeissAustin 'AAustiN' UrbGage 'Infinite' GreenKoby 'kobruh' Higgs paiN #34 Vinicios 'PKL' CoelhoGabriel 'NEKIZ' SchenatoWesley 'hardzao' LopesRodrigo 'biguzera' BittencourtRafael 'saffee' Costa Alan 'Shakezullah' Hardeman Age: 23 Team: Triumph Rating 1.0: 0.93 Maps played: 513 KPR: 0.61 DPR: 0.64