📝 A match made in Space: Spacestation Gaming 2025 World Finals Preview

Spacestation Gaming have had mixed results so far this year. In Stage 1 they qualified for the Hangzhou major as NA second seed over Team Liquid and went 1-2. This was not a bad result, though, as their first opponent was the clear favourite in Crazy Raccoon, who went on to win the entire major. What was definitely a bad result was in Stage 2 when they were knocked out of playoffs 0-3 by NTMR, and consequently missed out on the Midseason Championship.

What this made clear was that something was going to have to change for them to make their way to Stockholm, and change it did. SSG come into this year’s finals as the second seed from North America with a vastly different look to the previous two stages of the year. Not only do we see American players Xander “Hawk” Domecq and Joseph “Lep” Cambriani replacing the previous Korean imports, but we also see Christopher “ChrisTFer” Graham reuniting with the org to take the helm as head coach.

Key Compositions

Under ChrisTFer, SSG has grown a lot in a short amount of time during Stage 3 of OWCS. We’ve seen them develop a distinct play-style with their D.va/Zarya-based compositions, solidifying themselves as unchallengeable in the mirror domestically. In fact, they were just one D.Va bomb away from potentially winning Stage 3.

Additionally, they’ve been willing to match other teams on compositions they’re more comfortable with. For example, they’ve taken maps off of Geekay Esports in the Ramattra mirror and only really seemed unwilling to mirror the more traditional “main tanks” like Winston and Ball that Hawk is not known for. In these situations, Hawk and SSG have leaned on the D.Va as a sort of pseudo-dive tank, and have made lives really difficult for the main tank teams that they have faced in North America.

SSG has also proved that they can adapt to playing the styles ChrisTFer is famous for, with impressive results on Symmetra when considering that Kamden “Sugarfree” Hijada is not known for the hero at all. However, they clearly look their best when Sugarfree can play his signature Tracer - it often feels that SSG’s win condition is relying on Sugarfree and Hawk to demolish the entire team, and if Sugarfree is on Symmetra, the chances of that happening fall to almost zero.

It’s not just a two-man show, though. SSG have made upgrades in all positions since Stage 2. Alongside Sugarfree is Kronik, a promising hitscan talent who is particularly dangerous on Freja, but also has had pop-off moments on the other relevant hitscan heroes.

Their backline has improved massively - Christopher “Cjay” Smith has been widely touted as the best Kiriko in North America, having solo-carry performances on the strongest support hero in the game at the moment. He has also played a very respectable Wuyang, and doesn’t struggle in Kiriko ban scenarios - an important trait to have as a support player.

Lep was a bit of a question mark going into Stage 3, but he has exceeded expectations and played a key role in SSG’s impressive 2nd-place finish. With that said, if you had to point out one weakness for the squad, it would likely be at the main support position; Lep doesn’t have the rock-solid reliability of some of the top Lucio players at the highest level. Though flexibility on Wuyang provides a useful alternative in Lucio ban situations.

The team's biggest limitation will be working around Hawk’s hero pool, while elite on his heroes like D.Va and Zarya, there are certain maps and ban situations that make life very difficult for SSG. A lot of their victories in Stage 3 came in long series, and their path will likely be the same here.

Statistics

Whatever they end up playing, SSG will be worth watching. With a previous Overwatch League Coach of the Year winner at the helm, and star players like Hawk and Sugarfree, and a willingness to play their own compositions and style. SSG seem in with a good shot at going far in this tournament.