📝 Al Qadsiah vs. Geekay Esports Full Match Recap

In our first EMEA vs. NA matchup of the tournament, we saw Geekay Esports take on Al Qadsiah. Al Qadsiah were heavily favoured going into the game, and ultimately delivered the 2-0, but not without difficulty against the tricky 3rd seed from North America.

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Al Qadsiah are known for their dynamic Symmetra play thanks to star DPS Baek ”Checkmate” Seung-hun, as well as a frightening tank prospect in ZIYAD, known especially for his D.Va. They are backed up by one of the most consistently reliable support duos in the region - Landon “Landon” Mcgee and Kristian “Kellex” Keller. To round out their roster, they have flex DPS-turned-hitscan Abdulelah “LBBD7” Alfaifi, who looks just as good on the Sojourn as he ever did on his previously signature Pharah.

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Geekay are known in North America as a bit of a wildcard team - not afraid to play their own way. It has led them to two NA stage titles, but in Stage 3, they have a lot more to prove, falling just short against both SSG and Team Liquid. Their unique style and individual talent was enough to keep them competitive in the NA Playoffs, but LAN is often a different kettle of fish entirely. Aggressive tank play and unique backlines have served them well so far, even in international LANs of the past, but would it be enough to overcome some of EMEA’s best?

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Map 1: Nepal (Al Qadsiah pick), Al Qadsiah ban Ramattra, Geekay Esports ban Lucio

Interesting compositional choices from both teams here; Al Qadsiah playing D.Va, Symmetra and Sojourn as expected, but Landon is on the Juno to complement Kellex’s Brigitte. Riley “cuFFa” Brown tries the Hazard to begin with, and Denis “Lethal” Tari and William “WMaimone” Maimone roll out on Freja and Tracer, respectively. Geekay are running Benjamin “UltraViolet” David on Wuyang, but Oliver “Admiral” Vahar is on the Kiriko this time. This is a popular backline, but not one we’ve seen much from Geekay so far.

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Nepal Village goes the way of Al Qadsiah early, thanks to an early pick from Checkmate onto WMaimone. ZIYAD cleans up the rest of the fight with his signature heavy rockets, and Al Qadsiah stabilise on the point for a while. Landon is able to build an Orbital Ray, which he uses to engage the next fight. He dies in the process, but crucially, the Ray wins his team the fight.

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Signs of life from Geekay as cuFFa’s Hazard shuts down LBBD7’s Overclock, but Al Qadsiah maintain the ultimate advantage and close out Village.

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Sanctum was a little more one-sided. Another early pick from Ziyad opens the point up for Al Qadsiah, and they opt for a close hold to maximise the value of their Juno-Brig backline. They are able to keep Geekay quiet with their aggressive support ultimates, but a downpour at the last moment from Cuffa finds Lbbd7 and Kellex, and Geekay get their first percentage points on the board. A very scrappy fight ensues with trades going both ways, but in the end Al Qadsiah clutch up and take a fairly convincing 2-0.

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Map 2: Shambali Monastery (Geekay Esports pick), Geekay ban Kiriko, Al Qadsiah ban Venture

Al Qadsiah really showed their class on the Symmetra/ground tank compositions on this map. Their level of discipline throughout was top-tier, and despite some flashes of brilliance from Geekay, they looked dominant here overall.

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Both teams start on Ramattra, with Al Qadsiah playing Symmetra and Sojourn alongside it, and having Landon and Kellex on their comfort picks - Baptiste and Lucio.

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Geekay try to play through WMaimone’s Echo - one of his strengths - with Lethal on Ashe and Ultraviolet on Wuyang. Admiral starts on the Juno, which is not a hero he is known for.

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Al Qadsiah begin with a spawn hold on defence and find kills onto Lethal and Admiral immediately, thanks to a teleport play. The spawn hold is inevitably broken thanks to picks from WMaimone and Lethal, but Al Qadsiah are back in time to contest before the payload rounds the first corner. Admiral swaps to Brigitte for this fight, but it’s ultimately WMaimone’s Echo that keeps Geekay alive in this match. Constant picks onto the Al Qadsiah backline keep the payload rolling forward. A holdup on the second point is broken only in overtime, thanks to an insane individual Echo performance from the Hidden Blade of Wales. However, the continued discipline from Al Qadsiah gives them the ultimate advantage to stop Geekay’s push at the beginning of the third point.

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The attack is more of the same from Al Qadsiah - Landon got huge value on Baptiste, pumped out big healing numbers and kept the threat of the Amplification Matrix constant. WMaimone tried his best to keep Geekay in the game, but his individual efforts weren’t enough to overcome the elite macro play from Al Qadsiah. A flank from Lbbd7 cracked open Geekay’s second point hold, and the snowball from there was too much for Geekay to come back from. Ziyad had Annihilation advantage going into the final fight, and that was enough to seal the deal for the EMEA boys.

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There were moments when Geekay looked strong, but ultimately, this match demonstrated Al Qadsiah’s dominance in any kind of brawl. Geekay didn’t have a good answer for the teleport plays, and despite some individual brilliance, simply couldn’t keep up.

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This win sets Al Qadsiah up for the Landon-induced grudge match with Chinese titans Weibo Gaming in Upper Bracket Round 2, and Geekay will play the Loser of Twisted Minds vs. T1 - a tough pill to swallow for the North American hopefuls.

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Maybe this experience against Al Qadsiah will stand them in good stead for their potential matchup with Twisted Minds, but for now, it’s EMEA on top.