📝 All roads lead to Stockholm: OWCS Asia LAN preview

There have been many legs to the Overwatch Champion Series journey in Asia, but it all comes down to this weekend. High-pressure games to determine who will represent their region at the World Finals in Stockholm. There are three spots available for Korea and a single spot for Japan and the Pacific to fight over in the climax of Asia.

For all the action from the previous week of qualification, our weekly summary has you covered.

Korea Play-ins

As tradition dictates, we have to play-in before we can play-off. All of these games will take place on Friday, feature three Korean teams battling it out in single elimination for a single spot in the playoffs later that very weekend.

Team Falcons vs ONSIDE GAMING

Falcons love to do it the hard way, and this is as hard as it can get while still having a chance. An underwhelming regular season means they start in the first part of play-ins and are required to win this game, the next game of play-ins vs ZETA DIVISION and then come top 3 in the playoffs alongside Korea’s best. A feat that you would put past most teams, but Falcons have proven time and again, you can never count them out.

A huge range of issues has hampered Falcons' performances this year: delayed signings in Stage 1, roster selection issues in Stage 2, unfavourable metas, internal conflict, you name it, Falcons have dealt with it and even won a Major in the middle of it. While the roster has stabilised around the Kim "Proper" Dong-hyun and Choi "MER1T" Tae-min core, the meta has seen them struggle.

The absence of a Wrecking Ball player has always hampered Falcons, especially with Park "JunBin" Jun-bin and Kim "DONGHAK" Min-sung excelling on that hero for Crazy Raccoon and T1, respectively. If you watched EMEA and North America over the weekend, you may be thinking Ball is a hero that can be worked around or avoided, but that challenge is significantly harder in Korea. Even ZETA and ONSIDE can lean into these compositions and look to exploit with Kim "Mag" Tae-sung and Kim "Kellan" Min-jae.

Alternative compositions are available, and Falcons have never been afraid of playing their own way. There is another path. Head Coach Kim "NineK" Bum-hoon has always believed that good players can learn new heroes, and we have seen glimpses of the Han-Ball before. Choi "Hanbin" Han-been is willing to play what the team needs and sacrifice himself for the greater good. The ever-reliable tank may well need to step up to the plate again to help his team out of a difficult qualification path.

For ONSIDE GAMING, they are clear underdogs. Fewer resources, less notable names, no expectations. A nothing-to-lose position for a team that did 3-0 WAE last week and will also be able to exploit the Wrecking Ball limitations of Falcons. Add to that the all-star performances of Kim "Attack" Jun-hwa in recent weeks, and there might just be enough ingredients to concoct an upset. It is still against a Falcons team that shines brightest when the stakes are high, but we have learnt over the weekend, you can never say never.

ZETA DIVISION vs Winner of Falcons/ONSIDE

ZETA DIVISION have never qualified for an OWCS Major; their Esports World Cup appearance in 2024 was outside the OWCS circuit at the time, meaning this unwelcome label extends into their entire existence. The hope to change it this weekend is confronted with the reality of Falcons standing in their way.

Kim "AlphaYi" Jun and Oh "Pelican" Se-hyun were great contenders for the best individual players in the regular season, despite this, ZETA limped to this position and failed to consistently challenge the region's top teams. At this stage of the competition, all that is left to play are those elite teams. During the regular season, double flex DPS was common, and ZETA exploited this to get their two best players in the lineup at the same time, with the return of hitscan to the meta Jung "Probe" Jun-young has seen a significant share of the playtime. Forcing AlphaYi and Pelican to rotate once again.

While they have a Wrecking Ball advantage over Falcons, and it seems too good an opportunity to miss, it does mean Mag will be playing ahead of Shin "BERNAR" Se-won on these maps. Again, meaning the compositions ZETA wants to play, don’t line up with their best players. A difficult situation for Sim "Mobydik" Seung-bo and Kim "Rascal" Dong-jun to resolve, play to the meta or player to their teams' strengths. Either decision can backfire and will be sure to bring scrutiny; the only way to silence the criticism is to win, and this is their last chance this year.

Korea Playoffs

Three teams await the winner of play-ins: Crazy Raccon, T1, and WAE, who are also seeded in that order. It will be a double elimination at this stage, so there are second chances. While the matches will be first-to-3 for all games except the first-to-4 Grand Finals. The top 3 teams will qualify for the World Finals, meaning you must win at least one game to make it. Sounds easy enough, but not when you take into account the level of opposition.

Crazy Raccoon vs Winner of Play-ins

The indomitable force that is Crazy Racoon comes in as the top seed, but it may not be quite the privilege it is intended to be if Team Falcons win play-ins. An early run-in with Falcons is not what any team wants, even the Raccoons. The saving grace is, of course, a Wrecking Ball-friendly patch. JunBin on his best hero gives Crazy Raccoon an advantage over whoever wins play-ins.

The damage multiplier buff to Ana’s major perk may just open the door for Kim "shu" Jin-seo to play a bit more of his best hero, too. When Crazy Raccoon have these two players on their best heroes, magic happensand no situation is unwinnable. The return of Lee "LIP" Jae-won after his break at the start of the Stage is another boon for the Raccoons. Favourites for the region, favourites for Stockholm, it will take something special to stop them.

T1 vs WAE

A win for either team here secures a place at the World Finals. While T1 should still be respected as the favourites, WAE have proven themselves worthy of going toe-to-toe with all of Korea’s big boys.

In the Korean playoffs, WAE were the team that took the most maps off Crazy Raccon, beat Falcons 4-2, and demolished ZETA 4-0. The problem for WAE has always been consistency; what separates the good from the great is doing it every time. Park "SeonJun" Seon-jun is the player who encapsulates this best, treading the line between carrying and feeding, as many Tracers do. Utilising the Kinetic Reload perk (Melee hit grants 20 ammo) has allowed him to play a more aggressive, direct style of Tracer that gives him the advantage in a lot of duels. Higher rewards often come with higher risks, and this is a factor why we see these two versions of Seonjun.

Lee "LeeSooMin" Soo-Min had a fairly rocky regular season but found much better form in their most recent games, yet another swing factor in their performances. The same could be said for lots of the WAE roster, but it is all about peaking at the right time and maybe everything is lining up for WAE.

For T1, the gradually increasing stakes in Korea serve as another chance to prove they are not just a bridesmaid but finally worthy of becoming a bride. It’s an all too familiar story, though, as Han "ChiYo" Hyeon-seok refuses to throw that bouquet in any direction but D0NGHAK’s. The player quality, the hero pools, the meta, it all makes it feel possible for T1, but the only way to prove it is possible is to do it when it matters.

Plagued by disappointment in the Stage 2 Korea finals, disappointment in the Stage 3 Korea finals and disappointment at the Midseason Championship. On one hand, if you are finishing 2nd twice domestically, then 4th in an international tournament, you can’t be half bad. However, half bad doesn’t win titles. T1 fans will be hopeful that the misses only serve to fuel the desire in the T1 players and coaches, and do not turn into acceptance. Another chance awaits if they can conquer WAE.

Japan/Pacific

The action starts on Friday for Japan vs Pacific, where a single elimination bracket will determine who gets the ever-so-valuable spot at World Finals. Both regions will have their top seed play the second seed, in a rematch from the domestic Grand Finals, to determine who moves forward to play the opposing region for that spot at Stockholm.

Nosebleed Esports vs The Gatos Guapos

There was a clear tier break between these two teams and the rest of Pacific, making them worthy contenders to battle it out to represent their region in the finals. During the regular season, The Gatos Guapos won a close 3-2 to take the top seed going into the playoffs. This result would be turned on its head in the Grand Finals when Nosebleed took a commanding 4-1 victory.

The core of the Gatos Guapos is Kelsey "Colourhex" Birse, Leyton "Punk" Gilchrist (Plays under Gilly), and Isaac "Ackyyy" Berry, who have qualified for the Pacific spot at the Esports World Cup 2024 as well as the Midseason Championship earlier this year. Park "Nyang" Su-young, who also featured in the latter of those two tournaments for the Guapos, is the star player for the team and will be required to be at his best to overturn the previous result.

Nosebleed on the other side have every reason to come in with confidence, dominant in the Grand Finals, and the loss during the regular season was without their star hitscan Nathawit "HyVision" Prajong. With their main man available, Nosebleed will come in as favourites. Alongside their American imports, Jonathan "CLEAR" Foraker and Chloe "Bun", the team is well placed to make it through to the final and prove to be VARREL’s toughest test.

VARREL vs REJECT

The all-Japanese affair takes place later on Friday and will feature a rematch of the Grand Finalists from the Japan Playoffs. Last time out, it was 4-1 to VARREL and earlier in the Seeding Decider matches, it was 3-1 to VARREL, shaping up as it often does in Japan as a heavily favoured fixture for the Japanese all-stars.

VARREL, at their core, are the 2023 Japan World Cup roster with two Korean imports that have seen them cement their positions as the region’s best. Jeong "TOPDRAGON" Seung-yong has been the standout player for VARREL this Stage. His quality and flexibility have allowed him to stand out within his team and within the region as a whole. Fellow Korean, Kim "Sley" Jae-hwan, has been a large contributing factor to their success as well, enabling double flex Support compositions to be prevalent throughout their run. Giving VARREL a unique identity that no other team has been able to contend with.

A win over ROC Esports at the Midseason Championship has inspired hope amongst fans that the resurgence of Overwatch 2 in Japan will turn popularity into an ability to compete on the world stage. While ROC are on the lower end of those global teams, and did sub Yi "JinMu" Hu in on Kiriko to help kick-start VARREL’s comeback in that series, VARREL are keen to show that the gap is closing. Another appearance at a major event will allow VARREL the chance to take that asterisk away from the previous result and represent their region on the biggest stage.

Their rivals are REJECT, who similarly are a team full of domestic Japanese talent with two star Korean imports. Shin "Kalios" Wooyul, who leads the line, and Kim "Edison" Tae-hoon, who provides the star power. While significant contributors to their success, the consistent difference between VARREL and REJECT comes more from the gap in the domestic talent than the imports. They will have to close this gap while also contending with the double flex Support backline of VARREL, two mighty tests that may be aided by the global meta starting to shift back towards Kirko Lucio, but make no mistake, VARREL are strong favourites to make the finals