📝 Bloom or Bust: OWCS North America Stage 3, Week 4 Preview

Week 3 saw Team Liquid deny a reverse sweep to edge out Spacestation Gaming, Geekay continue their perfect run and Sakura bag wins in an important double. Our Week 3 summary has the full rundown of all the action.

Week 4 has a lot of similarities with Week 2 where we see the expected top four take on the expected bottom four. The difference, it sess the strongest team from the bottom, face the weakest team from the top in the NTMR Sakura clash. Elsewhere, the current top three look to cement their place at the top of the table with wins this week.

NA Week 4 - Day 1 (September 27, 2025)

Game of the week: Sakura Esports vs. NTMR

Sakura Esports and NTMR have flipped storylines from the previous stage. Last stage, NTMR were the surprise contenders and shocked the region, looking sharp against the competition while Sakura struggled. Now, the shoe is on the other foot.

In their post-match interview after beating the Ducks, Z. "zzz" Harvey said Sakura is looking to “upset” NTMR and finally “put [their] foot in the door as a team.” After last week’s performances against the DhillDucks and Extinction, this team is looking dangerous and hungry for that upset.

Since coming off the bench, xten has looked better than ever, even being honoured as OWTV’s North American Player of the Week for her stellar DPS performance. Her fellow DPS partner xomba has proven to be a hidden thorn, with his sharp Tracer that coordinates well with the team. Alexander "Zeb" Shepard has also impressed on the tank role, and with Niels "Natsuki" van Herwijnen now in North America alongside his fellow teammates, an upset feels even more plausible.

For NTMR, there are serious concerns. They have failed to take down any of the big three in the region and were thoroughly outclassed by Geekay Esports last weekend. Still, several asterisks surround that match: multiple technical pauses caused by Ryan "Painkiller" Cooper’s internet issues, causing an unplanned substitution that forced Michael "RhynO" Willoughby into the lineup.

This game against Sakura is NTMR’s chance to restore community confidence and halt this up-and-coming squad from punching up. A win would not only bolster their confidence but also help them strengthen their seeding heading into the playoffs. But, if NTMR lose, their chances of making Stockholm will crumble considerably.

For Sakura, if they win, their dream of reaching Sweden now becomes possible. You don’t wanna miss this Game of the Week.

Extinction vs Geekay Esports

Another difficult matchup for Extinction, finding themselves up against a top 3 team in the region. Both teams have shown they are more than willing to lean into the Ball Wuyang compositions, but here Noah “alba” McTavish has a pretty difficult matchup into Benjamin “UltraViolet” David, one of the best Wuyang players in the region. Geekay have been the only team in the West opting to consistantly run the Wuyang Lucio composition, with a lot of this success off the back of UltraViolet’s consistent damage output.

Extinction tank Coraline “Hitori” Engler has been at the top of the scoreboard for her team, but here the task at hand feels too large. Extinction’s potential for success rests on her ability to shut down the oppressive nature of UltraViolet’s Wuyang, but with a star-studded roster around him it will be a tough ask from the German tank.

NA Week 4 - Day 2 (September 28, 2025)

DhillDucks vs Spacestation Gaming

So far, the DhillDucks have gone winless against every lower-seeded team, and still have yet to win a single map. Now, the Ducks kick off their gauntlet against North America’s best when they face the first of the big three: Spacestation Gaming. While they know they’re outmatched, last stage the Ducks leaned on inventive and creative compositions to keep games entertaining. Be on the lookout for some crazy compositions!

Spacestation, on the other hand, is looking to bounce back from a narrow loss against Team Liquid. While this opponent is certainly not a major threat, it is still a chance to hone their skills and solidify their play. In particular, this is the opportunity to refine Kamden "Sugarfree" Hijada’s Symmetra, which could help the team execute uncommon compositions ahead of their Week 6 clash against Geekay Esports.

Still, much like the Shanghai Dragons of old, no team wants to be the first one to drop a map to the Ducks. With the lower-tier opponents behind them, it would be shocking if any of the top three teams slipped and lost a map to this squad.

Team Z vs Team Liquid

There is little expectation for this game to be close. Team Liquid come off the back of a 3-2 win against SSG, solidifying them as the current favourites in the region. While Team Liquid weren't happy with their performance, as mentioned by Boston "Infekted" Fine in his most recent interview, this weeks game should prove more straight forward. Team Z, have only beaten DhillDucks which proves that they’re not the bottom of the region, but are yet to offer anything against North Americas elite.

Both teams have shown that they want to play similar styles, often opting into the ball with double flex DPS when they have the opportunity to. Most teams have opted out of mirroring Team Liquid on their favoured composition but Team Z look poised to go toe-to-toe with them on their own terms. This will be a mighty tes for Team Z against some of the best players in the region. To see an upset here Team Z will have to surpass all their previous performances by a significant margin.