📝 Team Liquid aiming for top spot: OWCS NA Stage 3, Week 6 preview

The clock is one hour away from midnight. The final week of regular season OWCS competition in North America begins on Saturday Oct. 11. Last week, a lot of movement occurred both at the top and in the middle of the pack, with a few teams surprising the region— for better or for worse. You can catch up on all the action by reading the Week 5 NA Summary. 

For many of these teams, this is the weekend where they finalize their playoff seedings and firmly begin the process of qualifying for the World Finals at Dreamhack Stockholm. For others, this will be the last time we see them in OWCS 2025.

It is worth reminding ourselves of the tiebreaker order as we enter the final week of the regular season:

(i) Overall Series W-L Record
(ii) Head-to-Head Series Differential between tied teams
(iii) Head-to-Head Map Differential between tied teams
(iv) Overall Map Differential
(v) Overall Map Score % Differential
(vi) Strength of victory evaluated by combining the records of all Teams beaten
(vii) If a tie remains after all tiebreakers have been exhausted, a tiebreaker
match will be played.

NA Week 6 - Day 1 (October 11, 2025)

Game of the Week: Geekay Esports vs Spacestation Gaming

Team Liquid may be in prime position to secure the No.1 Seed, but the battle for second place is still wide open.

Geekay Esports entered last weekend undefeated until they lost against Team Liquid, potentially jeopardizing their chance to snag a higher seed. Now is the time for the team to lock in and secure the second seed—making the statement that despite the loss, they are still the same titans who took down Crazy Raccoon and took Team Falcons to five-maps.

On the other side, Spacestation Gaming is looking to end their stage on a high note and reclaim their spot back with the top teams of the region. While it may now no longer be possible to sneak into the No. 1 seed, they can still overtake Geekay and secure No. 2. Getting this position after their disappointing Stage 2 would be a much-needed confidence boost.

However, Geekay has seen Spacestation’s recent results. A team of Spacestation’s calibre should not be looking as shaky as they did against Extinction. Composition changes are expected from Spacestation after our most recent interview with Rocco "Kronik" Iacobacci. Both teams are coming into this match looking to recover after their disappointing finishes last week. Now is the time to shake off the frustrations and show the world why they are worthy of respect.

Sakura Esports vs Team Liquid

This matchup seems pretty tough for the side of Sakura Esports. Team Liquid have been dominant all stage and are coming off the back of an impressive map 5 victory against their biggest rival, Geekay Esports. Sakura also had a good week 5, solidifying themselves as 5th seed in a dominant 3-0 game vs Team Z.

This game will certainly be a clash of styles. On the side of Sakura we are likely going to see more of the Zarya-based compositions with Alexander “Zeb” Shephard in the lineup. Liquid, on the other hand, have proven their flexibility and are a less predictable team. In the 5 map series vs Geekay, we saw Boston “Infekted” Fine on many different heroe,s including Ramattra, Wrecking Ball and Sigma. The Ramattra has proven to be a strong matchup into the Zarya composition before, so maybe we will see it again this weekend.

For both these teams, this game is not necessarily the most important, as they are both qualified for the regional playoffs. For Sakura, this will be a good chance to test themselves against the best NA has to offer. On the other hand, Team Liquid just need to close out this series to secure their place as the number one seed in the region.

Extinction vs Team Z

The stakes are high for Extinction this week. Losing to both Team Z and NTMR will mean that Team Z can sneak ahead of them in the rankings, meaning Extinction would miss out on a playoff spot. As this is the case, Extinction will want to show more of the same look as they did last weekend, where they were able to bring Spacestation Gaming all the way to a map 5 in a nail-biter of a series.

In their game vs Spacestation, two players really stuck out for Extinction; Coraline “Hitori” on the Winston and Landon “Vision” Monteferrante on the Hanzo and Sojourn. These two players were going above and beyond to make unwinnable fights winnable, and win fights before they had even begun. If you’re an Extinction fan, you will be hoping for more heroics from Hitori and Vision, or maybe for someone else to step up and deliver the victory over Team Z that will secure a playoff spot for them.

For Team Z, they will be looking to work on the mistakes they made against Sakura and overcome any challenges they feel that game uncovered. Despite a relatively quiet game vs Sakura, Ryan “Ryan” Michael Lawless is certainly a player to watch out for on Tracer in the upcoming game. If he is left unchecked, he may be able to deliver the victory Team Z is desperately after.

NA Week 6 - Day 2 (October 12, 2025)

DhillDucks vs Team Liquid

Another week brings another chance for the DhillDucks to win a map. Unfortunately for them they find themselves up against the best team in the region. This is yet another duck vs alligator situation for NA’s chillest guys, but maybe this time with a bit of luck, their beak will clamp down hard enough to secure a map.

What’s for certain is this match will bring good vibes and unconventional heroes, such is the nature of all DhillDucks matchups. This may be the last time we see the Ducks. If it is, it’s been a pleasure to have them in the OWCS. However, let’s not count the Ducks out just yet. In the most impartial way of writing possible, let’s hope they’re back for another season.

Extinction vs NTMR

They say lightning doesn’t strike twice—unless your name is Extinction. Last stage, this core was able to take NTMR to two separate map-five series, and last week, this roster brought Spacestation Gaming to a five-map banger as well.

Even though Extinction didn’t win that game,the result sent shivers down the NTMR player’s spines. Julian "Rokit" Pizana mentioned in the post-match interview after beating Team Z that the team is slightly worried about this matchup with Extinction. They will be taking this opponent seriously to ensure they secure a top seed heading into the playoffs.

Extinction is now looking to strike for a third time and, hopefully, finally create the upset. This roster has a lot of potential to break that glass ceiling that separates themselves and the top four. If this result ends up with NTMR losing and succumbing to the upset—and if other teams in the region also make some surprises—NTMR may find themselves in a much worse seeding position heading into the playoffs.

While this match may not be the game of the week, it is certainly one to keep your eyes on.