📝 Crazy Raccoon vs. Al Qadsiah Full Recap

This was the most anticipated match of the tournament so far - Korea’s elite vs. EMEA’s. It’s certainly not the first time that Korea have faced off against the rest of the world, but this is the first time that many fans and analysts have really had no clue who would win.

A school of thought suggested that EMEA might have the advantage over Crazy Raccoon in a meta that favoured ground tanks such as Zarya and Ramattra. The Symmetra style has had success against Korean teams in the past, and with how strong Al Qadsiah have looked so far, they had a real shot here.

Another school of thought suggested that Crazy Raccoon have the advantage on the dive-favoured maps, and the player quality to clutch it out even if they have to play into the EMEA teams’ hands on the ground tanks. It’s an ideology that has served them well against Falcons - the Korean brawl specialists, but the EMEA brawl may well be a different beast.

Map 1: Busan (Crazy Raccoon pick), Crazy Raccoon ban Lucio, Al Qadsiah ban Ramattra

This map started in interesting fashion, to say the least. Al Qadsiah rolled out on the expected D.Va and Symmetra, but with Lucio banned they opt for the Juno and Brigitte backline. The wildcard pick was Bastion from Abdulelah “LBBD7” Alfaifi, which would’ve been a questionable pick if not for Crazy Raccoon’s starting composition.

Park “Junbin” Jun-bin makes the unfortunate decision to roll out on Reinhardt, with Mei, Ashe, Ana and Brigitte to back him up. This was an ‘experimental’ composition to begin with, but against Bastion the matchup is almost unwinnable, especially without Symmetra or a speed boost on the side of the Reinhardt.

As you would expect, Crazy Raccoon get dominated on this comp - quickly, the Korean giants give up and swap to something they’re more comfortable on. JunBin whips out the Doomfist, which matches up well into both the Symmetra and Bastion.

Lip is still on Ashe, which leaves him vulnerable to the teleport timings from Baek “Checkmate” Seung-hun. He falls early in the next fight and Crazy Raccoon are forced to step back.

Lip swaps onto the Sojourn, and the less vulnerable hitscan finds a pick immediately onto LBBD7’s Bastion. This gives Crazy Raccoon a bit of space to work with, and they push in with a Nano Boost onto CH0R0NG. Landon “Landon” Mcgee uses his Orbital Ray in response, but a good kite from Crazy Raccoon prevents any meaningful kills from coming from it.

ZIYAD’s Self-Destruct, though, overcomes the shield produced by CH0R0NG’s Rally and kills both him and Kim “Shu” Jin-seo.

That was the last straw for Crazy Raccoon - from here, they dial in; Junbin’s Doomfist connects with Landon during his Orbital Ray, HeeSang hits the Pulse Bomb and Lip gets on the scorecard as well. From here, it’s smooth sailing for Crazy Raccoon, and they complete the comeback from a 99-0 deficit.

On Sanctuary, there is no sign of any ‘experimenting’ from Crazy Raccoon. They roll out on the Doomfist and dominate. Checkmate is forced off the Symmetra after looking , and after that Al Qadsiah don’t even get a whiff of the point. Shu has the headshot perk unlocked, and can pump damage into Al Qadsiah all throughout their rotation. He finds the pick onto Kellex in the process, and from there Crazy Raccoon start a spawn camp.

Ziyad can’t keep his mech alive, and the snowball from Crazy Raccoon doesn’t slow down. A dominant 100-0, and a 1-0 lead for the Korean #1 seed.

Map 2: Shambali Monastery (Al Qadsiah pick), Crazy Raccoon ban Kiriko, Al Qadsiah ban Venture

Crazy Raccoon defend first, and look like they want to pick up where they left off. They start on the Ramattra, with Echo, Sojourn, Ana and Brigitte to complement. Al Qadsiah start on D.Va, Symmetra, Sojourn, Baptiste and Lucio, but ZIYAD swaps to Ramattra immediately upon seeing Choi “MAX” Su-min on Ramatttra.

Things start off well for Crazy Raccoon, with Lip finding the entry pick onto Kellex. The rest of Al Qadsiah fall soon after, with Lip delivering a masterclass.

Shu flanks for a Biotic Grenade angle, a play we’ve seen him do many times before, but on this occasion he misses his opportunity and doesn’t hit the nade. The following sleep dart does make contact, though, and that’s enough for both teams to trade 1-1.

Al Qadsiah take payload control as a result, but the re-engage is disciplined and decisive for Crazy Raccoon. A Nano-Boosted Overclock for Lip seals the deal, but MAX invests the Annihilation on top of this, and swings the ultimate economy into Al Qadsiah’s favour.

Crazy Raccoon play it perfectly, though; CH0R0NG holds close to Al Qadsiah’s spawn and a quick and unexpected push with Rally wipes Al Qadsiah in seconds.

To secure the full hold, HeeSang makes a dynamic flank onto Landon, forcing Kellex’s beat early to keep him alive. HeeSang Duplicates the Baptiste and gets a nasty pocket onto MAX, keeping him alive and building the Amplification Matrix to boot.

HeeSang is traded eventually but he has done enough - Crazy Raccoon full hold with MAX’s Nano-Boosted Annihilation.

Al Qadsiah are faced with a massive task ahead, but things start strong. Both teams are playing the same compositions as last round, with the exception of CH0R0NG swapping from Lucio to Wuyang.

A teleport onto Lip and MAX claims both of their lives, and Crazy Raccoon have to burn some precious time off the clock waiting for their respawns. In the next scene, though, LBBD7 is picked early, and Shu hits a huge Biotic Grenade to ensure that Crazy Raccoon can get some progress on the objective.

Crazy Raccoon get dangerously close to their goal, but trades go both ways, and a dogfight ensues on the point. Every ultimate in Crazy Raccoon’s bank was spent, but in the end it’s a masterful clutch from Landon and Kellex to survive the onslaught from the Ramattra, and keep Al Qadsiah alive.

CH0R0NG makes the swap over to Brigitte, but it’s too little too late, as he has no chance of building an ultimate in time. The Amplification Matrix is all the advantage Al Qadsiah need, and Lip goes down, soon to be followed by the rest of his team.

Against all odds, Al Qadsiah tie up the series 1-1.

Map 3: Suravasa (Crazy Raccoon pick), Crazy Raccoon ban D.Va, Al Qadsiah ban Wuyang

From a draft perspective, this was Crazy Raccoon’s best chance to win; ZIYAD’s D.Va not on the board, and a map where Junbin’s Winston can get a lot of value. Crazy Raccoon combine their Winston with Echo, Kiriko, Lucio and Sojourn, with Al Qadsiah responding with Zarya, Cassidy, Symmetra, Kiriko and Lucio.

However, the map doesn’t start the way that Crazy Raccoon would’ve wanted. LBBD7 gets the better of Lip right out of the gate, and an aggressive push thereafter sees the rest of Crazy Raccoon go down by his hand as well.

Crazy Raccoon walk up again, and Lip picks Checkmate this time, but the backstep from Al Qad into their first-tempo Kitsune Rush catches Junbin off guard and deletes him in seconds. This forces a suicide touch from Junbin, which doesn’t amount to anything in the end, and Heesang is staggered behind.

That was all she wrote for the first point, and the second doesn’t go much better for the fan-favourite Korean roster. HeeSang dies early, the Graviton Surge from ZIYAD claims the lives of the Crazy Raccoon backline, and Junbin dies comically late in his own spawn. These kills prevent Crazy Raccoon from getting a real fight, and they fall to 2-0 down.

The 3rd point is where Crazy Raccoon start to put it together. A sloppy rotation from Al Qadsiah gives Junbin an opportunity to engage, and he capitalises perfectly. Al Qadsiah go down without using an ultimate, and Crazy Raccoon get their first percentage points of the map.

There are trades back and forth in the next fight, but they’re not enough to give Al Qadsiah enough of an advantage to get the flip. It ends in a 2v2 between both Lucios, ZIYAD’s Zarya and HeeSang’s Echo. Both Lucios use their Sound Barrier, trying to clutch, but ZIYAD falls just before Kellex hits the ground. HeeSang and CH0R0NG get it done, and the Raccoons are on the board.

It’s all Crazy Raccoon again on the next point — Al Qadsiah are getting blown up every time they step foot in the teleporter. One fight is won with Junbin’s Primal Rage, and another with Lip’s Overclock, and it’s another 100-0 in favour of Crazy Raccoon.

It all comes down to the final point. All four support ultimates are exchanged, but trades go both ways. Al Qadsiah back off the point to regroup, and Crazy Raccoon get a brief flip. HeeSang tries to clutch up by copying Zarya, but can’t build the Graviton Surge in time.

Al Qadsiah take control for now, and a Deadeye kill onto CH0R0NG forces another step back from Crazy Raccoon. One last chance now, and Lip does what he does best with an opening pick onto Kellex. An overclock follows, but an excellent kite from Al Qadsiah prevents any more kills from coming from it.

Al Qadsiah are patient in spawn waiting for Kellex’s Sound Barrier, but Lip finds LBBD7’s head, and they dive into Al Qadsiah’s spawn to try and clean up some more members.

Al Qadsiah are patient, though, and re-engage with their ultimate advantage. They have an earlier Kitsune Rush and delete Junbin instantly before their own Sound Barrier is online. With that, the game is over, and Al Qadsiah overcome some mid-map difficulty to take the win.

Map 4: King’s Row (Crazy Raccoon pick), Crazy Raccoon ban Symmetra, Al Qadsiah ban Brigitte

It all comes down to this: will Crazy Raccoon be able to beat Al Qadsiah without their signature Symmetra, or has the gap closed to such a degree that EMEA teams don’t even need her to take on Korea’s best?

Things look good for the Raccoons, as Lip finds checkmate instantly and forces Al Qadsiah to step back and give a couple of ticks to the attackers.

The re-engage is disciplined as usual, and MAX is deleted. Crazy Raccoon try and escape once again, but CHORONG is caught behind and staggered comically late, burning more time off the clock.

Next turn sees CR flip onto point with kitsune rush and kill ZIYAD’s mech very early. There’s a scrappy end to the fight, but MAX and HeeSang clutch it out despite trades coming back from Landon and Quartz.

Crazy Raccoon’s 2nd point attack continues this momentum, a Graviton Surge from MAX is all that’s needed to take Al Qadsiah down, but Lip is traded, which prevents the forward hold for Crazy Raccoon.

Despite this, HeeSang’s Pulse Bomb connects with LBBD7, and Checkmate falls in the ensuing Kitsune Rush trade. This is enough to get Crazy Raccoon over the line and onto 3rd point.

This is where things start to slow down for Crazy Raccoon. They can’t find any angles to break through the Ramattra and Mei hold from ZIYAD and Checkmate, and picks and failed engages keep burning time off the clock.

A desperate Overclock to try and clutch out from Lip finds Checkmate, but no more as he is traded out, and the ensuing push from Crazy Raccoon is a desperate one.

Al Qadsiah have an overwhelming advantage now that CH0R0NG has swapped over to the Wuyang, and the Sound Barrier from Kellex is enough to stop Crazy Raccoon about halfway through the third point.

All momentum that Crazy Raccoon had is lost, and Al Qadsiah move into their attack with supreme confidence. LBBD7 scalps Lip to open up the round, and although a couple of trades come back, LBBD7 is good for the cleanup, and Al Qadsiah take a lightning quick 1st point.

2nd point doesn’t go much better for Crazy Raccoon. MAX is first picked, and Al Qadsiah push forward into the remaining enemies. Meanwhile, HeeSang is good for a couple of trades in the backline, stealing cart control for a moment.

Unfortunately, Landon has been an unstoppable force in this series, and a kunai finds the back of HeeSang’s head, preventing his escape and returning the payload to its rightful owners.

Al Qadsiah’s forward hold forces Crazy Raccoon into an awkward corner, and with Annihilation and Kitsune Rush in the back pocket, their demise was inevitable, and the cap goes through with almost five and a half minutes in the bank.

From there, Crazy Raccoon’s fate was all but sealed. Al Qadsiah not only have an eternity in the time bank, but also the ultimates to get it done. Blizzard first from Checkmate zones Crazy Raccoon out, and the Annihilation makes a hard point touch even more difficult. Crazy Raccoon get the tap, but only for a moment, and they’re forced off soon after. A dominant win for Al Qadsiah in the end.

A statement from Al Qadsiah. There has been a lot of talk about the gap between the West and Korea closing, but this match, in combination with Twisted Minds’ emphatic victory over Falcons, suggests that maybe the gap is widening in the other direction.

It’s probably too early to say, as Crazy Raccoon may well get an opportunity to get their revenge. Lip is certainly motivated, and you can be sure that means the rest of the Raccoons will be really riled up.

Fireworks to come.