📝 Crazy Raccoon vs. Spacestation Gaming Full Match Recap

This was a matchup that even the most dedicated optimists struggled to give the SSG boys a chance in, and unfortunately, that came to a head in this dominant 3-0 stomp.

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Crazy Raccoon came into this tournament as the favourites in a lot of viewers’ minds, and for good reason; they had won the Korean playoffs in a 7-map thriller against Team Falcons, and no other team has managed to take them close since T1 in the regular season. Their star-studded roster looks stronger than ever, and with a meta that can accommodate both Park “Junbin” Jun-bin’s Winston and Choi “MAX” Su-min’s Zarya, they are almost infinitely flexible as well.

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Spacestation Gaming are coming off a strong performance in the North America playoffs, mere seconds away from winning it all, but stumbled against Team Peps yesterday, and didn’t come into this match with a great deal of confidence. “Preparations in the pub,” said Lep, before their game, and while probably a recipe for a good time, they aren’t necessarily known for producing optimal Overwatch gameplay.

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Map 1: Ilios (Crazy Raccoon pick), Crazy Raccoon ban Cassidy, SSG ban Wuyang​

CR play their always-predictable, rarely-counterable Winston/Ana/Brig composition on Well, and SSG roll out on the D.Va/Kiri/Lucio in response.

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Joseph “Lep” Cambriani boops Lee “Lip” Jae-won off the map before the first fight, but SSG are unable to convert this into a fight win. Trades from Chae “HeeSang” Hee-sang and a hack onto Xander “Hawk” Domenq’s D.Va mech mean Crazy Raccoon take control early on. Hawk and SSG struggle to find openings and take angles, and are eventually picked and staggered thanks to HeeSang’s persistence in the backline and Sung “CH0R0NG” Yoo-min’s aggressive Brigitte play.

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Crazy Raccoon build an overwhelming ultimate advantage and use it to bulldoze SSG towards the end of the round, taking a 1-0 lead.

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On Ruins, Kim “Shu” Jin-seo takes over, the Ana headshot perk paying dividends as he scalps both of SSG’s DPS. SSG managed to get some percentage points on the board as they punished a rare overextension from Junbin, and Kamden “Sugarfree” Hijada silenced Shu momentarily with a pulse bomb. However, the retake was inevitable after Shu solo-killed the SSG DPS line for the second time. A dominant Ilios as expected.

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Map 2: King’s Row (SSG Pick), Crazy Raccoon ban Mercy, SSG ban Ramattra

This is another tough map for SSG. MAX was substituted in for Junbin, and took it to Hawk on the Zarya mirror immediately. SSG can’t find an opportunity to step up, with Lip’s Cassidy absolutely pumping damage onto Hawk. HeeSang and Lip take over, finding picks onto the SSG backline and DPS. A graviton surge from Hawk allows SSG to find the Crazy Raccoon supports, but it comes at the cost of several trades back the other way.

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Crazy Raccoon have to step back and give SSG two ticks on the point, but their re-engage is good, and HeeSang goes unchecked in the backline, causing chaos for Lep and Christopher “Cjay” Smith. SSG are held on the first point.

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Crazy Raccoon’s attack was quick and decisive - Lep was found very early, and the rest of SSG were soon to follow. Crazy Raccoon take the map with ease.

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Map 3: Route 66 (SSG pick), CR ban Echo, SSG ban Lucio

More of the same on Route 66 - SSG had some more promising moments, but ultimately were full-held.

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The map began slowly, with both Zaryas trying to build charge and get an advantage. Max very quickly overtakes Hawk on the Graviton Surge charge, and uses his first tempo grav to pick Cjay and buy Crazy Raccoon even more time.

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MAX slightly overextends and is punished by SSG, giving them their first meaningful progress, but after the fight, Cjay is picked by the respawns from Crazy Raccoon, and SSG are halted once again. Crazy Raccoon find their feet and hold SSG just short of the first checkpoint.

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SSG put up a decent fight on their defence: Crazy Raccoon start their push strong, but Kronik wins the duel against Lip and forces them to slow down. Sugarfree finds another pulse bomb onto Shu when things start looking bad for SSG, but the nano-blade for An “SP1NT” Woo-jin finds two kills and seals the deal for Crazy Raccoon on the very next turn.

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No upsets to be seen here - Crazy Raccoon deliver on their sky-high expectations, and SSG will continue their tournament in the Lower Bracket. Spacestation Gaming will have a favourable matchup against VARREL, whilst Crazy Raccoon have set up the match against Al Qadsiah in the Upper Bracket. Big things are coming for both of these teams, so stay tuned!