Midseason Championship opens with the favourites firmly in control
Overwatch Champions Series 2026 Midseason Championship is now underway. With Day 1 done and dusted, we now have our first impressions of where each team stands and a clearer picture of their paths towards the coveted $1,000,000 prize pool.
Here's how Day 1 panned out:
ZETA DIVISION 2 - 0 VARREL
ZETA DIVISION opened the tournament with a statement. With Bastion and Mauga banned, Lee "knife" Seon-woo went Emre to start, and Daisuke "Nico" Fujikawa answered on Freja. Despite the lack of Mizuki on the map, neither tank picked D.Va, a stark departure from where we left off in Stage 2. Regardless, ZETA made quick work of the control map. VARREL took the series to Shambali Monastery and banned D.Va. ZETA removed Kiriko, but VARREL's response never came. ZETA pushed the cart to the end with two and a half minutes to spare, then full-held on the way back to close the match.
Takashi "Qloud" Umeda and Kim "Sley" Jae-hwan never found the space to operate comfortably, and every time VARREL forced the door open, ZETA slammed it shut. Park "Viol2t" Min-ki and Kim "Proper" Dong-hyun ran circles around their opponents, the former especially: when he was not holding the team together through impossible fights, he was in the VARREL backline making them himself.
Crazy Raccoon 2 - 0 Team Secret
Crazy Raccoon picked Nepal and banned Hazard, Team Secret removed Bastion, and the opener was effectively one-way traffic. Nathawit "HyVision" Prajong found himself picked early and often, and Crazy Raccoon took the map without much resistance. Both Lee "LIP" Jae-won and Choi "MAX" Su-min came in for New Junk City, and after several lengthy pauses the second map finally got underway.
Crazy Raccoon started in the same dominant fashion, taking points A and B to reach match point, but Team Secret refused to fold. A strong team effort from Riley "cuFFa" Brown and Joshua "sgy" Lim clawed back two points, and a third looked possible until an untimely fight loss left the Pacific side unable to touch the objective for another full fight. Crazy Raccoon closed it out 2-0 and sent Team Secret into an early elimination scenario.
Geekay Esports 2 - 0 All Gamers
The DPS duel between Kim "AlphaYi" Jun and Hua "Alphari" Yankai opened with a bang, and it was Geekay Esports who landed the first blow. Widely considered one of the strongest sides at the MSC, Geekay arrived in Paris with a hiccup. Star hitscan Abdulelah "LBBD7" Alfaifi only landed in the city hours before the first match, but it barely showed. Geekay took Samoa comfortably enough. All Gamers put up a decent fight on the back of their ult pushes but lacked the consistency to trouble Geekay over a full map.
AG picked Aatlis for the second, and Geekay simply continued playing their way, banking points A and B quickly. AG rallied to hold firm and take C and D, but the final point was a no-contest. The matchup was defined by Jia "LiGe" Chengjie getting picked early and often, leaving All Gamers to fight lopsided team fights all series.
Spacestation Gaming 2 - 1 JD Gaming
In the first game to go to three maps, North America’s Spacestation Gaming took down the Chinese representative JD Gaming. This match was much closer than initially expected, since both Samoa and Route 66 went the distance.
Although Li "Pineapple" Zhuo and Li "Mewtwo" Xianyao were making Spacestation sweat, ultimately JD Gaming couldn’t contend against the Sky Noon from Denis "Lethal" Tari and Oliver "Admiral" Vahar. The series closed on Aatlis 2-1, as the North American squad finally secured their first international win of 2026. JD Gaming would be awaiting a match against Team Secret in the Lower Bracket, while Spacestation would be anticipating a battle with Crazy Raccoon.
T1 1 - 2 Twisted Minds
The first match of Group A kicked off with a rematch from the 2025 Midseason 3rd-Place match, as Twisted Minds once more defeated T1. The EMEA squad seemed to be playing with much more vigor compared to their regional performance, as Ibrahem "Quartz" Alali returned to hitscan form and overwhelmed Hong "Proud" Suk-jin on Route 66.
This match, while close in nearly all aspects, was also mired by numerous pauses on the first map that seemed to extend the series much longer than intended. Despite the technical issues at play, Twisted Minds advanced forward in their bracket journey as T1 dropped to the Lower Bracket awaiting their next opponent.
Weibo Gaming 2 - 1 Team Liquid
With a back-and-forth clash between two regions looking to prove themselves, Weibo Gaming defied the odds and came out with a win against Team Liquid 2-1. Despite the heroics from North American star Elliot "TR33" Chu, ultimately they were not able to overcome their opponents today.
This match was close all the way through, and had one situation gone differently on the last flashpoint on Aatlis, Liquid could have snuck away a win. Nevertheless, Team Liquid head down to the Lower Bracket, looking hungry to return to the high tiers of international competition.
Virtus.pro 2 - 0 9z Team
One of the most lopsided pairings in the bracket on paper turned out to be exactly that in the lobby. 9z Team were outmatched on every front, and even the fights they opened well went the wrong way as VP repeatedly won 4v5s even after conceding the first pick. 9z's best spell came on the third point of New Junk City, where a strong showing from Jonathan "Lightt" Chao got them onto the scoreboard, but that was the extent of the resistance. The undefeated EMEA champions moved through to the next round without breaking stride.
Dallas Fuel 0 - 2 Team Falcons
The final match of Day 1 pitted the first-seeded team from North America against the defending Midseason champions in Team Falcons. Although Team Falcons didn’t have the best performance in their home region, their poor form did not translate as the Dallas Fuel crumbled against the defending champs.
Despite a few close calls here and there where Dallas brought the fight to Falcons, the reigning MSC champions were not fully tested. Especially in Neon Junction, where they fully held the NA side. The Fuel's best chance came off the back of an Annihilation from Kim "Kellan" Min-jae, but a masterful Kekkai Sanctuary from Han "ChiYo" Hyeon-seok put a swift end to any momentum Dallas tried to build off of that.
Looking ahead to day two
Day one produced few upsets. ZETA DIVISION, Crazy Raccoon, Geekay Esports, Virtus.pro and Team Falcons all advanced without dropping a map, while Spacestation Gaming, Twisted Minds and Weibo Gaming needed three to get there.
Four of Thursday's matches carry elimination stakes. 9z Team face T1, Team Liquid meet local rivals Dallas Fuel, Team Secret take on JD Gaming, and All Gamers face VARREL, with every loser staring down an early exit from Paris.
The other two matches decide early qualification. Crazy Raccoon face Spacestation Gaming and Virtus.pro meet regional rivals Twisted Minds, with the winners securing a top-eight place in the playoffs. Play resumes on Thursday, July 30 at 12:00 CET.