Get up to speed ahead of OWCS EMEA Stage 3

Garbis "Vanskus" Vizoian••5 min read

OWCS EMEA Stage 3 begins on October 10, bringing the final regional stage of the 2026 season. Six teams will play one another over three weeks, with the top four qualifying for the Regional Playoffs.

From there, the top three teams at the playoffs will secure their seeds for the OWCS 2026 World Finals in Guangzhou.

The three OWCS Partner Teams, Virtus.pro, Twisted Minds, and Team Peps, are joined by Geekay Esports, Team Risk, and 1234. Here's where each of them stands heading into the stage.

Virtus.pro

  • Jonas "eisgnom" Stratemeyer - Tank
  • Kevin "kevster" Persson - Damage
  • Maximilian "Seicoe" Otter - Damage
  • Kwon "FiXa" Yeong-hun - Support
  • Landon "Landon" McGee - Support
  • Cho "SMASH" Bee-won - Head coach

Virtus.pro enter Stage 3 as the reigning regional champions after going undefeated through the entirety of Stage 2. Their title run still came down to the wire. An inspired Geekay Esports pushed them in two playoff clashes, culminating in a magnificent seven-map showdown that VP clutched out in the end.

The Midseason Championship did not pan out so well. VP picked up a single win against Argentina's 9z Team, then lost 0-2 to Twisted Minds and 0-2 to Dallas Fuel for an early elimination.

The roster has not changed between stages, and three of its members arrive in form. The trio of kevster, eisgnom, and Landon all put up stellar performances at the recent Overwatch World Cup. Stage 3 will show whether VP can shake off their Midseason Championship disappointment and put together another undefeated regular stage.

Geekay Esports

  • Ziyad "ZIYAD" Alkathiri - Tank
  • Abdulelah "LBBD7" Alfaifi - Damage
  • Kim "AlphaYi" Jun - Damage
  • Oh "FiNN" Se-jin - Support
  • Kristian "Kellex" Keller - Support
  • Osama "Haku" Abdullah - Support
  • Son "Undine" Young-woo - Head coach

Geekay Esports are built around the core of the 2025 Al Qadsiah roster that made waves globally. Geekay brought in Kellex and head coach Undine ahead of Stage 2, and after a rough regular season spent finding their rhythm, the team transformed into championship contenders in the playoffs.

They reverse-swept Twisted Minds twice and took VP the full distance in both of their meetings, finishing the stage in second place.

Their Midseason Championship run was on par with expectations. Geekay beat Chinese sides AG.AL and JDG before falling to eventual champions ZETA DIVISION and regional rivals Twisted Minds, finishing fifth-eighth. Even in defeat, they were the only team to take a map off ZETA DIVISION before the grand final.

The roster remains unchanged as the team continue to build synergy and look towards a deeper run at the World Finals. ZIYAD and LBBD7 were also key pieces of the Saudi national team that finished second at the Overwatch World Cup, just shy of South Korea.

Twisted Minds

  • Abdualziz "TVNT" Altmimi - Tank
  • Alhumaidi "KSAA" Alruwaili - Tank
  • Ibrahem "Quartz" Alali - Damage
  • Ahmad "Youbi" Alyoubi - Damage (player-coach)
  • Kim "JaeWoo" Jae-woo - Damage
  • Kim "Simple" Ji-sung - Support
  • Daniel "FunnyAstro" Hathaway - Support

Twisted Minds had an uncharacteristically off Stage 2. Their third-place finish was their lowest regional result since Stage 1 of 2025.

They responded with an inspiring Midseason Championship run, defeating T1, VP, Geekay, and Weibo Gaming. Their only loss came in the grand final against champions ZETA DIVISION, leaving Twisted Minds in second place.

Player-coach Youbi leads the team from the flex DPS slot. JaeWoo joined as a second flex DPS option at the start of the season, but the Korean has not appeared since the Stage 2 regular season. Quartz remains the team's star, with hitscan prowess unrivalled in the region and arguably the world.

TVNT has become a key figure too, sidelining veteran tank KSAA for the whole year. With D.Va receiving a slight boost to her burst damage, expect TVNT to make the rounds again this stage.

Youbi, TVNT, and Quartz were also part of the Saudi national team that finished second at BlizzCon. Youbi stuck to coaching duties, while TVNT made way for ZIYAD and did not feature. If Twisted Minds bring their Midseason Championship drive into Stage 3, a return to the top of the standings could quickly follow.

Team Risk

  • Riley "cuFFa" Brown - Tank
  • Ahmed "amdp" Balateef - Tank
  • Talal "KORZ" Alharbi - Damage
  • William "WMaimone" Maimone - Damage
  • Niclas "sHockWave" Smidt Jensen - Damage
  • Majed "SirMajed" Alrashied - Support
  • Ziyad "zox" Aldosarie - Support

Team Risk hold the slot earned by Al Qadsiah, who finished fourth in Stage 2, after three players from that roster stayed together. SirMajed, zox, and KORZ kept their places, though SirMajed did not feature in Stage 2 and KORZ only played in the first week. Apart from zox, this is practically a different roster.

The team underwent a major shake-up, which you can read about in our article. The headline addition is Australian tank cuFFa, a two-time OWCS NA stage winner. Former VP DPS sHockWave and WMaimone join the damage line and should bring some serious firepower, while amdp arrives from 1234 as a second tank option.

Team Risk enter the stage without an organisation and without coaching staff. The roster features great names on paper, and most of them featured at the recent Overwatch World Cup for their respective countries. Time will tell if that translates to results in the lobby.

1234

  • Harry "GoldenPants" Cawthra - Tank
  • Leo-Kristian "Zorrow" Sundin - Damage
  • alvicate - Damage
  • Christian "Khenail" Ríos - Support
  • Lewis "crispy" Beer - Support
  • Jamie "Backbone" O'Neill - Coach

Coached by Backbone, 1234 made a mark at the the start of Stage 2. They beat Al Qadsiah, then took both Geekay and Twisted Minds the full distance in Week 2, all off the back of great performances from GoldenPants, a newcomer to the top tier.

The team finished fifth, barely missing out on a top-four spot, then won the Stage 2 Promotion/Relegation tournament to secure the fifth seed for Stage 3.

The break between stages brought a few changes. Kai "Kai" Collins retired and WMaimone moved on to Team Risk, prompting 1234 to bring in two DPS players. Swedish hitscan Zorrow returns to OWCS, while Lithuanian flex DPS alvicate makes his OWCS debut.

Expectations from within remain modest. Backbone told OWTV there's "a lot less pressure for real results at this point, and it's much more vibe-based." We'll see if things switch once the competition starts.

Team Peps

  • William "WillyS" Ersson - Tank
  • Loïc "KroxZ" Ricci - Tank
  • Daniel "xzodyal" Castro - Damage
  • Rav - Damage
  • Brice "FDGod" Monsçavoir - Support
  • Benjamin "Xeriongdh" Nambruide - Support
  • Julien "LeRenegat" Garcia - Head coach
  • Terence "SoOn" Tarlier - Coach
  • Clément "Tarteg" Ortega - Coach

Team Peps are one of the region's three OWCS Partner Teams, but they spent Stage 2 away from the top flight. They finished sixth in Stage 1, then placed third in the following Promotion/Relegation tournament and lost their spot to Telacy.

The team then underwent a few roster changes. Zorrow and Florian "Dip" Lefèvre made way for a new DPS line of xzodyal and Rav. Team Peps also brought back French veteran tank KroxZ, who lit up the world with his sublime performance at the Overwatch World Cup.

Now back in the top flight, Team Peps aim to repeat their 2025 World Finals appearance and finish the season on a high befitting a Partner Team.