đź“ť OWCS EMEA Stage 1 Week 3 preview
As we head into the final week of the regular season, the stakes could not be any higher. The margins are very tight for Geekay Esports and Anyone’s Legend, and the battle for top seed falls between titans Virtus.pro and Twisted Minds. Team Peps are already destined to play Promotion/Relegation playoffs, we’ll soon find out which of Geekay or AL will join them.
As always, if you missed any of last weekend’s action, then be sure to catch up before the competition heats up this weekend.
Al Qadsiah vs. Twisted Minds
A pairing that we've grown very accustomed to seeing, even if it isn't exactly the same names on the roster sheets. Twisted Minds are the clear favourites going into this one. Not only did they secure a 3-0 victory over Geekay Esports, who Al Qadsiah lost to in a five-map thriller last weekend, but they have also not dropped a map in any of their games so far. That being said, this game will offer a good test for the Al Qadsiah core before their playoff run.
For Al Qadsiah, this is their only game for the closing weekend. Regardless of the result, they’re guaranteed to make the playoffs (since they won their head-to-head against Anyone’s Legend). This game will be a good opportunity to test themselves against the best in the world. They’ve already shown good performances against Virtus.pro and Geekay, it will be interesting to see this team’s ceiling as they continue to gel together.
On the other hand, Twisted Minds will have their sights set on Virtus.pro this week. This doesn’t mean they won't be prepared for Al Qadsiah, but rather that they will be more than comfortable taking this matchup. Everyone on the team looked more than comfortable in this meta, and this probably won’t change anytime soon.
Anyone’s Legend vs. Team Peps
This match is sure to be a fun one for viewers. For Team Peps, this is their last chance to secure a win in their inaugural stage as an OWCS Partner Team and perhaps build some momentum heading into the Promotion/Relegation playoffs. On the other hand, it’s a must-win for Anyone’s Legend, since the only way they’ll qualify for the playoffs is by winning both their fixtures this week (assuming Geekay Esports lose against Virtus.pro).
It will be interesting to see if Team Peps decide to continue committing to their Hazard composition. Although they didn’t manage to gain a map win vs Geekay Esports last week, their most competitive maps throughout the stage have been the ones where they’ve put William “WillyS” Ersson on Hazard. No reason this should be any different against Anyone’s Legend, unless they decide to pivot to more standard comps in the last hurdle.
Speaking of available pivots, Anyone’s Legend also has a pretty important decision to make. Whether they stick to their Winston compositions given the current tank meta or bring in Ahmed “amdp” Balateef a bit more frequently, like they did in their previous series against Al Qadsiah. Should they decide to play amdp, they might have a better matchup against what Team Peps have shown us, but it is a risky decision to commit to a tank player who has considerably less practice with the team. Whatever decision both teams make, this game is shaping up to be a thrilling match with pride (and qualification) on the line.
Virtus.pro vs. Geekay Esports
On paper, this is a battle between the second and third teams in the standings, but due to the six-team nature of the competition, there’s also playoff contention on the line. A win here for Geekay Esports would qualify them to the playoffs and avoid a risky head-to-head against Anyone’s Legend on Sunday. The former Al Qadsiah core have shown clear strengths, and a victory here against Virtus.pro would be a massive statement heading to the playoffs.
In a tweet on March 29th, after their victory over Team Peps, Geekay Esports tank, Ziyad “Ziyad” Alkathiri, was itching to improve ahead of Week 3. Despite their good overall results, especially their 3-2 win over Al Qadsiah, a genuine drive to keep improving can be key, especially if Geekay are aiming for a long run in the region this year. How well they do here could be an early indicator of whether they have a good chance at a LAN spot at this stage, or if they still have a bit more work to do to close the gap going into playoffs.
For Virtus.pro, winning this game will is a huge momentum factor ahead of their ultimate showdown against Twisted Minds the following day. Also considering some of the similarities between Geekay and TM, this gives VP a good chance to make any last-minute adjustments before they face the world champions.
Game of the week: Virtus.pro vs. Twisted Minds
The most anticipated game in EMEA comes as the penultimate fixture of the week. We have heard a lot about these two teams matching up in scrims, and now it is time to see who deserves the top seed heading into the playoffs.
Virtus.pro’s new support player, Landon “Landon” McGee, finds himself in a familiar position as a rival to Twisted Minds, having gone toe-to-toe with them during his tenure at Al Qadsiah. Maximilian “Seicoe” Otter also has a personal grudge to settle, having been let go by the world champions ahead of the season, replaced by former Virtus.pro DPS, Kim “JaeWoo” Jae-woo. Virtus.pro really struggled against Twisted Mind’s hyper-aggressive setup in the playoffs last year, ultimately missing out on a World Finals appearance because of it. A change in narrative here would really cement Virtus.pro’s off-season improvements as successful, setting the team up for a much more successful playoff run than Stage 3 of last year.
The problem is, Twisted Minds look unstoppable. Coming into the season as world champions and seamlessly integrating DPS player Kim “JaeWoo” Jae-woo so early, they have shown an incredible level on the rampant Vendetta/Emre compositions so far. This game should be the first real test of their level since the pre-season bootcamp, but they are certainly still the favourites and will continue to be until someone rises up to the challenge.
Anyone’s Legend vs. Geekay Esports
This fixture could be the most high-stakes match of the week. If Anyone’s Legend win against Team Peps and Geekay lose their earlier match against Virtus.pro, then the winner of this match will qualify for the playoffs, and the loser will join Team Peps in Promotion/Relegation playoffs. Anyone’s Legend have looked unconvincing so far. They lost in a 3-0 sweep to Al Qadsiah last week, who Geekay managed to win against. But this AL side is carrying forward last year’s Gen.G Esports core, who came alive in the dying stages of the season off the back of Jamie “Backbone” O'Neill’s rallying. A similar rally against Team Peps on Saturday might just put AL in an upward trajectory to upset the Saudi side and stamp an unlikely ticket to the playoffs.
For Anyone’s Legend, we really have to see them reach a new level with “Tama” if they are not going to commit to the pivot discussed earlier. They have really struggled to match the off-tank heavy teams, and now they have to play against the rookie of the year and one of the best tank players in this region, ZIYAD. It's a monumental task for both Tama and amdp. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible; their backline is the same one that upset Virtus.pro last year in the playoffs, and
perhaps they can pull something similar here.
Geekay Esports have been on a pretty good run so far. Their only loss came at the hands of Twisted Minds. If the former Al Qadsiah core manage to defeat Virtus.pro on Saturday, they’ll enter this matchup with the piece of mind knowing they’ve already qualified to the playoffs. Otherwise, despite their status as favourites, they’ll still have to put in a convincing performance to make sure they don’t stumble in the most inopportune fashion.