Everything you need to know about OWCS Japan Stage 3

Patrick Handley••8 min read

With the BlizzCon festivities and the Overwatch World Cup behind us, a new quest begins. Over the next three months, players from across the world will battle for a chance to win the Overwatch Champions Series World Final, hosted this year in Guangzhou, China. While that event is still far away, the grind begins now. On September 21, OWCS Japan kicked off Stage 3, with the top three teams earning a spot in OWCS Asia. Here is everything you need to know about the eight teams that entered the battlefield.

VARREL

VARREL Roster:

  • Tank: Tomoharu "KSG" Inoue
  • Damage: Jeong "TOPDRAGON" Seung-yong
  • Damage: Daisuke "Nico" Fujikawa
  • Damage: Nariaki "qki" Hirayama
  • Support: Kim "Sley" Jae-hwan
  • Support: Takashi "Qloud" Umeda
  • Coach: Jeong "ＰＡＩＮ" Yu-chan
  • Coach: Woo "Dae1" Dae-won

VARREL are VARREL. There is not much to say in this blurb that hasn't already been said in numerous write-ups about this team. Japan’s undisputed best team has dominated OWCS since its inception, winning all but one stage. This roster has been together since Stage 2 of 2025, and KSG, Nico, and qki just spent months representing Japan on their World Cup roster. 

The core of the roster has been together since 2022, and they show no signs of slowing down. The biggest question for this team is not whether or not they will win Japan, but how far they will go when they inevitably get to Guangzhou for the World Finals.

MURASH GAMING

MURASH GAMING Roster:

  • Tank: Kim "PEPPI" Noah
  • Damage: Lee "Viper" Jung-woong
  • Damage: ky0n
  • Support: Takumi "epic" Ohta
  • Support: Sagesaka "orca" Mitsuki
  • Coach: Maeng "YaHo" Hyun-ho

MURASH GAMING first entered the Overwatch scene on May 31, making Stage 2 of OWCS Japan their first-ever competition. This roster was a ragtag group of players who were left behind by the two biggest organizations in Japan, and they came together to put up a very promising Stage 2. After going 5-2 in the regular season, they levelled up in the playoffs, pulling off an upset against ENTER FORCE.36 before getting unsurprisingly defeated by VARREL. 

Despite the finals, MRG look to continue their success, rolling out the same roster as last stage. Questions still linger, mainly the fear that this roster won't reach the same highs in a different meta. Keep an eye out for them at OWCS Asia, as they proved in the last stage they are not to be underestimated.

ENTER FORCE.36

ENTER FORCE.36 Roster:

  • Tank: Lee "Fearless" Eui-Seok
  • Damage: Kim "Edison" Tae-hoon
  • Damage: NewJ
  • Damage: Soulsay
  • Support: Mori "Gaisen" Yoshiki
  • Support: Ydot
  • Coach: Jung "Tydolla" Seung-min

As aforementioned, ENTER FORCE.36 took a step back after being upset by MRG, finishing third in Japan. Clearly in need of some changes, they started the offseason strong by signing Fearless, marking his return to Overwatch after completing his mandatory Korean military service. Fearless will join his former hitscan from his Dallas Fuel days, Kim "Edison" Tae-hoon, a major driving force behind this team’s success. These two Koreans hit their peak together when they won the Overwatch League in 2022, and they look to replicate that success here in Japan. 

Their only other addition is Soulsay, who will flesh out the DPS line. The Canadian-Japanese spent part of 2025 and 2026 in North America in the FACEIT system, specifically playing for Young And Beautiful, NTMR, and Ex Oblivione. He returned to Japan last stage, playing with Please Not Hero Ban, earning fourth place in the region. His skills could let this team run two flex DPS in the roster, giving them much-needed flexibility. Look forward to E36 as they fight to earn back their second-place crown.

Uwinks

Uwinks Roster:

  • Tank: yumilalan
  • Tank: xzahyo
  • Damage: Chae "Develop" Rak-hoon
  • Damage: Ogawa "Yot1y" Yo
  • Damage: Shunsei "Undersea" Fujii
  • Support: Kim "APDO" Min-soo
  • Support: Syun "UGH" Kudoh
  • Support: EuclidEUC
  • Coach: Jang "Opera" Kyung-su

Uwinks came out of nowhere last stage, starting hot with an upset over ENTER FORCE.36 in only the second matchup. They couldn’t keep that momentum, falling to 3-4 in the stage overall and just missing the playoffs. 

Despite that overall disappointing finish, Uwinks hves mostly kept their roster intact, keeping every player and adding one additional DPS, Undersea. 

Undersea has had an odd career, getting second place twice in Japan, once in 2024 Stage 1 on Nyam Gaming, and again in 2025 Stage 3 with REJECT. Despite those strong performances, he played only five maps in 2026, all with Nyam Gaming in Stage 1, where he went winless. His Echo is phenomenal, but with how little Echo gets played in OWCS, his overall skill doesn't seem up to this level of the competition.

99DIVINE

99DIVINE Roster:

  • Tank: Ichiro "Ichi"
  • Damage: Yoon "MN3" Jae-hee
  • Damage: Jung "ALTHOUGH" Hyun-wook
  • Damage: Mao "solace" Muramoto
  • Support: Mitsutoshi "Supreme" Sato
  • Support: Umi
  • Support: Sakume
  • Coach: Hyun "Hyunjae" Jae-hyeok

99DIVINE are one of the most exciting teams in OWCS, as they made some intriguing acquisitions between stages. After a weak Stage 2 where they went 2-5, they replaced their entire DPS line, bringing in two former OWL talents. MN3 last played for the Philadelphia Fusion / Seoul Infernal, retiring to pursue VALORANT as the Overwatch League ended. He made a brief appearance in the Aurora Cup in late 2024 with HaeJeokDan (former Seoul Infernal players), but this signing marks his return to Tier-1 Overwatch.

Similarly, 99DIVINE signed ALTHOUGH as his DPS partner, a player returning to Overwatch after a long hiatus. ALTHOUGH played for the Toronto Defiant in 2022 and played with the Contenders team Sin Prisa Gaming in the final season of the Overwatch League. He joined Lazuli for Japan Stage 2, but other than that, it's been three years since he led a DPS line. The ruling is still out on whether these veterans can adapt to the changes Overwatch has made over the past three years, but time will tell.

Their final DPS is a Japanese veteran, solace. With triple citizenship in Japan, Taiwan, and Canada, he's played in Canadian collegiate tournaments, South American FACEIT, and even represented the Philippines as a breakthrough player on the World Cup roster. Outside of the DPS line, 99DIVINE stays mostly the same. Ichi is still the only tank on this roster, but his hero pool has expanded significantly since he joined this team last year. 

The support line is a fairly big question mark, with Umi being relatively unknown. He debuted for Lazuli in stage one before joining PNHB in stage two. 99D is his third team in just as many stages, and he still hasn't really broken out; will this team be the change he needs? Hyunjae is also unknown, as he makes his coaching debut. He played alongside MN3 on the Seoul Infernal, and later alongside ALTHOUGH on Sin Prisa Gaming before completing his military service. He played in OWCS Pacific in Stages 1 and 2, but this will be his first time coaching. Even with all the questions surrounding this team, 99DIVINE will be an interesting group to watch.

Please Not Hero Ban

Please Not Hero Ban Roster:

  • Tank: Eom "UYOU" Ho-yong
  • Damage: RLG5656
  • Damage: Suraimu1
  • Support: Yoo "Secret" Jae-hyun
  • Support: Neivis
  • Support: Langley

Please Not Hero Ban return to their roots this stage, fielding a roster of strong one-tricks to try and upset the competition with outlandish strategies and odd hero compositions. After revolutionizing the Torbjörn/Symmetra composition in Stage 1 of 2025, PNHB have been slowly drifting away from their origins, dropping those original one-tricks for a more well-rounded composition. After finishing in fourth place in Stage 2 - their worst result since Stage 1 of 2025- they chose to return to their roots of playing one composition until it worked.

During the off-stage, they brought back their entire roster, keeping only Neivis as a somewhat flexible support option. Their biggest change must be the re-acquisition of their original Torbjörn one-trick, RLG5656, signifying their return to form. Alongside this change, they also brought back UYOU - a Wrecking Ball one-trick, who played with them for all of 2025 before leaving for Team Secret in OWCS Pacific. In a similar vein, Langley (Baptiste one-trick) and Suraimu (Illari one-trick) both return to the roster, playing last in Stage 1 2026 and Stage 3 2025, respectively. Suraimu is listed as a DPS, although this will be the first time they play that role professionally. This stage will prove whether the one-tricking strategy can still work in an era accustomed to hero bans.

Lazuli

Lazuli Roster:

  • Tank: Kim "FARMER" Yea-han
  • Damage: Jung "Probe" Jun-young
  • Damage: dra
  • Damage: zenith
  • Support: Amateru
  • Support: sans
  • Support fizz
  • Coach: Jeong "Ares" Seung-min

Lazuli finished Stage 2 with a 2-5 record, but they looked to be so close yet so far from greatness. They won maps in all but two series but struggled to sustain success. Their solution was to completely retool and rebuild the roster, landing a few big free agents in the meantime. The biggest signing by far was the acquisition of Probe, marking his first time outside of Korea (other than his half-season on the San Francisco Shock in 2023). Alongside him is dra, a player who hasn't hit the stage since Stage 3 of 2025, also with Lazuli. He spent the first two stages of 2026 on ENTER FORCE.36, but was relegated to the bench behind Edison and NewJ. Hopefully his return to the stage will be bolstered by his new partner. 

The other big offseason addition was FARMER, the former ZETA DIVISION main tank. FARMER spent 2026 alongside SeungAn and Gur3um on Cheeseburger, and struggled to find playtime in a meta dominated by off-tanks like D.Va and Sigma. He did make brief appearances on Mauga and Zarya, even busting out the Roadhog on Illios, but this new opportunity allows him to play the game his way, with no one to sub him out - for better or for worse. The remainder of Lazuli are massive question marks, with zenith, and sans having a combined zero experience at the Tier-1 level. fizz has technically been on rosters the entire year, playing with Please Not Hero Ban in Stage 1 and Lazuli in Stage 2, but in those months of competition he has only appeared in one map, a 1-3 loss on King’s Row to VARREL where he played Ana and Kiriko. Hopefully he scrimmed consistently, as he may be in a starting role now. 

Amateru has made it to OWCS before, with some interesting stories. In 2024, one of the Stage 2 slots was given to the Stage 0 High School Championship winners, which Amateru was on (they did not win a single map). In Stage 3 of 2025, he returned to the pro scene with Nyam Gaming, earning a spot through Promotion/Relegation. This time, he won five maps, earning them a 1-4 record, with Amateru winning Player of the Match in their only victory. The caveat with these appearances, both times Amateru was the starting hitscan, playing mostly Sojourn. We’ll find out soon whether his skills on support can help bring Lazuli success in this upcoming Stage.

REVATI

REVATI Roster:

  • Tank: Vosa1q
  • Damage: Lee "BreadTurtle" Tae-mok
  • Damage: Anarchy
  • Support: Sakaki "Elysia" Ryuich
  • Yuto "NHZ" Yagami
  • Support: Azue1recker
  • Coach: Menhera
  • Coach: Nyammulba

Finally, we come to REVATI, and after going 0-7 (2-21 map score) in Stage 2, they have elected to overhaul their lineup for the new stage. Their first decision was their imports, and REVATI brought in two Koreans to bolster their DPS line, starting with BreadTurtle. BreadTurtle has made his bread in OWCS Japan and Pacific, bouncing around to a new team nearly every stage, playing for Inferno, Trap12, FURY, Telomere, and even VEC over the past two years. REVATI is the first time in 2026 that BT will play on a Japanese roster, and hopefully he can make the best of it. Alongside BreadTurtle at DPS in Anarchy, a name that is brand new to the scene.

Elysia is one of the most experienced players in OWCS Japan, starting with the original VARREL core in 2021/2022. When Japan received its own region in 2024, Elysia bounced around several Japanese rosters, serving as a competent, skilled main support in a region with a very shallow player pool. Despite his lengthy history, he is only 23 and looks to find a home in REVATI. Alongside him is the much less experienced Azue1recker, who made OWCS only in Stage 3 of 2025, when Japan had 12 teams. While his experience is severely limited, there is still excitement around him. Their final support player, NHZ, has been playing since 2022, similarly to Elysia. Unfortunately, REVATI recently declared him inactive because he “found it difficult to secure time for activities due to personal circumstances, making it impossible to participate in the OWCS JAPAN Stage 3 Main Stage.”

Tying the roster altogether is Vosa1q, an experienced Japanese off-tank who missed out on Stage 2 as his team BLUE BEES got edged out in qualifiers. Known best for his Sigma and Hazard, hopefully his tank pool has increased during his time away from the main stage. REVATI is still winless in 2026 and hopes to change that with this newly designed roster.