T1 go top, while ZETA finds redemption | OWCS Korea regular season week 2 summary
With Gameweek 2 coming to a close, the Korea region has given us plenty to talk about - the meta is becoming clear, a new king is eyeing the throne, and redemption is in the air.
Game of the week: Team Falcons vs ZETA DIVISION
This match had it all - a 5-map series, back-and-forth, an underdog victory, and perhaps most importantly, redemption for ZETA DIVISION. After going 5 maps with Cheeseburger in Week 1, ZETA had a lot to prove. Their 3-0 of Old Ocean quelled some concern from fans, but their critics weren’t convinced that they would pass the test against the top teams in the region. However, despite a poor historical record against Falcons, ZETA silenced the haters and came out on top against the Midseason Champions.
ZETA did an amazing job of leveraging the advantages that they held over Falcons. Kim “Mag” Tae-sung played most maps to take advantage of Falcons’ lack of a Wrecking Ball player, and both Oh “Pelican” Se-hyun and Kim “AlphaYi” Jun were in for all five too. Their comfort on these Wrecking Ball, double flex DPS compositions was evident - with the whole team on comfort heroes, they exploited the Falcons limitations within this meta.
Reaper has been a very popular hero in the past couple of weeks in Korea, and Pelican was a savant on the hero, a stark comparison to Choi “MER1T” Tae-min. Forced off of the traditional hitscan role, MER1T struggled the whole series, unable to get much going on the Reaper or Sombra that he usually fell back on. Pelican, on the other hand, teleported into the Falcons backline with full confidence and more often than not walked out with a kill to his name.
AlphaYi kept Kim “Proper” Dong-hyun at bay for the most part in the Tracer duel, and did a better job of capitalising on his tank’s engages than Proper did. He was generally a menace in the Falcons backline, giving both Kwon “Fielder” Joon and Han “Chiyo” Hyeon-seok something to think about at all times, and preventing Proper from doing the same to ZETA’s supports.
Oh “FiNN” Se-jin played his best 5 maps in recent history. Every Suzu landed huge value, he won critical duels with the Falcons DPS to keep himself alive, and beat out Fielder on Kitsune Rush timing. He was a part of multiple incredible clutches, the standout being the duet between himself and Kim “Mag” Tae-sung on Suravasa to keep ZETA DIVISION in the match.
This match was, as they say, absolute cinema, and its implications blow the top of the Korea region wide open if ZETA can keep up this form. In Mag we trust.
Player of the week: FiNN (ZETA DIVISION)
Whilst his DPS duo were popping off in the enemy backline, FiNN was able to keep himself and Kim “Bliss” So-myung alive with incredible consistency. Pulse Bombs, Tidal Blasts, Winston dives and Death Blossoms were all dealt with more often than not, and it was this difference in ultimate value that gave ZETA a real advantage in these nail-biting maps.
Additionally, he found key trades and kills in the clutch that kept ZETA’s dreams alive even when Proper and MER1T were able to win their DPS duels. As the ZETA backline has gained increased scrutiny throughout the year, this is the type of performance that ZETA fans will be hoping signals a turning of the tide in their team's fortunes. A true carry performance from the support role, acknowledged by the broadcast, and agreed by OWTV.
Meta summary
In traditional Korean fashion, if dive is playable, it will be played. The most common team composition is Wrecking Ball, Kiriko and Wuyang paired with two flex DPS. Tracer is the most common, with the second slot being filled by Genji and Reaper for the most part, depending on the map. Teams that have a traditional hitscan specialist are leaning towards the Sombra instead, as they try to find the most comfortable hero for their player that can actually live these engagements, but the Genji/Tracer has had the most success.
Winston has also seen some play, usually as an answer to an enemy team comp that aims to counter Wrecking Ball. Some tank players seem to prefer the Winston anyway, such as Ham “SOMEONE” Jeong-wan. Hazard is also quite popular if a team lacks a main tank player, or if the map is particularly suited to him. Shown by Shin “BERNAR” Se-won of ZETA DIVISION, one of the best in the world on the hero, but Kim “Ruler” Yi-Gun of Mir Gaming and Jeon “Gur3um” Yong-min of Old Ocean have both also spent some time on Hazard in their recent matches.
On maps where dive is more difficult, there has been a surprising amount of Zarya played. The likes of ZETA DIVISION and Crazy Raccoon, among others, have made the Zarya look very strong on maps such as King’s Row and Lijiang Tower Control Center.
In terms of Supports, Kiriko is the most popular pick. She is usually alongside Wuyang, who also seems very strong, but has been played with Lucio if Wuyang is banned, or if a team isn’t comfortable with the newest hero.
Ana has also had a resurgence in Korea, as she shines in dive compositions with Winston and Wrecking Ball, and also plays well with Wuyang, creating insane pocket opportunities between Guardian Wave and Biotic Nade.
The oddball pick that has seen some success is Roadhog. Usually limited to Control maps, some teams have been answering the Wrecking Ball by picking the newly reworked Hog. At the moment, it seems like a bit of a coin flip as to whether it works. If the Hog is hitting key hooks, he can take over the game, but can also be left out to dry vs the more mobile compositions. It has seen some success in the hands of Team Falcons and even Old Ocean, but Roadhog isn’t going to be a must-pick any time soon based on this weekend.
Results summary
WAE 3 - 0 CHEESEBURGER
This game went as expected; WAE dispatched the newly promoted Cheeseburger with little resistance.
ONSIDE GAMING 0 - 3 Crazy Raccoon
More of the same - Crazy Raccoon with a dominant win against ONSIDE, despite the upgrades to ONSIDE’s roster.
ZETA DIVISION 3 - 2 Team Falcons
Our game of the week wasn’t just a 5-map banger; it had huge implications for the Korea standings. If ZETA can repeat this performance against other teams that are contending for those top 3 spots, they have a real chance of qualifying for the Stage 3 Finals in Stockholm. It’s early, but this meta seems incredibly good for ZETA, and if they can continue this form and break the curse, they could be in for a strong showing at LAN.
Mir Gaming 0 - 3 WAE
Again, the established and strong WAE roster easily sweeps a newly promoted team. Mealgaru is thriving in this Wrecking Ball meta in Korea.
T1 3 - 0 Old Ocean
T1 are emerging alongside Crazy Raccoon as the frontrunners of this dive-oriented meta, easily taking out Old Ocean
ONSIDE GAMING 3 - 0 CHEESEBURGER
The additions of Kim “Kellan” Min-jae and Lee “KNIFE” Seon-woo have certainly helped ONSIDE distance themselves from the newly promoted teams at the bottom of the Korea food chain.
Mir Gaming 0 - 3 ZETA DIVISION
ZETA continue their good form by dominating Mir Gaming.
T1 3 - 0 Crazy Raccoon
This was one of the shocks of the week - up until this point, Crazy Raccoon seemed like they would thrive, and looked incredibly strong in this meta. However, T1 had them beat on almost all fronts. They dog-walked Crazy Raccoon in the dive mirror, making the former #1 team in Korea look uncharacteristically lost. This may be a blip for Crazy Raccoon, with some saying that their key players failed to play to their potential in this matchup and Lee “LIP” Jae-won with two weekends left of his break. Time will tell, but one thing is certain: T1 are looking very scary at the moment.
Team Falcons 3 - 0 Old Ocean
Falcons return to form by handily defeating Old Ocean. The unfavourable meta isn’t enough to hold back the player talent on the Falcons roster.