📝 T1 look to close out perfect start: OWCS Korea Stage 3, Week 4 preview

This might be the most exciting week of OWCS Korea Stage 3 so far, with compelling clashes at the top, bottom, and everything in between. ZETA DIVISION and Team Falcons will attempt to stop the rampaging T1, Cheeseburger, and Mir Gaming battle for their first win of the season.

In addition, the midseason patch dropped on Tuesday with Wrecking Ball nerfs and Roadhog buffs, opening the door for chaos as we enter the final week of the regular season.

As the regular season ends this week, the top 4 teams will go directly to the Korea Playoffs, and the 5th-8th teams will go into the Last Chance Qualifier, where they will fight for the two remaining spots in the playoffs. The last-placed team will be eliminated.

If you’ve missed any of the recent action, you can catch up with our Week 3 summary.

Due to an ongoing bug with Aatlis, the map will be removed from play this week. Leaving only Suravasa in the Flashpoint map pool.

Korea Week 4 - Day 1 (September 19, 2025)

T1 vs. ZETA DIVISION

T1 has been an unstoppable force this stage, and ZETA haven’t proven themselves against truly elite dive teams in this meta. Their 3-0 loss to Crazy Raccoon suggests that T1 likely has a distinct advantage in the dive matchup, for which there are few players that you would rather have on your team than Kim "DONGHAK" Min-sung right now. This matchup will likely demonstrate the difference between the good teams and the elite teams.

WAE vs. ONSIDE GAMING

This match has the potential to be a barnburner as well, for similar reasons to the ZETA DIVISION and T1 matchup.

The question is, though, will the DPS and backline of ONSIDE be able to keep up with WAE’s well-drilled dive? Lee "KNIFE" Seon-woo and Kim "Kellan" Min-jae have proven to be serious upgrades to this team, but WAE will be favoured to win here, thanks to their experience and pedigree at the top level.

Team Falcons vs. Cheeseburger

Team Falcons have proven that, despite this not being an ideal meta for them, they still have the individual star power to overpower lower-ranked teams like Cheeseburger. Also, with Zarya becoming more prominent in the meta, HanBin will be able to thrive, as proven against Mir Gaming last week.

Korea Week 4 - Day 2 (September 20, 2025)

Crazy Raccoon vs. Mir Gaming

Crazy Raccoon are not likely to struggle much against Mir Gaming, despite Kim "RULER" Yi-gun showing serious promise on Zarya against Team Falcons last week. Crazy Raccoon is more willing to force the dive, and they are so good at it that no amount of good Zarya play will be able to stop them from running over Cheeseburger.

ONSIDE GAMING vs. Old Ocean

Both of these teams have shown that they are a cut above those currently in the relegation zone, but can’t quite cut it against top-level opposition. Kim "Becky" Il-ha and Go "D4RT" Min-hyuk have been the stars for Old Ocean and will need to be at their best in this 50/50 matchup. Old Ocean’s best performances have come when getting Ryu "ryujehong" Je-hong off of Lucio, while ONSIDE will be much more comfortable in that matchup with An "OPENER" Gi-beom.

ONSIDE has used the breadth of their roster more than Old Ocean this season, and after the success of Kim "Attack" Jun-hwa on Zarya last week against ZETA DIVISION, the ability to lean into this part of the roster more seems promising. With Old Ocean relying on Cho "HEISER" Yu-hyun predominantly, their flexibility is contained within one tank, an advantage they can look to utilise.

With clear ban targets on both sides, this match is set up to go all the way.

Korea Week 4 - Day 3 (September 21, 2025)

Cheeseburger vs. Mir Gaming

The bottom two teams in Korea come together, guaranteeing one will get their first win of the season this week. Both of them have shown signs of life against the teams above them, but have been limited to opportunities at maps rather than whole series.

Cheeseburger showed more potential earlier on in the stage, but has faded a bit as the regular season has progressed — with the exception of Lee "WoochaN" Woo-chan, who put in some of his best individual performances to date last week on Ana.

Kim "RULER" Yi-gun on Zarya has been the bright spot recently for Mir Gaming with an impressive showing against the Falcons. With the stakes high, neither team will want to let this opportunity slip.

Game of the week: ZETA DIVISION vs. WAE

Once again, we think that ZETA DIVISION will put on a show, and for good reason. We’ve already established that they have an affinity for map fives, and WAE may be the perfect dance partner to get them there.

On paper, the teams seem quite evenly matched. They are both comfortable in the Wrecking Ball mirror, with that being their preferred composition on dive maps, and have formidable double flex DPS lineups.

Both teams lost to Crazy Raccoon and T1 in prior weeks, but ZETA holds the record advantage due to their close win over Falcons. WAE also pushed Falcons in their match, but couldn’t close out any map wins, ultimately losing 3-0.

Many would give WAE the backline advantage in this matchup - Lee “LeeSooMin” Soo-min and Oh “Maka” Eun-seok are some of the most dynamic support players in the region, who thrive in this chaotic Wrecking Ball style of play. Their DPS line lacks some of the depth that ZETA’s does, especially in double flex matchups. AlphaYi’s return to DPS has been a boon for ZETA this stage. Alongside Oh "Pelican" Se-hyun, they have looked the best double flex DPS duo in the region despite their team's struggles.

It’s also worth considering the Shin “BERNAR” Se-won factor. Despite a disappointing showing last week against ONSIDE, he is usually a star on off-tank favoured maps. Lee “Mealgaru” Jeong-hwan is no slouch, especially on Hazard, but the extra tank option gives ZETA a distinct flexibility advantage.

We’re expecting a banger, so be sure to tune in.

T1 vs. Team Falcons

Falcons have struggled against the truly elite dive teams this stage, and T1 are at the top of that hierarchy. It’s hard to predict Team Falcons to win here with how high T1 has set the bar. With a potential perfect regular season to play for by this point, T1 won’t be looking to give any favours.

Though you can never count out the star quality of Falcons, A midseason patch that shifts some power away from Wrecking Ball and Falcons' approach leaning more into Choi "Hanbin" Han-been’s Zarya, will add a level of uncertainty to the fixture. Make no mistake, though, T1 still comes in as heavy favourites.

Old Ocean vs. Crazy Raccoon

This should conclude what will be a straightforward final week of the regular season for Crazy Raccoon as they face their second of two lower-tier opposition. Questions will be raised about the return of Lee "LIP" Jae-won and if we’ll see him feature in this week's matches. But in terms of results, this should see Crazy Raccoon conclude a 7-1 record only blemished by T1.