📝 Spacestation Gaming vs. Team Peps Full Match Recap

The final match of the day for the OWCS World Finals Day 1 was an intense clash between the 2nd-seeded Spacestation Gaming from NA and the 3rd-seeded Team Peps from EMEA. While Spacestation is a roster chalked with talent, Team Peps had every opportunity to punch upwards and make the upset.

Spacestation Gaming made their return to international competition after a late-season rebuild. They rebounded after a disappointing Stage 2 thanks to their coach, Christopher "ChrisTFer" Graham, and veteran tank Xander "Hawk" Domecq.

Team Peps made a surprising entry into the World Finals after upsetting both Team Vision and Gen.G in the EMEA Regional Playoffs. Although they know their chances of victory are slim, they remained optimistic to show the world why they made it to Stockholm.

However, Kamden "Sugarfree" Hijada remained confident with their chances against Peps, even saying how he doesn’t "know who's on their [Peps] team,” and followed up by saying “I don't think it's gonna be that hard of a match."

Florian "Dip" Lefèvre, on the other hand, remained confident they could win, saying, "I think SSG and Geekay don't look scary. Not to be mean or anything, but I think they look like we can beat them."

Map 1: Illios (Spacestation pick), SSG ban Wuyang, Peps ban D.Va

When the series took flight on Well, Rocco "Kronik" Iacobacci and Sugarfree took to the skies on Freja and Echo against the Tracer and Freja of Team Peps. William "Willys" Ersson had hoped to utilise the D.Va ban and find an advantage with Hazard. Still, the aggression from Christopher "Cjay" Smith allowed Hawk’s Zarya to dominate and prevent any progress.

Although Leo-Kristian "Zorrow" Sundin and Florian "Dip" Lefèvre were able to find some eliminations, Spacestation remained calm and composed, decisively taking Well and going up 1-0 in the round.

On Ruins, Kronik swapped to Ashe while Willys matched Hawk’s Zarya. But unfortunately for Peps, this was not enough to take down Spacestation. With Brice "FDGod" Monsçavoir ajaxing in a crucial teamfight, all momentum was swept from their sails. The North American squad easily took the map 2-0, bringing the series to a 1-0 match point.

Map 2: New Junk City (Team Peps pick), Peps ban Tracer, SSG ban Ramattra

Heading into the second map, both teams opted for the Zarya-Lucio-Kirko-Sojourn core — while Team Peps made a surprising move with Dip playing Mei against Sugarfree’s Echo.

The Mei was a gamble that ultimately paid off on the first point, as the crucial walls were enough to force Hawk into unadvantageous positions and separate him from his backline. Although Spacestation kept it close, Peps were able to capture the first point and set up for a potential snowball.

The second point was a back-and-forth brawl that ultimately went in Peps' favour. Sugarfree’s Echo was a decisive factor that helped Spacestation nearly capture the point, but ultimately, it was not enough to contest the CC capabilities of Mei. Team Peps won the point and headed to game point.

Team Peps maintained this momentum heading to the third point, but this time it was much easier for the French squad. Dip’s Mei continued to be a crucial carry that easily countered Sugarfree’s Echo. Spacestation found little footing, ultimately stumbled, and lost in a brutal 0-3 sweep.

The series was now tied at 1-1, with both teams looking poised to take the victory.

Map 3: Route 66 (Spacestation pick), SSG ban Brigitte, Peps ban Echo

The final decider map took place in the deserts of Route 66. Team Peps hoped to continue the momentum from New Junk City by using Dip’s lethal Mei, with the rest of the team playing Ashe-D.Va-Wuyang-Kiriko. Spacestation looked to bounce back by maintaining their Zarya-Lucio-Kiriko core, with Kronik on Freja and Sugarfree now on Tracer.

As Spacestation rolled the cart towards the golden box of victory, Dip’s Mei pick was unable to find the same impact as it had on Flashpoint. Willys made the swap over to Zarya while FDGod swapped off the Wuyang for Lucio. And while these swaps did help Team Peps burn large chunks of the timebank, it was ultimately not enough to stop Spacestation Gaming from fully capping the cart with 43 seconds left in the timebank.

When it came time for Peps’ attack, Dip realised that Mei would not be the same crutch it had been, and ultimately swapped to Tracer to match Sugarfree. However, this wasn’t enough to take down this North American squad. Spacestation halted any further progress from Team Peps, winning Route 66 3-1 and the series 2-1.

In the post-match interview, Hawk did acknowledge how close the match was, saying, “They kinda showed some stuff we didn’t expect. The Mei kinda ran me down on that second map. That was a little rough.”

Spacestation now heads to the second round of the Upper Bracket, where they will face a titan of an opponent with Crazy Raccoon. Although this will definitely be a tough match, if the other three games of Day 1 are any indication, don’t expect this match to be easy for the Korean superteam.

Team Peps, meanwhile, now falls into the Lower Bracket. Awaiting them will be either Team Liquid or Team Falcons, the current number one seeds from their respective regions. While winning this match will certainly be a difficult task, don’t count out this up-and-coming EMEA squad just yet.