T1 stun ZETA as Korea Stage 2 opens with a flurry of sweeps

OWCS Korea Stage 2 Week 1 Review: ZETA DIVISION and T1 rescue a week of 3-0verwatch

There was much to discuss going into the first week of Korea Stage 2 - Crazy Raccoon looking to continue riding their newfound wave of dominance. ZETA DIVISION hoping to return to their Stage 1 dominance. O2 Blast’s long-awaited comeback. ZANSIDE ESPORTS hoping for a good stage after a hopeful first from the ONSIDE half of the merger.

Korea kicked off with a packed schedule full of interesting matchups. While every-but-one fixture ended in 3-0 sweeps, ZETA DIVISION and T1 still managed to take it all the way to make it a memorable weekend for viewers.

Game of the Week: T1 vs. ZETA DIVISION

T1 were always going to be an interesting comeback test for ZETA DIVISION. Their undefeated run had just run out during the Champions Clash, and the team of superstars would have been hoping for a quick return to their winning ways. However, things would pan out a little differently as T1 came extremely prepared, played with discipline, and had answers to almost everything ZETA threw at them.

From the very first map, Antarctic Peninsula, it was clear that Hong “Proud” Suk-jin was going to be the difference-maker for T1. He put on an absolute masterclass on the Sojourn on Map 1, finding pick after pick and stifling ZETA DIVISION’s momentum. His Sojourn pick in combination with Kim “DONGHAK” Min-sung’s Mauga and Kim “ZEST” Hyun-woo’s Vendetta was incredibly effective in punishing the Symmetra that ZETA DIVISION opted for on this first map. With T1 banning the Jetpack Cat in this map as well, ZETA didn’t have an answer.

However, ZETA bounced back and proved that with the Cat/Bastion in play, they are still the kings. Despite a heroic 5-minute third point hold from T1 on Rialto, including a miraculous two-man clutch from the T1 backline, they were held short in the Cat/Bastion mirror, grinding to a halt halfway through second point.

New Junk City was a return to form for T1, though. We’ve seen that it’s a very difficult map to force the Cat/Bastion composition on, and T1 punished ZETA with an unorthodox Doomfist pick. DONGHAK is known for being one of the only players brave enough to bust out the Doom, and when he does it is always a treat. ZETA looked absolutely lost with DONGHAK and ZEST constantly wreaking havoc in their backline, and Lee “Mealgaru” Jeong-hwan tried every counterpick in the book, including Roadhog, to absolutely no avail. 3-0 T1.

Not to go down without a fight, ZETA chose King’s Row. Hybrid was their trump card last stage, going almost undefeated on the map type, and while they looked rocky elsewhere this match, their dominance continued here. In a stroke of tactical genius, Kim “Shu” Jin-seo, who has had an uncharacteristically quiet series so far, rolls out on Ana. His impact is felt almost immediately, and ZETA full push the map without much resistance. T1 answer back with a full push of their own, but thanks to an unbelievable ZETA clutch at the death, they can only get the payload over the line in overtime. ZETA grabbed the one tick they needed to win the map and sent the series to its ultimate fifth map.

Runasapi was an absolute dogfight. T1 had saved the Bastion ban, and used it to try and secure the final map. It wasn’t easy though. Kim “Proper” Dong-hyun had plenty of big-time moments this map on Tracer to try and drag his team up from a difficult position, but it was Proud who became the true differentiator. He hit big-time shots when it mattered most, and on a map that could’ve gone either way, he ultimately gave T1 the win.

Match results

O2 Blast 3 - 0 ZANSIDE GAMING

O2 Blast came out of the gate swinging, with an emphatic underdog 3-0 against the newly-merged ZANSIDE GAMING. They were able to pilot a vintage Crazy Raccoon-esque Wrecking Ball/Ana/Brig composition on Ilios, and ZANSIDE, while keeping it close, couldn’t convert the map win. A really good first impression for O2 Blast’s rookie WuTian, and Kim "Perr" Dam-I bounced back from his time on the winless New Era last stage with a great performance. Kang “Void” Jun-woo returned from a long retirement and looked serviceable, but he just fell short against the young (and old) guns of O2 Blast.

Team Falcons 0 - 3 Crazy Raccoon

The biggest rivalry of the OWCS turned out to be a one-sided affair. With both teams having secured EWC qualification, the stakes were at an all-time low, but Crazy Raccoon still took the dominant 3-0 win against Team Falcons. They looked much more comfortable on the Cat/Bastion when it was played, and Choi “MAX” Su-min looked strong, playing two maps and winning both. Even Lee “LIP” Jae-won got a chance to shine, playing in New Queen Street and sealing the deal for Crazy Raccoon. Even with Wrecking Ball banned in this final map, Junbin came in and got the better of Choi “Hanbin” Han-been in the Mauga mirror. Champions Clash winners, Crazy Raccoon, continue their strong run.

Poker Face 0 - 3 Cheeseburger

Having procured half their roster directly from last stage’s Poker Face, this was a must-win matchup for Cheeseburger. Poker Face looked uncomfortable on the Cat/Bastion, banning it out on the first two maps, but Cheeseburger got it done regardless, taking a 2-0 lead going into map 3. With Cat/Bastion open for the final map, Cheeseburger showed that Poker Face had every reason to be scared, winning with a lead of 144 metres. Despite losing three founding members, Cheeseburger made great use of their new members and took a crucial win against Poker Face.

T1 3 - 0 SuperBad

SuperBad, unfortunately, found themselves quite in tune with their name. Twins Jang “AZENT” Hyeon-ik and Jang “Univ2r” Geon-ik, as well as their younger brother SENTIER, hoped to bring some DNA-based synergy to this roster, but the power of family was ultimately thwarted by the power of DONGHAK on Wrecking Ball and Proud on hitscan (and ZEST on Junkrat, apparently). Jeong ”Jasm1ne” Jong-min also got some playtime this series, holding it down on Sigma and Zarya to close out an easy 3-0.

RØDE ZANSIDE GAMING 0 - 3 Team Falcons

While the Falcons fell short against Crazy Raccoon the day before, they were able to put away ZANSIDE fairly convincingly. They won the Cat/bastion mirror in Map 1, with Hanbin looking much stronger on the D.Va. With Cat/Bastion banned the rest of the series, Falcons didn’t miss a beat, with SP1NT even busting out the Anran on Suravasa and taking the win. Baek “Checkmate” Seung-hun came in to play his signature Symmetra on Map 3, and Becky just couldn’t hold up in the end. Notably, though, ZANSIDE looked much stronger in this series than they did in their upset loss to O2 Blast the day before.

SuperBad 0 - 3 O2 Blast

O2 Blast continued their good run of form to start the stage with a comfortable win over SuperBad. Perr had another excellent performance, this time mainly on Bastion. Oasis was a close fight, but the next two maps held no such hope for the family affair of SuperBad. Fully held on Rialto and limited to just the first point capture on Hollywood, O2 Blast weren’t worried and started the season 2-0. It’ll be interesting to see how they match up with some of the top teams later on in the season, but for now they can enjoy some good performances and showcase their up-and-coming talent.

ZETA DIVISION 3 - 0 Cheeseburger

ZETA’s mini loss streak was broken as they dispatched the Cheeseburger boys 3-0 without breaking a sweat. A vintage Proper performance, going 58-9 across three maps, with a hefty assist from Park “Viol2t” Min-ki left Cheeseburger with no answers. Cheeseburger were able to win a fight here and there, but were never threatening a map win, and ZETA picked up their first win of the season.

Crazy Raccoon 3 - 0 Poker Face

Crazy Raccoon, as expected, continued their winning ways, and Poker Face failed to put up much of a fight against the far superior competition. LIP played all three maps this time, and racked up 63 eliminations across them. MAX also came back to play two maps and had a great performance in both. In a week of 3-0s, this may have been the most predictable, and nothing really went astray for Crazy Raccoon here.

Next week, O2 Blast has two major tests ahead of them against ZETA DIVISION and T1. The latter also have a crucial game against the Falcons, where a victory would pretty much cement a top-two Regular Season finish.