đź“ť Team CC vs. T1 Full Match Recap
The World Finals in Stockholm opened with a bang. Korea’s T1, armed with some of the most exciting young talent in the game, against China’s Team CC, an organisation barely two years old but loaded with former Overwatch League veterans determined to reclaim their old level. A volatile best-of-three format, the kind of match where momentum can evaporate in a flash, and absolutely anything goes.
For T1, this event marks the continuation of a renaissance. A household name in Korean esports, the team was absent from Overwatch since 2022. They re-entered the game in 2025 and immediately built around a hyper-promising core to take the fight directly to Korea’s top and, by extension, the rest of the world.
Team CC, by contrast, play with a squad of players who lived their formative years in the highest tier of the game. However, they and their entire region spent two years unable to compete at the top level while the game was unavailable in China. They’ve been gradually recovering, and this tournament is the culmination of an entire year’s effort on display.
Even Team CC’s head coach, LnlD, was aware of the size of the task ahead. “Considering the gap between us and T1,” he said, speaking to OWTV, “winning would be an incredible upset, and losing is not a huge deal.” However, what followed was a series far closer and far fiercer than almost anyone expected.
Map 1: Nepal (Team CC pick), Team CC ban Kiriko, T1 ban Echo
The series began on Village, with T1 turning to Jeong “Jasm1ne” Jong-min on Ramattra, backed by Baptise/Lucio, while Team CC fielded Chen “BILIDENG” Cheng on Zarya with an Ana/Wuyang support line. The Korean side struck first, but Li “Pineapple” Zhuo, Liu “Kaneki” Nian, and Cao “Farway2025” Jiale put an overwhelming amount of poke damage that eventually forced T1 off the objective.
A last-ditch Overclock from Hong “Proud” Suk-jin bought T1 one more fight, but BILIDENG, swapping to D.Va with a perfectly timed Nano from Farway2025, put a quick stop to T1’s hopes, and Team CC took the opening round of the tournament.
Shrine saw more of the same early dominance. BILIDENG returned to Zarya, Pineapple shifted to Freja, and Team CC stormed to 82% with a perfect Bola Shot from Pineapple to clear out the entirety of T1. But Korean teams are not known for rolling over; T1 flipped the point late, then survived attack after attack from Team CC, and just as the Chinese team managed to finish off T1, they failed to touch the point in time.
By Sanctum, the match had fully tilted. T1’s Kim “ZEST” Hyun-woo moved to Venture, Pineapple back to Sojourn, and the brawl swung back and forth until T1 finally broke CC’s momentum entirety. The Korean squad closed out the map with conviction: 1-0 T1.
Map 2: Midtown (Team CC pick), Team CC ban Wuyang, T1 ban Zarya
T1 brought in their prodigy tank, Kim “DONGHAK” Min-sung. Both teams started with near-mirror comps, Ramattra mirrors, Kiri/Lucio, Sojourn, but ZEST opted for Venture instead of Tracer.
Early fights went T1’s way, with Proud keeping Pineapple firmly contained. When CC finally committed support ultimates, they muscled through and capped, but DONGHAK immediately pivoted to his signature Wrecking Ball. A massive Tectonic Shock from ZEST briefly swung control back to T1, but CC managed to regroup in overtime to secure the first point.
To break the Ball, Pineapple swapped to Sombra, but T1’s defensive setups were too well-timed, and the clock bled out while Team CC were halfway through to the 2nd point.
On T1’s attack, Pineapple moved to Freja and Kaneki to Venture, while DONGHAK returned to Ramattra. T1 looked poised to complete the map, forcing CC into an expensive final fight that drained every resource available. But BILIDENG, swapping to D.Va with seconds to spare, anchored a miraculous hold on the point. With a final collapse onto T1, Team CC stole the map and tied the series 1-1.
Map 3: New Junk City (T1 pick), T1 ban Ramattra, Team CC ban Venture
Everything came down to New Junk City. T1 subbed in both Lee “Viper” Jung-woong and Jasm1ne. Both teams mirrored again, Zarya comps with Kiri/Lucio and Sojourn, except for Viper’s Genji and Kaneki’s Mei.
T1 captured the first point midfight, but CC refused to let them settle. With methodical pressure, they eventually flipped control and kept the pressure up until T1 failed to mount a proper retake attempt. CC claimed their first point.
T1 managed to stabilise for the 2nd point, forced Team CC into a very expensive fight, and managed to capture the point. Team CC immediately flip the script again for the third point. They held off multiple T1 attacks, grinding the point to 99%. They needed one more fight; however, Viper had other ideas with his Dragonblade. Slicing through the entire Chinese lineup, getting T1 the cap.
Under match point pressure, CC still fought with remarkable poise. But T1, steadier than they’ve been all match, divided CC’s last defence and closed out the series 2-1.
After the match, Proud admitted the team had expected less resistance. “I have to be honest,” he said. “I thought it was going to be easy, but Team CC was very well prepared. We made a lot of mistakes, and it was a harder win for us.”
T1 now advance to the upper bracket quarterfinals, where a rematch against Twisted Minds awaits. A chance at redemption for the Korean team, after their defeat to Twisted Minds in the Midseason Championship, which saw them finish the tournament in fourth place. Whether they can tighten up from here will determine how deep their Stockholm run truly goes. Team CC, meanwhile, fall to the lower bracket, but if this opening match proved anything, it’s that they’re no one’s stepping stone.