📝 The final four: Wrapping up the North America Stage 3 Playoffs

And then there were four.

The first weekend of playoffs in North America has wrapped up, with both Team Liquid and Geekay Esports punching their tickets to Sweden. Now, only one ticket remains for the OWCS World Finals at Dreamhack Stockholm. After a surprising upset that sent home the No. 4 seed and a statement victory that sent Spacestation Gaming down to the Lower Bracket, the playoff picture is now a lot more exciting.

The question now remains: which team will earn the final North American spot?

Upper Bracket Finals: Team Liquid vs Geekay Esports

Geekay Esports made a statement in their 3-2 victory over Spacestation Gaming: this team isn’t done yet. Now, this core of players is looking to mirror the success of the 2024 Toronto Defiant and win every North American regional final — and they look ready to do so.

If Geekay wants to cement their legacy in the manner of their predecessors in Toronto, they’ll first need to test their skills against Team Liquid.

The match against NTMR was more or less a warm-up for the currently undefeated squad, and Team Liquid look poised to win not just the match but the entire region.

While this series no longer carries the weight of qualifying to Stockholm, both teams have a key opportunity to earn a better seed heading to the World Finals in November — not to mention a larger share of the NA OWCS prize pool. If the Week 5 series between both Geekay and Liquid is any indication, we are in for an exciting battle.

The winner of this series will advance into the Regional Grand Finals, while the loser will drop into the Lower Bracket Finals.

Lower Bracket Semifinals: Sakura Esports vs Spacestation Gaming

In their previous matchup, Sakura could barely win individual submaps against NTMR and lost 0-3. But everything changed last Sunday — Sakura Esports stunned the entire region by defeating NTMR in a one-sided 3-1 series.

This was the first time all year that a team outside the top 4 bubble defeated one of the region's heavy favourites. Sakura’s victory was largely due to “xten’s” lethal Cassidy and especially the dominant presence of Alexander “Zeb” Shepard’s Orisa. If there is a time to lean into the strengths of this roster, it would be here in the Lower Bracket Semis.

On the flip side, Spacestation Gaming is coming fresh off their 2-3 loss to Geekay Esports and a rapid 3-0 sweep over Team Z. This team is not interested in finishing fourth place again — they are going to get to Stockholm by any means necessary.

In a recent interview with CommanderX, coach Christopher "ChrisTFer" Graham spoke about the upcoming match with Sakura and stated that they will be handling business as they have throughout the entire stage. There will be no shenanigans or playing into Sakura’s strengths — this is the time to lock in.

Watch ChrisTFer: "There are no Orisa mirrors coming."

Sakura, on the other hand, is not expecting to win or even make it to Stockholm, but they certainly will go out playing their signature style that brought them here. Even if they don’t make it, they seem ready to finish their season on a high note, and if they make it to the World Finals along the way, all the merrier.

Lower Bracket Finals and Grand Finals

It is anyone’s race to the Grand Finals, but the current favourite is definitely Team Liquid. They have been the most consistent team all stage long, and they won’t be taking their foot off the gas anytime soon.

If this were to be the case, Geekay Esports would then fall into the Lower Bracket Finals to face the victor between Sakura Esports and Spacestation Gaming. As previously mentioned, Spacestation are not satisfied finishing another stage outside the top three bubble — they will be making it to Stockholm.

Assuming everything pans out as predicted, Geekay Esports and Spacestation Gaming would then face each other in their third rematch of the stage in the Lower Bracket Finals. While this game doesn’t affect making it to the finals, it would be the time to showcase their skill to the rest of the world, possibly earning a better seed in the process.

The hypothetical finalist that would join Team Liquid, assuming OWTV’s analysis is correct, is really up for a coin toss. Geekay and Spacestation look roughly even, if their former meetings are anything to go by. Regardless of the team that makes the finals, it is likely they would fall to Team Liquid.

However, if last weekend’s matches in both North America and EMEA are anything to go by, Tier 1 Overwatch is a game ripe for upsets in Stage 3. It is very possible that Sakura Esports could be the team heading to Sweden with Geekay and Liquid, or perhaps Geekay completes the three-stage sweep of the Grand Finals. Only time will tell.

No matter who claims the final ticket to Sweden, North America is in for an exciting weekend of Overwatch.