📝 The Masters of EMEA: Twisted Minds 2025 World Finals Preview

Few teams have shown the kind of steady improvement that Twisted Minds have across 2025. After a strong run in the 2025 Midseason Championship, where they finished in third place, eliminating reigning champions Crazy Raccoon along the way, and ultimately losing to Al Qadsiah, Twisted Minds entered the Overwatch Champions Series Stage 3 with unfinished business. Two months later, their run through OWCS Stage 3 has already cemented their conviction, and Twisted Minds now find themselves with the perfect setup to take it all the way at the World Finals in Stockholm.

The journey so far

Twisted Minds’ season began with a familiar heartbreak, another narrow loss to Al Qadsiah, but that result would be one of the very few hiccups on their record. Since then, they picked up their coordination, displayed a vast selection of heroes under their belt, and started racking up win after win. The only other stumble came in a close loss against Virtus.pro. However, Twisted Minds had their revenge. By the end of the season, they had beaten both Al Qadsiah and Virtus.pro when it mattered most, storming through the playoffs and claiming the EMEA crown.

Twisted Minds’ victory over Al Qadsiah was a substantial milestone for the team. Not only had they cracked Al Qadsiah’s impervious Symmetra composition, but they also brought to an end a losing streak spanning the entire year against their regional rivals in OWCS.

The key to success

The core of Twisted Minds’ success is the combination of stability and star power. Twisted Minds have maintained a consistent roster throughout the year, and it’s been a crucial factor in their consistently growing synergy. Their lineup, led by Ibrahem “Quartz” Alali, player of the week in the grand final against Al Qadsiah, has found the perfect key to execute the incredibly precise mechanical gameplay that Twisted Minds are known for. Quartz’s ruthless lethality often opens up entire teamfights, allowing his team to pull off the tight Symmetra compositions that often hinge on split-second timings. Coupling that with Maximilian “Seicoe” Otter performing at his best, as well as one of the most flexible support duos in Daniel “FunnyAstro” Hathaway and Kim “Simple” Ji-sung, and you have yourself a roster that’s capable of handling any challenge that comes their way.

In Stage 3, Twisted Minds shifted away from relying heavily on Ahmad “Youbi” Alyoubi, who made only six appearances against Quick Esports and Virtus.pro. As a result, Seicoe has gotten more playtime, and the team started relying less on Symmetra and more on individual plays from Seicoe on Tracer and Quartz on Freja or Sojourn. However, whether piloted by Seicoe or Youbi, Twisted Minds remained dominant on Symmetra, especially against teams that are susceptible to caving against the high pressure that the composition brings to the table. Twisted Minds enjoys playing a very aggressive and fast-paced style of Overwatch, regardless of their opponent, and this style is a massive asset in LAN competitions and high-pressure games, which they’ll be looking to fully capitalise on come Stockholm.

Twisted Minds cycle between D.Va, Hazard, and Zarya for their frontline. Despite having two tank players in Abdualziz “TVNT” Altmimi and Alhumaidi “KSAA” Alruwaili, who share a very similar hero pool, with KSAA leaning more on Mauga and Ramattra, and TVNT on D.Va and Hazard. However, during the final stretch of the season, Twisted Minds have resorted to exclusively playing TVNT. The team also fields a pretty consistent and effective support backline, aside from the usual backline of Kiriko and Lucio, Twisted Minds have also picked up Wuyang quite effectively and often, compared to the rest of the region.

The hyper rushdown that defines Twisted Minds’ playstyle creates the perfect type of structured chaos for their star hitscan, Quartz, to thrive. Arguably one of the most lethal marksmen in the scene. Fights involving Twisted Minds often end before they even begin, with Quartz capitalising on every inch of space his teammates carve out for him. Halfway through Stage 3, right after Twisted Minds’ loss to Virtus.pro, the team seemed destined for 3rd place in EMEA and Quartz’s honest self-evaluation on OWTV supported it. “During EWC, I feel like I peaked, to be honest,” Quartz said, recalling their run during EWC. “During EWC, I was playing at my best. Right now, I wouldn't say I'm playing the best. It can be a lot better.”

However, the marksman, determined to turn things around, said, “I'm not gonna lie, and I won't say that this is the best thing I can ever do…There's more to come, I think, I can peak again. When it matters, I show up." As we would all lay witness, three weeks later, Quartz and Twisted Minds would completely turn things around and defeat both Virtus.pro and Al Qadsiah to claim the #1 EMEA seed for Stockholm.

Now, as they prepare for the World Finals in Stockholm, Twisted Minds arrive as the top seed from EMEA, and with expectations higher than ever. “...Top four was the goal,” FunnyAstro said, before the start of Stage 3, reviewing their third-place finish at EWC 2025, “anything better than that was a good achievement. We got where we wanted to.” Their journey through the EWC proved that they can stand toe-to-toe with the world’s best, but this time, they’ll be aiming to finish what they started. Their opening match will pit them against the winner of T1 vs Team CC, a matchup that could set the tone for the entire tournament. If their current trajectory is any indication, Twisted Minds are coming for the title in Stockholm.