📝 The Road to Stockholm: The Final Six - OWCS NA Stage 3 Playoffs Week 1 preview

Eight teams entered, only six remain.

After six exciting weeks of action, the road to the OWCS Finals at Dreamhack Stockholm nears its end. Thanks to their regular season performances, the four highest-placing teams will begin in the upper-bracket semifinals with an extra life in hand. The fifth and sixth place teams, however, will have to claw their way through the lower-bracket quarterfinals, where even one loss can leave them on the tarmac as the planes to Stockholm take off.

When all is said and done, only three will be worthy of punching their tickets to Sweden. Each roster present qualified to the playoffs for a reason, and every one of them has their own reasons for being among the best in North America.

Team Z

After stunning the entire region with their upset against Extinction, Team Z enters the playoffs as the No. 6 seed.

It has been a turbulent 2025 season for this squad. After missing out on Stage 1, this core was forced to requalify through the Promotion/Relegation tournament to rejoin OWCS in Stage 2. However, internal issues once again derailed their run in Stage 2, and they were once more forced to fight out in another Promotion/Relegation tournament in the offseason, where they were ultimately successful. And just before the start of Stage 3, their former organization, Supernova, dropped the roster, leaving the players to fend for themselves.

After many different struggles and tribulations, it seemed as though the season was over for the Team Z squad. They didn’t win a single map against any other team aside from the DhillDucks, and it seemed as though their story would once again end in seventh place. That was until the team locked in against Extinction and pulled off one of the biggest surprises of the year—securing their spot in the postseason.

As Ryan "ryan" Lawless alluded to in his recent interview, this will most likely be the last time this core plays together in OWCS. But until the time comes, Team Z stands as a scary dark horse contender in the lower bracket — and nothing is scarier than a team who has nothing left to lose.

Sakura Esports

Consistency was the name of the game for Sakura Esports in Stage 3. Thanks to their level-headed play, this team secured the No. 5 seed heading into the playoffs.

Of all the teams outside the top four, Sakura Esports improved the most. Throughout Stage 3, every player levelled up and helped define the team as a solid middle-of-the-pack squad — mainly off the back of their star DPS player, xomba and notable improvement from tank player Alexander "Zeb" Shepard.

Although Sakura was unable to win a series against any of the top four seeds, they did successfully take a map off Team Liquid in Week 6, proving that this team does have the talent to challenge the best of North America.

The biggest question for Sakura in the playoffs lies with their DPS rotation. The team has looked strongest with xomba and xten in the lineup, and while Carson “pdk” Terry remains a serviceable option, their results with him in the starting position have been inconsistent. If Sakura hopes to make a deep run in the lower bracket, they’ll need to commit to a starting roster to prove they can truly punch up against North America’s best.

NTMR

Stage 3 was a challenging test for the NTMR core. But even after losing many of their best players to other teams, this squad still locked in and secured their position as the No. 4 seed — earning a start in the upper bracket with a second chance at life.

After a breakout Stage 2, Spacestation Gaming swooped in and signed away star DPS player Rocco "Kronik" Iacobacci and breakout support player Joseph "Lep" Cambriani. NTMR rebuilt by signing some of Spacestation’s former players like Alex "seeker" Taylor and introducing rookie support Aidan “NenWhy” McHenry, but these signings weren’t enough to recapture the magic they had in the previous stage. Despite their struggles, NTMR decisively put away all teams below them — proving they are still a top contender in North America and securing their spot in the top four.

This organisation is full of surprises. Since signing the former Timeless core for the 2024 Esports World Cup, the NTMR org has qualified for every single OWCS LAN and consistently shown what dedication to the sport can yield in Overwatch. While their chances of making Stockholm seem unlikely, CEO Jack "Fl4k" Ketchum has proven time and time again why his organisation is worthy of respect—and proven his rosters can upset any top team in any meta.

Geekay Esports

As the defending champions of North America, Geekay Esports surprised the region by entering the postseason as the No. 3 seed.

In Stage 1, this core competed under the NTMR banner before being signed by Geekay in Stage 2. Through the first half of the season, they have truly shown their elite talent — upsetting Crazy Raccoon in the Champions Clash and even taking both Team Falcons and Al Qadsiah to five maps at the Midseason Championship. As Riley "cuFFa" Brown stated back in Week 1, North America is not this team’s focus — they have higher aspirations in international competition.

But Stage 3 has been their biggest challenge yet. Although they decisively put away all the teams outside the top three, Geekay fell short against both Team Liquid and Spacestation Gaming. Their coordination in both matches appeared off, and hero selection was uncharacteristically out of sync. Those inconsistencies culminated in their weakest stage of 2025.

Despite the two losses, Geekay still took both top seeds all the way to five maps, and the world saw just how deadly Benjamin "UltraViolet" David’s Wuyang truly is. Even with their most recent results, this squad is full of talented players with high-level experience. Don’t be surprised if this team quickly recovers from their mistakes and takes the title of North American Champion for the third time in a row.

Spacestation Gaming

Rebuilding halfway through the season usually spells disaster — unless your name is Spacestation Gaming. After a rocky start to their 2025 season, this team turned their season around and now enter the playoffs as the No. 2 seed.

Spacestation was always a strong team in 2025, even qualifying for the Champions Clash with a mixed Korean-American roster. Yet, when competition began for Stage 2, the team seemed to fall apart. They were eliminated by NTMR in the playoffs, missing out on the Midseason Championship entirely. In response, management restructured their roster, parting ways with their Korean players and coach Max "Unter" Unterwurzacher. In their stead, the team rebuilt their squad by acquiring Rocco "Kronik" Iacobacci and Joseph "Lep" Cambriani from NTMR, while signing Xander "Hawk" Domecq in free agency. And, rounding out these roster changes, Christopher "ChrisTFer" Graham signed on as head coach following the disbandment of The Ultimates in EMEA.

And what a rebuild it was.

Spacestation didn’t just improve — they dominated. Much like Geekay, they also decisively put away all the lower-tier teams and even took the win against the reigning champs, only falling short to Team Liquid. Despite that loss and a close 3-2 scare against Extinction, the entire team looked strong and cohesive compared to their previous stages. Hawk’s signature Zarya became the key to their overall success, and thanks to ChrisTFer’s strategic coaching, the team ran through the season and secured a top seed in the postseason.

As the playoffs begin, Spacestation Gaming doesn’t just seem strong; they look ready for Sweden. It would be a massive payoff for the organisation that, just a few months ago, looked to be out of playoff contention altogether.

Team Liquid

When the Season 18 balance changes went into effect and competition began in OWCS Korea, the meta shifted to a double-flex DPS core with Wrecking Ball. As soon as these hero picks became clear, every North American player knew that Team Liquid would be the main beneficiary of these changes.

And they did not disappoint.

Team Liquid defeated every other team in their path and finished as the No. 1 seed in North America. As many predicted, Boston "Infekted" Fine’s Wrecking Ball synergized beautifully with Elliot "TR33" Chu and Xavier "zeruhh" Zambrano’s flexibility — Team Liquid decimated all their opponents.

They didn’t just win — they looked dominant doing so. Their only challenges all stage long were Geekay and Spacestation, but thanks to their coordination and ability to lock in, they successfully took them down and secured the highest seed in the playoffs.

2025 has been an up-and-down season for this roster. Team Liquid was just one map away from qualifying for the Champions Clash back in Stage 1, but successfully came back to finish 2nd Place in Stage 2 and qualified for the Midseason Championship after signing zeruhh from NTMR. Stage 3 was the moment Liquid truly proved themselves as one of the best in the region, and they capitalized on the new meta successfully.

Throughout the year, this team has undergone a great deal of growth and improvement. Now, Team Liquid is ready to punch their tickets to Stockholm and cement themselves as the undisputed best team in North America.

The road nears its end

Only three teams will have the privilege of representing North America at the OWCS World Finals at Dreamhack Stockholm. Playoff action begins on Saturday, Oct. 18, with the upper bracket semifinals.

The first of these games will be Team Liquid facing NTMR, while Spacestation Gaming takes on Geekay Esports. Winning these matches is crucial — as not only are the teams one step closer to becoming regional champions, but a victory in them guarantees a ticket to Sweden.

The losers of the first two series will fall into the lower bracket and face either Sakura Esports or Team Z in the lower bracket quarterfinals. A further loss here will eliminate a team from the playoffs and OWCS 2025 altogether. The stakes could not be higher.

Current projections have both Liquid and Spacestation overcoming the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds, respectively, and moving on in the bracket. Assuming these projections hold, NTMR would then face Sakura Esports in the lower bracket, while Geekay would face Team Z.

While current projections favor both higher seeds, Team Z and Sakura have significant potential and talent to pull off an upset — underestimating them could have severe consequences.

The action begins on Saturday, Oct. 18. With everything on the line, now is the time for North America’s best to truly refine their gameplay and officially punch their tickets to the World Finals.