Twisted Minds win it all, but not invincible

The ultimate OWCS EMEA Stage 1 showdown. The playoffs came as quickly as they came in a swift three-day competition featuring the best four teams in EMEA. 

The teams duked it out in a double-elimination tournament, and it all culminated in the Grand Finals between the two EMEA representatives for the first OWCS Majors, the Champions Clash.

EMEA Stage 1 Grand Final: Twisted Minds vs. Virtus.pro

The EMEA Stage 1 Grand Finals was, as expected, between two OWCS Partner Teams—the world champions, Twisted Minds, and hot on their heels, Virtus.pro.

Here’s everything you need to know going into this matchup:

• World champions, Twisted Minds, stand as the strongest team in the world. They arrived at the Grand Finals having not lost a single map in the entire stage (21 total).
• Virtus.pro suffered an early scare in the upper bracket against Geekay Esports, but managed to recover and win against Al Qadsiah and the Geekay Esports rematch to qualify for the Champions Clash and the EMEA Grand Finals.
• Both teams had already qualified for LAN, however, the prize money for coming in first is double that of coming second ($30,000 to $15,000). 
• In the lead-up to the playoffs, rumours suggested that the three Saudi teams in the playoffs refused to scrim with Virtus.pro to increase the chances that one of Al Qadsiah or Geekay Esports would join Twisted Minds in Tokyo.
• It’s also fair to assume that Virtus.pro spent all their time preparing for the Geekay matchup earlier in the day to ensure their spot in the Champions Clash (see the match summary below).

With that, similarly to their clash the week prior, Twisted Minds kicked off the finals in Lijiang Tower. Virtus.pro, with the Champions Clash weight lifted off their shoulders and rejuvenated, came out swinging. They pushed TM 99% to %100 on both Garden and Night Market, but fell just shy of getting the job done. With Tracer banned, JaeWoo went on Pharah and made sure to close out the last fights on both rounds with Rocket Barrage. 1-0 for Twisted Minds, but not the clear domination we’ve come to expect from them.

Map 2 on Aatlis was a highlight for multiple reasons. With Emre banned by TM, VP, for the first time in seven straight games, avoided the mirror-comp and brought out the double-flex DPS comp. With Seicoe on Vendetta and kevster on Tracer, Virtus.pro, one of the few teams capable of fielding a comp like this, threw a massive curveball in TM’s way. And it worked. For the first half of the map (until Sojourn’s Dual Thrusters came online), between Vendetta, Tracer, and D.Va, Quartz found zero quarter to breathe, and VP pushed TM to the edge. TM pulled themselves together halfway through and almost threatened the reverse-sweep, but eisgnom, Seicoe, and kevster were too hot to stop. Even FiXa, who was one of the easier targets for TM to single out in fights, managed to hold on to the perfect Sound Barrier for the final fight. The beat cancelled out Quartz’s Overclock as FiXa quickly dispatched of the star hitscan, and that was that. Virtus.pro managed to equalise the series and struck TM with their very first map loss of the season, perhaps revealing a chink or two in their armour in the process. 

Interestingly, VP never attempted the double-flex DPS in the subsequent maps again. We’ll find out soon enough if that’s because Aatlis is one of the few maps where the double-flex comp is viable due to its short sightlines, the Emre ban specifically enabled it, or if they’re holding their cards close to their chest for the Champions Clash next month. One thing is for sure: Twisted Minds are not infallible.

Rialto was another close call for the world champions. The teams were back to mirror comps, except for Seicoe, who went Tracer on attack, but still mirrored JaeWoo’s Pharah on defence. Both teams managed the full push on their attacks, but with a much better time bank for TM, they just about managed to overcome VP to take the series lead once again.

Midtown and Runasapi are where Virtus.pro’s momentum came to a stark hold. Mirrored comps once again, but TVNT and FunnyAstro were always one step ahead of their counterparts in Midtown, and Runasapi was a full-team shutout.

Twisted Minds finished the series and won OWCS EMEA Stage 1, taking home the $30,000 prize money. With their sights focused solely on the Champions Clash, three close maps in a row and a map loss to boot will be the lingering question on our end, but perhaps not on theirs. As FunnyAstro summarised it all in his post-match interview, “The pressure is all on them…in those overtime moments, we’re just running in, we have no fear. We don’t care if we’ve just lost the last four fights, we’re just gonna keep taking the pressure to them.”

Match summaries

Upper Bracket Semifinals: Twisted Minds 3 - 0 Al Qadsiah

Two teams that are destined to face one another in every competition (a tradition that’s swiftly coming to an end, it seems). The first game of the playoffs was an even swifter repeat of the two teams’ matchup just the week prior in the regular stage.  

Last week, Al Qadsiah put up a fight in Lijiang Tower and Havana; this time, all three maps were a one-sided dominance. Twisted Minds brought the fight to their local rivals at every corner and did not let up until they were done and dusted. Albeit they didn’t have to hold their step for too long.

The one difference from the previous week’s fixture was that Al Qadsiah picked Aatlis for Map 2, and Runasapi for Map 3 (compared to Runasapi for Map 2 and Havana for Map 3 the previous week). The Aatlis gambit worked to an extent, albeit Al Qadsiah only managed a single capture. Picking Runasapi instead of Havana, however, completely backfired as they only managed a 20-meter push and were sent to the lower bracket.

Upper Bracket Semifinals: Virtus.pro 2 - 3 Geekay Esports

Another repeat of a fixture from Week 3, however, this time Virtus.pro opted to start things off on Oasis instead of Lijiang Tower. Geekay flipped last week’s script from the get-go. Instead of the 2-0 they suffered the previous week, they quickly wrapped up Oasis with a 2-0 of their own, and VP was caught completely off-guard without much of an answer.

Virtus.pro immediately sent the clash to Runasapi, where they found good success the previous week. Geekay banned Juno first to prevent VP from getting full use out of Mauga. Virtus.pro instantly put a 117-meter advantage on the board without a response from the Saudi side. Throughout the map, Geekay continuously came on top when trading ultimates, however, a single Graviton Surge miss from ZIYAD sealed the deal. Virtus.pro tied the series in a dominant fashion, 1-1.

Even though during their last matchup, Geekay found their only map win on Havana, when the opportunity came to pick the map, they chose Blizzard World. The teams mirrored one another, and Virtus.pro started their attack swinging. Their momentum took them as far as the edge of the second point, but their defence was flawless as they full-held Geekay, sending the series to a match point. 2-1.

Geekay finally picked Havana to avoid an early exit, banned Brigitte, and started their attack with conviction. A renewed Geekay managed to push the load just past the second point despite recurring connection issues plaguing the team, however, VP managed to hold them at just the two points off the back of a five-man Graviton Surge from eisgnom that put a hard stop to their progress. All of that is for nought, as Geekay, in an exact repeat of their last week’s performance on Havana, they full-held VP to go Map 5.

VP pick Suravasa for the final scrap. Geekay quickly take point A as VP continue to struggle to keep eisgnom alive on Mauga. Point B finally sees VP find their groove, and a 3-person Pulse Bomb from Seicoe finally stabilises the team. Despite another early pick on eisgnom, an inspiring performance from FiXa on Brig secured VP point B. Geekay quickly secure Point C, continuing the pressure on eisgnom’s Mauga. It’s always an uphill battle for VP without a tank around on every teamfight. In the dying moments of the final point, Geekay held VP close to their spawn, and with only Seicoe available to touch the point, AlphaYi heroically triumphed in the Tracer duel to deny the touch, and Geekay won the series, 3-2.

Lower Bracket Semi Finals: Al Qadsiah 0 - 3 Virtus.pro

Day two of the playoffs started off with the lower-bracket game between Virtus.pro and Al Qadsiah. The former, who were fully expected to face Twisted Minds in the upper bracket by now, were already facing elimination risk right out the gates.

The elimination battle started in Lijiang Tower. Virtus.pro came out a bit shaky, no doubt rattled from the previous day’s loss to Geekay. It took them halfway through Garden to shake the jitters and play the high level of Overwatch that’s expected of them. VP then took Lijiang Tower 2-0 with ease.

Al Qadsiah immediately sent the matchup to VP’s weaker map, Havana, and banned FiXa’s Lucio, relying on SirMajed’s and Galaa’s deeper support pool. However, Virtus.pro were in inspired form. Not only did they manage a full push with a minute on the clock, but they also full-held Al Qadsiah at spawn just to add insult to injury. Eisgnom managed a 30-0 on D.Va, one of the youngster’s best games this season.

Match point in Aatlis, and both teams gave it their absolute all. Al Qadsiah finally rolled up their sleeves, and both teams alternated points throughout the whole map. The Saudi team kept up very well with Virtus.pro in the ultimate economy, until the map reached 2-2. One Sundering Blade from Seicoe took out Vestola at the most inopportune time, and it was an impossible uphill battle from then on for Al Qadsiah with both Graviton Surge and Sound Barrier in VP’s disposal. Virtus.pro brushed off their loss from the previous day and brought the fight to Al Qadsiah with a level of certainty that’s paramount if the team want to stand any chance of heading to Japan.

Upper Bracket Final: Twisted Minds 3 - 0 Geekay Esports

A very important matchup between two top Saudi teams. The winner here would secure their Champions Clash ticket a day ahead of the Grand Finals. Twisted Minds, still to drop a single map, were now up against an inspired Geekay Esports, fresh off a major victory against 2nd Champions Clash favourites, Virtus.pro.

This game was the polar opposite of the previous VP vs. Al Qad game. Geekay Esports came in full force, inspired by their previous day’s performance against Virtus.pro. They immediately pushed Twisted Minds to the ropes on Night Market. However, similarly to how VP took full control once they stabilised from the initial confusion, Twisted Minds did the same, taking Lijiang Tower 2-0.

Geekay sent the matchup to Runasapi and showed grit once more. Despite a stellar performance from Geekay’s AlphaYi on Tracer, Twisted Minds muster quality on an individual level that is impossible to overcome.

Match point in Havana is a quick and painless procedure for the world champions. They continued their golden streak, bringing an unceremonious end to Havana and sending Geekay for an ultimate second showdown against Virtus.pro. 

“It was a bit expected, but I’m still excited to have won.” Quartz’s post-match words said it all.

Lower Bracket Final: Geekay Esports 1 - 3 Virtus.pro

Third time’s the charm, and this one’s the biggie. The winner grabs the second and final EMEA spot in Japan next to Twisted Minds, and the loser will have to wait a few months for another chance at a major.

Geekay picked Lijiang Tower to get the ball rolling, and they hit the ground running. A 100-0 on Night Market and a dominant display on Control Center made it extremely clear just how hungry Geekay were to head to the Champions Clash. AlphaYi continued his form from the day before and Virtus.pro looked in trouble. 1-0.

Virtus.pro looked real strong against Geekay in Runasapi, and they immediately sent Map 2 there, banning Tracer to force the Vendetta mirror between AlphaYi and Seicoe. A similar cadence to Friday’s bout sees Virtus.pro in full control of the macro game. Once VP took over the checkpoint and just about managed to deny Geekay their own checkpoint, it became a full-on uphill battle for the Saudi team, which they could not overcome. 1-1.

Map 3 took us to Suravasa—the LBBD7/ZIYAD special. Virtus.pro ban LBBD7’s favoured, Sojourn, and immediately set the tempo with a quick point A cap off the back of a masterful triple from Seicoe. AlphaYi answered right back, tying the game for Geekay. Virtus.pro fully locked in from then on and scored two straight points to bring them to touching distance of Tokyo. 

 With elimination looming, Geekay, to no one’s surprise, picked Havana. Both teams threw away their bans (banning Moira and Roadhog) and were ready to go all out. Virtus.pro managed to hold out on the neutral for a short while, but once Geekay’s ultimates came online, they overtook VP and the first point with ease. With some patient ult management, VP kept things steady and stopped Geekay at a single point, thanks to Seicoe, who continued to impress. Despite the one-point hold, VP were full-held twice on Havana by Geekay in as many weeks. The real challenge was only just ahead.

Geekay further entrenched themselves with the Zarya/Lucio/Kiri/Emre/Tracer comp, forcing the mirror-comp from VP, even though they had already lost three maps with it. Relying fully on their ability to full-hold Virtus.pro once more, Geekay began their fated defence. A speedy Override Protocol from kevster, forced an equally fast Kitsune Rush out from FiNN to hold them back. The gambit worked as VP managed to finally overwhelm Geekay off the back of Sound Barrier/Kitsune Rush/Graviton Surge, without the full suite on Geekay’s side to fend them back. VP finally managed to overcome this massive obstacle and took the first point. Geekay rallied for the second point and put up a respectable defence. In the dying moments, and VP’s payload one fight away from victory, an early Kitsune Rush from Landon put ZIYAD under pressure and in his death throes, the Saudi tank fired a Graviton Surge that caught eisgnom, Landon, and Seicoe in it. In a split second of misjudgment, with three VP players defeated in ZIYAD’s Grav, Haku used Sound Barrier, wasting an otherwise table-turning ultimate. With 1:28 still on the clock, VP came right back in with a Grav/Beat combo of their own and punched their ticket to Japan, ending a year-long LAN drought for their superstar hitscan, kevster.