Twisted Minds still have the X-factor that wins tournaments
Twisted Minds have had a bit of a rollercoaster of a stage. Finishing the Regular Season with a 4-1 record, losing only to the undefeated Virtus.pro. However, that record does not fully represent their run. They were uncharacteristically sloppy, going to numerous Map 5s against teams that you would expect them to roll through with no issue.
They went into the playoffs to turn things around, but things didn’t exactly go according to plan. A win against Al Qadsiah, but two back-to-back reverse sweep losses to Geekay Esports saw the Champions Clash runners-up finish Stage 2 in third place. Despite securing Midseason Championship qualification, the third EMEA seed is far from the team’s lofty ambitions
The meta has pushed Abdualziz "TVNT" Altmimi out of the D.Va mech and onto the rest of his pool. His Sigma doesn't reach the standard Jonas "eisgnom" Stratemeyer or Ziyad "ZIYAD" Alkathiri have set, but his Mauga is among the best in the world, and a couple of small buffs have made his long-standing Ramattra far more relevant heading into Paris.
The DPS line is where Twisted Minds have always made their money. Ahmad "Youbi" Alyoubi is the best Symmetra player in the world by most measures. The speed and frequency with which he lands fight-winning Teleporters can decide matches on their own against any team that hasn't drilled specifically against it.
Alongside him, Ibrahem "Quartz" Alali is at minimum a top two hitscan in the world, and arguably the single most reliable source of a miracle pick anywhere on a LAN stage. On a role that comes down to clicking heads, few have ever done it better.
Twisted Minds have also found ways to win without Symmetra, and that's down to Kim "JaeWoo" Jae-woo. Signed in January to replace Maximilian "Seicoe" Otter, he brings a world-class Tracer and can cover almost the entire flex DPS roster to a frightening standard. The trade-off is clear enough. What the team gives up in leadership and macro control when Youbi steps off, it gains in raw mechanical ceiling and pop-off potential.
The backline has shown cracks this stage, but it's the same pairing that won the World Finals, and this team has always saved its best for LAN.
Daniel "FunnyAstro" Hathaway has found the Jetpack Cat a struggle at the highest level, and his Mizuki isn't the equal of his signature Lucio. With Cat/Bastion no longer sitting at the front of the meta, forcing the Lucio has become far easier, and on Lucio the leadership and stability he provides are second to none.
Kim "Simple" Ji-sung has been the quiet component in a very loud machine since the day he signed. While Quartz hits montage clips and Youbi squeezes value out of every Teleporter, Simple keeps the team healthy, times his Suzu perfectly, and never becomes a liability. On a roster full of big personalities, he's the backbone holding it together.
Twisted Minds look vulnerable for the first time in a long while, but it would be unwise to write them off. A team with this much X-factor can turn a tournament on its head in an afternoon. They have done it before.
Twisted Minds begin their 2026 Midseason Championship campaign against T1 on July 29.