📝 Twisted Minds vs. T1 Full Match Recap

The 3rd game of Day 2 at the Stockholm World Finals. The loser will face Geekay Esports in the lower bracket in a best-of-three series tomorrow, and the winner will face Team Falcons in the semi-finals.​

Twisted Minds are coming off their first stage win in OWCS, as well as a Saudi eLeague victory. A team filled to the brim with the confidence of winning the entire tournament.

​On the other side, you have T1, who are going into the tournament having achieved 3rd place in Korea. Touted for a top four finish, however, after a hard-fought win vs Team CC, who are considered one of the weaker teams in this tournament, that might not be the case anymore.

​These two teams most recently met at the Midseason Championship. Twisted Minds came out on top, securing a third-place finish at the tournament. The young Korean team will be looking to avenge that defeat and silence any doubts that have surfaced after yesterday’s hiccup.​

Map 1: Busan (Twisted Minds pick), Twisted Minds ban Venture, T1 ban Lucio

Going into round 1 of Busan (Meka Base), Twisted Minds started with their bread-and-butter composition, with Ahmad "Youbi" Alyoubi on Symmetra. Unexpectedly, Kim “ZEST” Hyun-woo and T1 mirrored the Symmetra composition. Throughout the first round, it seemed that T1 was just one step ahead of Twisted Minds; as a result, Twisted Minds got little done and finished under 10% in round 1.

Going into round 2 of Busan (Downtown), T1 stayed with the same composition, with Jeong "Jasm1ne" Jong-min continuing on the Sigma, which he dominated on in round 1, whereas Twisted Minds swapped TVNT onto D.Va, trying to take a page out of Al Qadsiah's book. But, similarly to round 1, T1 dominated Twisted Minds with little resistance. ​

Map 2: Kings Row (Twisted Minds pick), Twisted Minds ban Kiriko, T1 ban Symmetra

Twisted Minds move to Kings Row after being dominated in Map 1. With Symmetra banned, Twisted Minds rotate Youbi onto Mei, while ZEST is free to play Venture, one of his best heroes. On attack, Twisted Minds cap the point in under two minutes by displacing Jasm1ne on Sigma. Moving to the second point, they attempt to delay T1 near the second checkpoint, but misplays and poorly timed ultimates cost them the fight. With Jasm1ne now on Zarya, a better matchup against Twisted Minds, T1 whittles down Twisted Minds’ nearly 5-minute timebank, eventually holding at the last corner of the second point. In the second round, teams keep their comps. After an extended fight, T1 takes 1st point in three minutes, and then break through the second after about two minutes, with strong coordination and ZEST’s clutch plays, earning T1 the map win.​

Map 3 Shambali Monastery (Twisted Minds pick) Twisted Minds ban Wuyang, T1 ban Freja

With Twisted Minds unexpectedly trailing 0-2, they select Shambali Monastery for their last map pick. The map, known for favouring brawl-heavy comps, sees Twisted Minds attack first using their D.Va/Symmetra comp. After about two and a half minutes of scrappy fights, they captured the first point and, carrying this momentum, completed the map, with no time left on the clock. For T1’s attack, they mostly replicated their successful Kings Row comp. However, Twisted Minds’ faster pace proves too much, holding T1 at the end of the first point after a massive showing from Ibrahem “Quartz” Alali.

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Map 4 New Queens Street (T1 pick) T1 ban D.Va, Twisted Minds ban Tracer

T1 aimed for a quick finish on New Queens Street, subbing in Kim "DONGHAK" Min-sung to play Wrecking Ball on his best map, especially significant with the D.Va ban, hampering Twisted Minds' ability to defend against dives. Early in the map, DONGHAK asserted dominance by booping Youbi off the map before the bot unlocked. T1 jumped to 54m to Twisted Minds’ 19 after three minutes. However, Twisted Minds rallied, seized the lead and pushed to 115m with strong team play. They maximised robot control even during lost fights. In the final 90 seconds, T1 recovered, capped the checkpoint, but Youbi’s heroics helped Twisted Minds maintain control. This composure allowed Twisted Minds to win the map, bringing the reverse sweep into play.​

Map 5 New Junk City (T1) Pick T1 ban Ramattra, Twisted Minds ban Brigitte

For New Junk City, T1 subbed Jasm1ne back in. On point one, T1 played Zarya Venture, while Twisted Minds went with D.Va and Symmetra; T1 dominated as Twisted Minds’ teleporter strategies failed. Moving to point two, T1 gained early ground, but Twisted Minds counter-flipped the map. T1 survived repeated pushes and won the fight after back-to-back kites. Both sides traded fights, but as point two neared 99% for T1, ZEST made a pivotal play to secure the point. On point three, Twisted Minds played aggressively, leveraged their comp’s strengths and forced T1 back. But T1 won the 99% fight by drawing it out, leaving them with only a single fight left if they lose. Twisted Minds, using their ultimate advantage, finally won the point. On point four, Twisted Minds again pushed early and, with good teamwork and kiting, capped the point efficiently. They punished T1’s aggression and clutched out point four, tying both the map and series at 2-2. In the final point, Twisted Minds gained an early position and the ultimate edge, capturing first. One misplay by ZEST during led to Twisted Minds’ first capture. Leveraging ultimates, they set up the last fight, forced ZEST’s sacrifice in overtime, and used overwhelming damage to secure the map and series victory, completing the reverse sweep.

​Twisted Minds complete a reverse sweep, demonstrating their incredible resilience in the face of hardship. T1 also showed a lot of improvement compared to yesterday versus Team CC, but must now face Geekay Esports tomorrow, with their championship run on the line.