IntroWelcome back to the final stage of the OWCS 2025 Season. Teams from all regions will be battling it out to earn their spot at World Finals. Only the strongest will rise and make their way over to Stockholm.
Read on to learn about:
Stage 3 and the 2025 OWCS World Finals [Tickets available now!]
Stage 2 was full of excitement, heartbreaks, and surprises; it’s no wonder its closing event matched that energy in spades! The 2025 Midseason Championship delivered match after thrilling match, setting the beat for Stage 3 to be our biggest yet.
The sixteen best Overwatch teams from OWCS and FACEIT Leagues converged in Riyadh at the Midseason Championship hosted by the Esports World Cup. Across four days of competition, teams made their mark on stage in front of a sold out crowd, starting with the Groups Stage on Days 1 and 2.
In record-setting fashion, we experienced not four, not five, but six Map 5 matches to determine the eight teams advancing to the Playoffs.
Playoffs immediately turned the dial up with a historic upset, when Twisted Minds (EMEA’s second seed) upset Champions Clash victors Crazy Raccoon in a thrilling 5-map series, joining NTMR as the only non-Korean teams in OWCS history to take a series off Crazy Raccoon!
Team Falcons (who just barely qualified for the tournament via the Last Chance Qualifier) nearly suffered the same fate as CR, but managed to push past Geekay in their own 5-map series. In the Semis, Twisted Minds and Al Qadsiah met for the fourth time this Stage; bringing their map total to 22. Al Qadsiah took the win in an insanely close Map 6 win (yes, that says Map 6,) to advance to the Grand Finals alongside Team Falcons.
With the final match of the day kicking off, our reigning World Champions locked in and brought with them skill, strategy, and perfect synergy. Team Falcons completed their long journey from the LCQ all the way to the top and the MSC Championship in a dominant 4-0 sweep against Al Qadsiah.
Kim "Proper" Dong-hyun earned tournament MVP, playing at the world-class level we’ve come to expect from him since OWCS began. Team Falcons also earned the Esports World Cup’s Jafonso Award, which celebrates teams who win the main event by fighting through the Last Chance Qualifier. These winners came to Riyadh with no guaranteed place in the main competition and took home the whole bag. The award is named after João "jafonso" Vasconcelos, who, in 2024, was the first and (until now) only player to have achieved the feat.
You can read more about Team Falcons’ dominant MSC run in this article, courtesy of the Esports World Cup!
Alongside the Midseason Championship, we launched our first batch of OWCS Team Packs! Each pack contains a set of three skins for each of our nine Partner Teams, as well as 2D cosmetics designed by each team. Simultaneously, the three OWCS China Teams participating at MSC also launched their own pack, including sprays, charms, icons, and name cards.
We’re thrilled to have these awesome cosmetics available to our fans and we’re even more excited to see each team rocking their new gear in game. Proceeds from each purchase directly support each Partner Team, so grab your Packs today and help your favorite team reach the top of our Team Pack Leaderboard!
Our Top 4 have stayed steady since our last ranking in August - but much like their run through MSC itself, Team Falcons edged above Spacestation Gaming, entering the Top 5 after securing their first tournament win of the year. Keep an eye on our socials for updated rankings as the year progresses!
For the world’s best OWCS Teams, Stage 3 is the culmination of a full year’s effort. 12 teams will make it to the OWCS World Finals - which makes the stakes higher, and the rewards sweeter, than ever before.
As in Stages 1 and 2, each region’s Top 8 teams will compete across their regular season to qualify into a 6-team Playoffs bracket. That bracket will determine each region’s World Finals participants - Korea, NA, and EMEA will each send their Top 3 Playoffs teams, China will send its Top 2, and the winners of Japan and Pacific will face off to determine who takes the 12th Finals berth.
OWCS Asia is already underway (see their Stage 3 calendar below), and NA/EMEA start their regular seasons this Saturday, September 6. Check out the “Where to Follow OWCS” section below for each region’s streaming and social platforms!
After each region concludes its Playoffs, all that’s left is the crown jewel of the year: the OWCS 2025 World Finals. The tournament will consist of five days of competition - two in studio, without an audience, and the final three taking place at DreamHack Stockholm, live from Stockholmsmässan. More details on the exact tournament schedule & format are coming soon - stay tuned to our socials (listed below) for the first scoop!
To grab your tickets for the three days of on-stage competition, head to the DreamHack website - and don’t forget to grab your OWCS Seating Add-On while you’re at it! A DreamHack ticket gets you access to the show, but an OWCS Seating Add-On guarantees you a prime seat at the OWCS stage for you to catch the action for one day, or all three. Last year’s World Finals ended up being standing-room only for folks that hadn’t reserved seats, so make sure you’re locked in!
You can also add to your OWCS Seating Add-On with any of the following packages:
OWCS Finals event hoodie
OWCS Finals T-shirt
OWCS Finals event coin
OWCS Finals laminated bag
All items listed in the Champion’s Pack
An additional mystery bundle of exclusive, physical OWCS Finals swag
OWCS VIP 3-Day Seating PackageAll items listed in the Legend’s Pack
A 3-day OWCS Seating Add-On
Access to an exclusive VIP seating area - the best seats in the venue!
All OWCS Finals In-Game Incentives
Fast-track access to OWCS Meet & Greets
Behind the Scenes tour of the OWCS Stage
Photos with the OWCS Finals Trophy on stage
As always, we’re excited to bring you a plethora of drops to adorn your profiles across Stage 3. Tune in on Twitch or YouTube (and make sure you’ve connected your Battle.net account!) to earn the following rewards!
Regular Season pt.1 (Sep 1 - Sep 21)2 hours: At the Top Spray
4 hours: OWCS Cozy Cat Icon
6 hours: Time to Shine Name Card
8 hours: OWCS Cozy Cat Nights Name Card
Regular Season pt.2 (Sep 22 - Oct 12)2 hours: Champions Energy Drink Spray
4 hours: Champions Energy Drink Icon
6 hours: Slice of Victory Spray
8 hours: Late-Night Champion Name Card
Stay tuned for updates on drops for Stage 3 Playoffs in October, and OWCS World Finals Drops in our Finals Know Before You Go blog!
As always, you can get all your Overwatch Esports updates and streams from a variety of platforms! Tune in on YouTube and Twitch to earn your drops, or any of the other platforms listed below for news and updates.
SOOP (OW Esports Korea)
We’re ringing in the kickoff of our final Stage of the year with two truly excellent Featured Co-Streamers! At the end of every broadcast in NA/EMEA, we’ll be raiding our chosen streamer of the day to give you more opportunities to earn your drops - and maybe even a few other goodies, too…
Join Spacestation’s CommanderX as their newly retooled roster takes on Sakura Esports on opening day - then join NTMR’s co-streamer Tommathan as THEY take on SSG to close out Week 1!
If you want to start co-streaming OWCS, head to our Co-Streaming Guidelines page and apply for clearance via the linked form here. Assuming your account is in good standing, you’ll be automatically cleared to start following the action with your audience. We keep a close eye on up-and-coming creators to highlight via the Featured Co-Streamer program, so bring the hype as we get into Stage 3!
The final stage of the OWCS 2025 season is here, and we can’t wait to see which teams step up in time for the OWCS World Finals at DreamHack Stockholm!
Be sure to follow us on the platforms above to stay up to date on all things Stage 3 and beyond. We’ll see you in game!
