Six remain alive at Overwatch Champions Series finals

Field Level Media|published: Sat 23rd November, 03:57 2024

A backlit keyboard is part of the gear online video game streamer Jordan Woodruff uses in his Gilbert home. Jordan Woodruff

Team Falcons came from behind to beat Twisted Minds in their opening match of the Overwatch Champions Series 2024 Finals on Friday in Stockholm.

On Day 1 of the three-day competition, Falcons won their upper-bracket quarterfinal match and were joined in the semis by NTMR, Crazy Raccoon and Toronto Defiant.

The losing teams of the initial four matches dropped into the lower bracket, where Twisted Minds eliminated Spacestation Gaming 3-1 and NRG Shock swept ENCE 3-0.

Eight teams qualified for the championship event, formatted in a double-elimination bracket. After Friday's initial quarterfinal matches were best-of-three, the rest of the tournament's matches will be best-of-five until the best-of-seven grand final on Sunday.

The prize pool is TBD, as it's being crowdfunded by a quarter of the revenue from in-game cosmetic purchases.

On Friday, Team Falcons fell behind Twisted Minds with a 2-0 loss on Oasis Control. They bounced back 3-1 on New Junk City Flashpoint and took the do-or-die third map 2-1 on King's Row Hybrid. Falcons' Jeong "Stalk3r" Hak-yong of South Korea took MVP honors.

NTMR swept Spacestation, 2-0 on Oasis Control and 3-2 on Shambali Monastery Escort. The other two quarterfinals were also sweeps, as Crazy Raccoon beat NRG Shock 2-0 on Ilios Control and 3-0 on Suravasa Flashpoint, while Toronto Defiant topped ENCE 2-0 on Ilios Control and 2-1 on Shambali Monastery Escort.

In the first round of the lower bracket, Spacestation took the early advantage with a 2-1 win over Oasis Control. But Twisted Minds battled back on King's Row Hybrid (6-5), Shambali Monastery Escort (2-1) and New Junk City Flashpoint (3-1).

NRG Shock eliminated ENCE via a three-round sweep: 2-0 on Oasis Control, 1-0 on Circuit Royal Escort and 2-1 on Midtown Hybrid.

The tournament continues Saturday with five matches:

--Team Falcons vs. NTMR (upper-bracket semifinals)

--Crazy Raccoon vs. Toronto Defiant (upper-bracket semifinals)

--Twisted Minds vs. TBD (lower-bracket quarterfinals)

--NRG Shock vs. TBD (lower-bracket quarterfinals)

--Lower-bracket semifinal (teams TBD)

Overwatch Champions Series 2024 Finals prize pool:

1. amount TBD

2. amount TBD

3. amount TBD

4. amount TBD