Week 2 EMEA preview | KroxZ throws down the gauntlet to Viol2t

Week 2 in EMEA kicks off on September 13, and if the first week was any indication of the quality of EMEA, then we’re firmly set up for an explosive Stage 3. The fixtures for Week 2 seem to be a straightforward affair for most teams, but a couple of upsets are on the cards, and anything slightly outside of the script might turn things upside down for the entire region.

If you’ve missed any of the action from last week, then be sure to catch up on all the details before the weekend rolls over.

EMEA Week 2 - Day 1 (September 13, 2025)

Team Peps - Twisted Minds

This fixture is immersed in ambition. Twisted Minds suffered a setback in their Stage 3 campaign in a 3-2 loss against Al Qadsiah in Week 1. A team that’s expected a top three finish in the region, they’ll be looking for a convincing win here to brush off last week’s defeat.

Twisted Minds are confident in their ability to win here. In an interview with OWTV, Twisted Minds support player, Daniel “FunnyAstro” Hathaway, said, “...we’ll dominate them [Peps], no problem.”

Their opposition, Team Peps, will not bow out as easily as Twisted Minds might hope. The French team has been very vocal about its ambitions to make it into the top three, and its claim meets its first real challenge this weekend. “I’m always confident in myself…I can match the players there,” said Leo-Kristian “Zorrow” Sundin, regarding Twisted Minds sharpshooter, Ibrahem “Quartz” Alali, talking to Julien "Boomstox" Gras-Davy of OWTV. “We know we want to make top three, sooner or later, we’re gonna need to perform against one of these top dogs.”

Al Qadsiah - Quick Esports

A clash of contrasting stories as last season’s champions, Al Qadsiah, face off against league newcomers, Quick Esports, who earned their promotion to the OWCS after The Ultimates disbanded less than a month before the start of the season.

The first of two games this weekend for Quick Esports. They will have the odds stacked against them. Despite arriving to the OWCS under unusual circumstances, they have multiple players looking to make a name for themselves on the big stage, and the game against Al Qadsiah provides exactly that.

Gen.G Esports - Virtus.pro

Gen.G goes into Week 2 after having suffered a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Team Vision. A matchup that could have gone both ways, but a few strategic miscalls tipped the scales against them.

Week 2 will be a tougher challenge for Gen.G as they go up against a Virtus.pro team that’s been gaining momentum since the off-season. Virtus.pro took swift care of their opponents, Goud Guys ANM, in Week 1, and will be looking for a repeat on Saturday.

Gen.G and VP were the two teams that heavily favoured the double-flex DPS composition in Week 1. However, both teams faced teams that deployed more traditional hitscan compositions against them. This week will present a different type of challenge for both teams. Serving as a preview of how effective the double-flex composition is for Virtus.pro, against teams that employ similar compositions. As they continue their path to the World Finals.

EMEA Week 2 - Day (September 14, 2025)

Game of the week: Goud Guys ANM - Team Vision

The game of the week is a rematch of a very recent promotion battle between two teams who have just arrived at the OWCS. Having faced each other multiple times during the previous stage, both teams will be quite familiar with each other’s capabilities.

GG ANM (formerly Anomaly) nearly caused a massive upset when they defeated Team Vision during the FACEIT League playoffs, forcing Team Vision to fight their way through the lower brackets, almost costing Vision their promotion slot. Team Vision answered right back during the EMEA Stage 2 Promotion tournament, defeating Anomaly and forcing them to play through the lower brackets to secure their promotion slot for the OWCS.

“I beat him [Viol2t] already once…I can beat him two, three,” said Loïc “KroxZ” Ricci to OWTV. “He doesn’t know me yet, I think he will know me very soon.” Despite Goud Guys ANM’s highly anticipated matchup against Team Peps, their tank KroxZ has his crosshairs aimed directly at Team Vision, and their rematch.

Team Vision knows it is well-equipped for a convincing win come Sunday. We had a quick chat with Simon “Scyle” Broström, Team Vision support player, and he said, “I don’t think we respect them [Goud Guys ANM] at all. They didn’t show a good level this weekend [Week 1].” Team Vision arrives at the matchup off the back of a convincing win against Gen.G and a promising performance that could have gone either way, but ultimately, a loss against Al Qadsiah. They will need another decisive victory on Sunday to solidify the team's intentions going forward.

Gen.G Esports - Quick Esports

Second match of the week for both teams. Gen.G and Quick Esports will be facing off fresh from their tough matchups against Virtus.pro and Al Qadsiah, respectively.

After two really difficult matchups in Team Vision and Virtus.pro, this might be the first chance Gen.G gets to take a step back and let their new players, Robert “Skairipa” Lupsa, Jamie “Backbone” O'Neill, and Alexander “Tred” Madgwick-Smith gel together under less pressure, before their gauntlet resumes on Week 3 against Team Peps.

Quick Esports, on the other hand, are eager to cause an upset or two during their OWCS run, looking to this matchup as one of the fixtures where it’s possible to do so. If successful, it will cause a major upset for Gen.G, who are keen on leaving the 5th-6th purgatory for greener pastures in Stockholm.