RIYADH: Team Falcons has won the OWCS Midseason Championship at Esports World Cup 2025, becoming the first ever team to win the Jafonso award after qualifying to the tournament through the last chance qualifier.

Named after Joao “Jafonso” Vasconcelos, who, in 2024, was the first, and until now only, player to win an EWC tournament after qualifying through the LCQ, the award celebrates teams who arrive in Riyadh with no guaranteed place in the competition but go on to win the entire tournament.

The Korean roster of Team Falcons arrived in the organization’s home city having just missed out on qualifying to the main event in both the Champions Clash and the OWCS Korea Stage 2. Forced to enter the LCQ, Team Falcons were a favorite to make it to the main event given they are the reigning OWCS world champions, but with other major names such as ZETA DIVISION and Cold Metal in the mix it was not a guarantee.

However, Team Falcons would eventually win the LCQ in convincing fashion, and secure a place in the main event.

From there, Team Falcons eased through their group before taking down Geekay Esports and T1 in the playoffs to reach the grand final. There they faced-off against fellow Middle East organization Al-Qadsiah Esports, but made things look easy with a swift 4-0 victory to earn them the OWCS Midseason Championship title.

“Before this tournament, I had to remind myself I will bring this team back to the top,” said Kim “Proper” Dong-hyun, who earned the Sony MVP award for his performance throughout the event. “I think I proved myself. I am really grateful for it.”

Team Falcons earned 1,000 Club Championship points for their victory, which moves them back into first place in the Club Championship with 3,500 points. As they have now won a trophy at the Esports World Cup 2025, they are eligible to win the Club Championship should they top the table at the end of the event. As the defending champions, finally getting a win under their belt and becoming eligible for the trophy will be a big weight off the shoulders of everyone at Team Falcons.

Week five at the Esports World Cup 2025 takes place until Aug. 10 with finals across “Call of Duty: Warzone,” “EA SPORTS FC 25” and “Rainbow 6 Siege X.”