Rakattack at OWCS World Finals 2025: How DreamHack Stockholm unites family and community

by

Rakattack is a support player in Overwatch 2, and the recent Overwatch Champions Series World Finals in Stockholm highlighted that real-life support is crucial, even for the pros. The event showcased the importance of support staff beyond just the in-game heroes.

The Overwatch Champions Series (OWCS) World Finals came back to DreamHack Stockholm, wrapping up the 2025 season – and bringing back Kyle “Rakattack” Rakauskas and his family! This year, Rakattack streamed the event alongside the official broadcast. Esports.gg had a chance to interview Rakattack, along with his mother, Kim, and sister, Niki, where we talked about everything OWCS 2025 at DreamHack Stockholm, the Overwatch 2 community, and other topics.

Rakattack at OWCS World Finals 2025

Rakattack recently told Xpsp that DreamHack Stockholm this year felt very different from his experience in 2024. He wasn’t competing as a player this time, but instead worked as a co-streamer, providing commentary on the games.

He was impressed by Europe‘s strong performance, particularly their aggressive, close-quarters combat style with the character Symmetra. Rakattack said he found it very entertaining to watch. He noted the high level of skill involved and the unpredictable, surprising moments that often occurred, leading him to discover new possibilities within the game. He’d often think, ‘I didn’t even realize that was possible!’

Co-streaming offered more flexibility, but sitting for long periods made it trickier to connect with his Overwatch fans. Luckily, he did get to meet some of them at an event with his mom and sister.

I recently had a chance to meet up with some people,” Rakattack said. “It was great to see familiar faces from last year.

Rakattack’s mom mentioned that understanding the event space beforehand made it much easier for them to get comfortable this year. She also noted that while Rakattack used to be busy playing, his new role as a co-streamer allowed him to connect with fans more. Even his brief breaks, she added, became opportunities to meet people and stay involved with the community.

How DreamHack Stockholm unites families and the Overwatch 2 community

During a break in the competition, Rakattack finally got to explore the artist alley, which he hadn’t had time to do the previous year. He mentioned a particularly kind artist who recognized him and his teammates – Infekted, UltraV1iolet, and Wheats – after their match. “She said she’d watched us play and was sorry we lost, and then gave us some free goodies,” Rakattack recalled.

A brief pause in the event made way for a meet-and-greet. During this time, Rakattack’s mother gave out personalized wristbands to everyone who came. She also displayed pins with custom artwork on her name badge, a touching gesture that highlighted her support for her son and showcased the dedication of his wider network of fans and supporters.

The stream featured Rakattack interacting with Lifeweaver’s ultimate ability, the Lotus Flower, as well as nostalgic mentions of his former teammates and his go-to restaurant, Dragon Express.

When asked about the impact of this support, Rakattack’s mother remembered watching an Overwatch esports competition with her family in 2019. It was such a compelling event that even her husband, who usually only follows traditional sports, began to see esports as a real and legitimate form of competition. Seeing a full arena filled with enthusiastic fans really drove that point home.

It’s incredible to watch as a parent,” she said. “For years, I enjoyed attending events and feeling like a spectator, like I was watching the professionals. Then, to have my own kids actually become the players themselves… it’s just a really surreal experience.

It was great to finally meet everyone in person,” Niki said, explaining how nice it was to connect faces with the names she knew from Discord. “It’s amazing to see so many people come out to support him, especially after all the hard work he’s put in and all the time we’ve all been involved. It’s really rewarding to see it all come together and everyone having such a good time.

Niki recounted a surprising reunion with someone she met nearly eight years ago on a Boston Uprising Discord server. This person traveled all the way from Europe to attend a recent meet-and-greet. Niki also mentioned she used to cheer for her brother back then.

My daughter’s biggest fan was Niki,” Rakattack’s mother explained. “Niki is about a year older than me, at least!”

Rakattack on competitive Overwatch 2 and Vendetta

Following the Overwatch World Cup Finals, Rakattack shared that he recently discussed Overwatch 2’s progression systems with Blizzard, and they were open to his ideas. He believes it’s important to have a clear path for improvement beyond the highest rank, like a public leaderboard, to encourage new players to keep striving for better performance.

I’m really hyped for the new competitive stuff they’re planning for next season! From what the developers have been sharing in their blogs, it all looks super promising and I can’t wait to try it out.

He explained that Vendetta’s gameplay matches his preferred, fast-paced damage-dealing style. He believes she’s currently powerful but balanced, and any issues will be fixed before she’s officially launched.

Rakattack shared that they’re enjoying the new character a lot. They’ve had limited playtime during this test, but enjoyed it, especially because they used to main a high-damage Doomfist. They appreciate the character’s aggressive, close-range playstyle, noting that while she feels strong, she doesn’t seem overpowered. They also acknowledged there are some bugs, which is expected during playtesting and will likely be fixed.

As for parting words, Rakattack gave a shoutout to the generosity of the Overwatch 2 community.

Last night, when we went to the pub, I kept meeting people who really love Overwatch. They kept coming over to chat with me for hours, and some even offered to buy me another drink. Everyone was incredibly kind – people were giving out pins and gifts, and offering snacks. They were really thoughtful, asking if I needed anything since I’d been streaming for a while, but I kept saying I was fine. Seriously, everyone was just super nice.

Rakattack’s mother, meanwhile, called for more LANs like DreamHack Stockholm.

Read More

2025-12-01 02:12