eSports
Steven Nguyen 6y

South Korea repeats as Overwatch World Cup champs

esports

After a year since the first Overwatch World Cup in Anaheim, California, every region was filled with a drive to overthrow last year's king, South Korea to no avail. Canada, Sweden and France all had a shot, but after several intense games South Korea would retain its throne by defeating Canada in the finals, while Sweden kept the bronze medal out of the hands of France. Here's how Saturday at BlizzCon went down at the Overwatch World Cup.

Semifinal Match 1: Canada vs. Sweden

Map 1: Nepal (Control)
Map 2: King's Row (Assault/Escort)
Map 3: Hanamura (Assault)
Map 4: Watchpoint: Gibraltar (Escort)
Map 5: Oasis (Control)

Things kicked off immediately for Canada and Sweden, featuring a full set of five games with stellar DPS plays on both sides. Nepal was like home for Liam "Mangachu" Campbell, claiming the skies for himself on Pharah. While not flawless, Mangachu switched to Hanzo at the start of King's Row for an incredible offense that helped advance Canada through the beginning of the map but the team as a whole played as a collective ball of talent.

Brady "Agilities" Girardi played Roadhog a few times and did well, even pulling Sweden members into a pit of instant death on King's Row more than once, but the big carry for this set was Lane "Surefour" Roberts who devastated Sweden on Soldier 76, Tracer and Widowmaker. Surefour shined when he was able to delay even a five-minute assault for Sweden, forcing them to cap the point in Overtime, despite the advantage.

Sweden was predicted to win by a lot of viewers, but Surefour's clutch pulse bomb at the end of Oasis sealed the deal and brought an end to one of the closest sets thus far in the World Cup. Sweden headed to the third-place match, while Canada awaited its challenger in the finals.

Semifinal Match 2: France vs. South Korea

Map 1: Oasis (Control)
Map 2: Numbani (Assault/Escort)
Map 3: Hanamura (Assault)
Map 4: Watchpoint: Gibraltar (Escort)

During the quarterfinals, the match against the United States and South Korea could have been equaled the hype expected of a finals match, and when South Korea went up against France it was nearly as fantastical. Dylan "aKm" Bignet dueled the monster known as Hwang "Fl0w3R" Yeon-oh from South Korea. With bot players being globally famous DPS players in the scene, it was impossible to not have an incredible duel between the two. Oasis was a Pharah matchup between them, while Terence "SoOn" Tarlier and Park "Saebyeolbe" Jong Ryeol's Tracer duel on Oasis left jaws on the floor.

France matched blow for blow with South Korea, but every map was won by some of the thinnest margins based on the conditions of the map. Oasis, Numbani, Hanamura, all won by inches between the two teams, but closing it on Watchpoint: Gibraltar ended the dreams of ex-Rogue, Team France.

Bronze medal match: France vs. Sweden

Map 1: Nepal (Control)
Map 2: King's Row (Assault/Escort)
Map 3: Hanamura (Assault)
Map 4: Watchpoint: Gibraltar (Escort)
Map 5: Oasis (Control)

France and Sweden were equally matched throughout the set, so it was unsurprising to see the game go all the way towards a game five, but having to play back-to-back games, France looked a little tired compared to Sweden, which had come time to rest. One of the most notable plays however was an incredible chain hook from Sweden's Tim "Manneten" Byhlund, hooking aKm at max range and taking him out of the fight. After that, TivQ sealed the fate of France to fourth place, while securing the bronze medal for Sweden.

Gold medal match: South Korea vs. Canada

Map 1: Oasis (Control)
Map 2: King's Row (Assault/Escort)
Map 3: Hanamura (Assault)
Map 4: Junkertown (Escort)
Map 5: Numbani (Assault/Escort)

The final match was less tense than the previous games, but the South Korean team would dominate the feeble attempts from the last challenger to the World Cup throne. Canada had several valiant attempts, such as Mangachu's Torbjorn on Numbani that surprisingly worked out well.

Agilities Genji suffered the same fate as so many Genjis that had gone up against South Korea's Ryu "ryujehong" Je Hong's Ana, being sleep darted the second he started the animation for Genji's Ultimate. Canada didn't stand a chance to win the set, although valiant efforts must always be recognized. Sealing the deal, South Korea won on Numbani 4-1 in the best-of-seven format for the finals and claimed a second straight World Cup trophy at Blizzcon.

^ Back to Top ^