The Overwatch World Cup is quickly approaching and the competing nations are slowly announcing the rosters that will represent them on the international stage. Five teams got an automatic invite to the group stage based on their national ranking (South Korea, Canada, China, France, United States). The rest of the nations will need to go through preliminary qualifying stages to earn their way into the group stage.
Will anyone be able to top the stacked Korean roster in the Overwatch World Cup?
Keep your eyes here for all of the Overwatch World Cup rosters as they update frequently.
Direct Invites
Team South Korea
South Korea has won all three of the previous Overwatch World Cup events with ease, proving they are the dominant force in Overwatch. The nation is so deep with top-tier talent, they could likely field two teams and still dominate.
DPS
Minho “Architect” Park (San Francisco Shock)
Jae-hyeok “Carpe” Lee (Philadelphia Fusion)
Hyojong “Haksal” Kim (Vancouver Titans)
Tank
Dong-gyu “Mano” Kim (NYXL)
Hyo-bin “ChoiHyoBin” Choi (San Francisco Shock)
Support
Seung-tae “Bdosin” Choi (London Spitfire)
Ho-jin “iDK” Park (Hangzhou Spark)
Team Canada
After a down first showing in the Overwatch World Cup, Canada has become a force in the scene. The Canadians have finished second and third overall the past two years thanks to their top-flight talent. Can the canucks finally push over the hump and win the gold in 2019?
DPS
Lane “Surefour” Roberts (Los Angeles Gladiators)
Brady “Agilities” Girardi (Los Angeles Valiant)
Liam “Mangachu” Campbell (Toronto Defiant)
“Akaydia”
Tank
Félix “xQc” Lengyel (Gladiators Legion)
Lucas “NotE” Meissner (Dallas Fuel)
Shayne “Chayne” La Rocque (Bermuda)
“Mouffin”
Support
Chris “Bani” Benell (Houston Outlaws)
William “Crimzo” Hernandez (Team Envy)
Blake “Zholik” Solberg (GRUNTo Esports)
“AutumnSouls”
Team France
France has been a solid, if underwhelming, participant in the Overwatch World Cup. Twice they have finished fifth-eighth with a solid fourth-place showing in 2017. The roster this year has some notable holes – especially at support – but are flush with talented hitscan players.
DPS
Lucas “Leaf” Loison (Team Gigantti)
Terence “SoOn” Tarlier (Paris Eternal)
Jeremy “Hqrdest” Danton (Revival)
Tank
Simon “Chubz” Vullo (Samsung Morning Stars)
Gael “Poko” Gouzerch (Philadelphia Fusion)
Support
Damien “HyP” Souville (Paris Eternal)
Brice “FDGod” Monsçavoir (Young and Beautiful)
Team China
After some disappointing results in the first two years of the Overwatch World Cup, China blew up in 2018. On the back of players that many Western audiences hadn’t heard of, China made it all the way to the Finals until meeting the unstoppable Koreans in 2018.
DPS
Huang “leave” Xin (Chengdu Hunters)
Ou “Eileen” Yiliang (Guangzhou Charge)
Yi “JinMu” Hu (Chengdu Hunters)
Tank
Xu “guxue” Qiulin (Hangzhou Spark)
Luo “Elsa” Wenjie (Chengdu Hunters)
Support
Li “Yveltal” Xianyao (Chengdu Hunters)
Kong “Kyo” Chunting (Chengdu Hunters)
Team United States
Team United States has actually been underwhelming in their international appearances, finishing 5-8th in all three Overwatch World Cup events. The roster remains largely the same as 2018 with just minor additions to the lineup.
DPS
Dante “Danteh” Cruz (Houston Outlaws)
Corey “Corey” Nigra (Washington Justice)
Jay “sinatraa” Won (San Francisco Shock)
Kyle “KSF” Frandanisa (Los Angeles Valiant)
João Pedro “Hydration” Goes Telles (Los Angeles Gladiators)
Tank
Austin “Muma” Wilmot (Houston Outlaws)
Matthew “super” DeLisi (San Francisco Shock)
Russell “FCTFCTN” Campbell (Los Angeles Valiant)
Indy “SPACE” Halpern (Los Angeles Valiant)
Support
Nikola “sleepy” Andrews (Washinton Justice)
Grant “moth” Espe (San Francisco Shock)
Shane “Rawkus” Flaherty (Houston Outlaws)
Preliminary Qualifier Teams
Team United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has been gaining steam as a nation in Overwatch, getting better every year they enter the World Cup. In 2018, the 7 Lions made it to the Bronze Medal game before dropping a tight series to Canada.
DPS
Finley “Kyb” Adisi (Philadelphia Fusion)
Kai “KSP” Collins (XL2 Academy)
Tank
Cameron “Fusions” Bosworth (Boston Uprising)
Eoghan “Smex” O’Neill (Montreal Rebellion)
Support
Isaac “Boombox” Charles (Philadelphia Fusion)
Daniel “FunnyAstro” Hathaway (ATL Academy)
Harrison “Kruise” Pond (Paris Eternal)
Team Finland
Team Finland has all the talent in the world but has yet to really make it work at the Overwatch World Cup. The team is making big changes for 2019 after years of disappointing results with the likes of Jiri “LiNkzr” Masalin and Benjamin “BigGoose” Isohanni not making the roster.
DPS
Tuomo “Davin” Leppänen (Team Gigantti)
Richard “rCk” Kanerva (Boston Uprising)
Ricky “Ricky” Fox (Clockwork Vendetta)
Tank
Roni “LhCloudy” Tiihonen (Paris Eternal)
Joonas“zappis”Alakurtti (Team Gigantti)
Support
Petja “Masaa” Kantanen (Atlanta Reign)
Jonas “Shaz” Suovaara (Los Angeles Gladiators)
Team Sweden
Sweden is looking for redemption after a disappointing showing in 2018. Sweden failed to make it out of the qualifiers last year despite claiming the bronze medal the preceding two years.
DPS
Simon “snillo” Ekström (Fusion University)
“Rat” (Maryville University)
Erik “Erki” Nolander (Angry Titans)
Tank
Lukas “LullSiSH” Wiklund (Washington Justice)
Elliot “ELLIVOTE” Vaneryd (Washington Justice)
Support
Gustav “Gustav” Garpenståhl (Shu’s Money Crew)
Andreas “Epzz” Vallvingskog (Revival)
Team Germany
Germany failed to qualify for the Overwatch World Cup main stage the past two years. The team basically looks completely different than it has in the past with several intriguing German players starting to make waves in the Contenders scene.
DPS
Moritz “Engineer” Becker (Clockwork Vendetta)
“PHI”
“Rady”
Tank
Hadi Daniel “Hadi” Bleinagel (British Hurricane)
Max “Moose” Kießling (Clockwork Vendetta)
Support
Emir Kaan “illbethebest” Okumus (Shu’s Money Crew)
“Rephid”
Team Netherlands
Team Netherlands has yet to make a big impact at the Overwatch World Cup, dropping out in qualifiers in both 2017 and 2018. However, the rise of Dutch players is apparent with six of their seven roster members coming from Contenders.
DPS
Jeffrey “Vizility” de Vries (Montreal Rebellion)
Jonathan “Jona” Stelma (Young and Beautiful)
Alex “A10” Kuipers (Phase 2)
Tank
Daniël Vincentius “daans” Paulus Scheltema (Phase 2)
Thomas “brussen” Brussen (Angry Titans)
Support
Ryan “CrusaDe” van Wegen
Daan “Trispear” Robben (Square One)
Team Denmark
Denmark has yet to make it out of qualifiers during the first three years of the Overwatch World Cup. However, 2019 will see the strongest group of players assembled for the nation as all seven players are coming from the Overwatch League or Contenders.
DPS
Johannes “Shax” Nielsen (Los Angeles Valiant)
Mads “fischer” Jehg (HSL Esports)
Nikolai “Naga” Dereli (Shu’s Money Crew)
Tank
Mikkel “Molf1g” Djernes (British Hurricane)
Anders “Henningsen” Henningsen (HSL Esports)
Support
Kristian “Kellex” Keller (Boston Uprising)
Victor “Scaler” Godsk (Uprising Academy)
Team Russia
Russia found themselves in the first-ever Overwatch World Cup Finals in 2016. They have yet to find that level of success again, as the Russians failed to qualify for the group stage in both 2017 and 2018. If the team wants to make a splash in 2019, the roster will need to be hard-carried by their DPS players.
DPS
Ilya “NLaaeR” Koppalov (Atlanta Reign)
George “ShaDowBurn” Gushcha (Paris Eternal)
Tank
Denis “Tonic” Rulyov (Young and Beautiful)
Ilya “Txao” Makarov (HSL Esports)
Support
Denis “Tonic” Rulyov (Young and Beautiful)
Andrey “Engh” Sholokhov (One.PoinT)
Ruben “Rubikon” Zurabyan
Team Spain
Spain showed up in the 2016 Overwatch World cup but has failed to make it out of the qualifiers each of the past two years. The Spaniards have some well-known players, speaking neptuNo and Harryhook, but will need some lesser-known players to step-up to make it to groups.
DPS
Alberto “neptuNo” González (Philadelphia Fusion)
Alejandro “t3lle” Tellería
Tank
Esteban “Ejin” Calderon
“Solmyr”
“Jotum”
Support
Jonathan “HarryHook” Tejedor Rua (Dallas Fuel)
“Gavi”
Team Australia
As a nation, Australia largely gets overlooked on the international scene. However, we are starting to see more and more top-flight talent coming from down under, especially with the rise of Contenders Australia. The roster might not have a lot of names strictly Overwatch League fans have heard of, but there are legit OWL-level players on this team.
DPS
Felix “ckm” Murray (Retired)
Jason “ieatuup” Ho
Tank
Ashley “Trill” Powell (Dallas Fuel)
Leyton“Punk” Gilchrist (Uprising Academy)
Support
Max “Unter” Unterwurzacher (ORDER)
Giorgio “tongue” Lahdo (Warrior Esports)
Team New Zealand
New Zeland has been absent from the international scene since 2017, as the nation did not field a team last year. Thanks to the Australian Contenders scene, we are seeing more and more talent coming from New Zealand and this is a team that could quietly surprise in qualifiers.
DPS
Kelsey “Colourhex” Birse (Boston Uprising)
Christopher “August” Norgrove (Mindfreak)
Dale “Signed” Tang (ORDER)
Tank
Shilp “plihS” Naik (Mindfreak)
“Joker”
Support
Oliver “Jungle” Denby (Warriors Esports)
Paul “Truth” van Hutten (Melbourne Mavericks)
https://twitter.com/NZOWWC/status/1156349999401226246
Team Brazil
Team Brazil is an intriguing team to keep an eye on in the qualifiers. The nation typically favors familiarity with the roster they assemble and 2019 is no different with five of the seven players all coming from Lowkey Esports.
DPS
Felipe “liko” Lebrao (Lowkey Esports)
Murillo “murizzz” Tuchtenhagen (Lowkey Esports)
Luiz “Ludwig” Motta (Lowkey Esports)
Tank
Maurício “honorato” Honorato (Lowkey Esports)
André “Txozin” Saidel (UP Gaming)
Support
Pedro “ole” Orlandini (Lowkey Esports)
Renan “alemao” Moretto (Boston Uprising)
Team Japan
Japan has yet to make a lasting impact on the international Overwatch scene. The team has yet to make it out of qualifiers in three attempts. There are some interesting young players, specifically HaKu who plays for XL2 Academy.
DPS
Motoshi “hoshimi” Holden (Green Leaves)
Sean Taiyo “ta1yo” Henderson (JUPITER)
Tenta “ten” Asai (Green Leaves)
Tank
Kaito “kenmohororo” Yoshida (JUPITER)
Kazuki “SamuraiD” Nouno (ioStux Academy)
Support
Robert “HaKu” Blohm (XL2 Academy)
Shunsuke “Xeraphy” Odani (Green Leaves)
Team Taiwan
Team Taiwan, officially known as Team Chinese Taipei, has shown they are just on the precipice of really becoming a strong Overwatch nation. Taiwan qualified for the Group Stage in 2016 and just missed out in both 2017 and 2018. A big plus for Taiwan in 2019 is the inclusion of Baconjack, who is the best player from that region but did not play in 2018.
DPS
Lo “Baconjack” Tzu-Heng (Chengdu Hunters)
Lin “ShaiuLin” Keng-Yu (Nova Monster Shield)
Kuo “WON” Zhan-Hao (Flag Gaming)
Tank
Wei “Craz1S” Hsiao-Chin (Bubble Burster Gaming)
Chen “ATing” Shao-Hua (Nova Monster Shield)
Support
Wang “inin77” Qi-Hong (Nova Monster Shield)
Yang “CQB” Hao-Cheng (Talon Esports)
Team Thailand
Thailand has been interesting on the international stage. In 2016, Thailand qualified for the main stage but has failed to make it past qualifiers each of the past two years. There have been quite a few holdovers on the squad over the past couple of season, so we will see if the new additions can finally get Thailand back to the Group Stage.
DPS
Ubon “oPuTo” Dara (Talon Esports on loan from MEGA Esports)
Talunt “mush2oom” Rattanaprapaporn (Xavier Esports)
Tank
Pongphop “Mickie” Rattanasangchod (Dallas Fuel)
Chaiwat “BOOMBURAPA” Wattatum (GIANT LYNX)
Teetawat “Teetawat” Teerayosyotin (Uprising Academy)
Support
Pasavit “Pannys” Svasti-Xuto (GIANT LYNX)
Kampanat “Tae” Thongjaeng (Xavier Esports)
Team Singapore
Singapore has been an interesting case study in the global Overwatch scene. From qualifying for the main event in 2016 to not even participating in 2018, Singapore will be an interesting wild card come qualifiers this year.
DPS
Timotheus “Bubblekitty” Yeo (Far East Society)
Figo “Azalea” Chua
“yuris”
Tank
Mohammed “Sachokk” Asri (Far East Society)
Muhammad “Xenofly” Syafiq (Global Esports)
Support
Alston “Jervyz” Jun Xiong How (Nova Monster Shield)
Hao “ZeonFlux” Haiyang (Global Esports)
