The 2019 Overwatch World Cup is upon us. Some of the best players from around the world will participate in the international event over the weekend during Blizzcon to determine who the strongest country in Overwatch truly is. Will South Korea dominate once again, or will they be dethroned? The rosters for the World Cup this year are extremely strong, and it truly feels like anything could happen. Let’s look at the teams to watch heading in the 2019 Overwatch World Cup.
Team Canada looks to make a run for the 2019 Overwatch World Cup trophy. (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)
Under the Radar
United Kingdom – The United Kingdom team surprised everyone last year by beating the United States in the quarterfinals. They finished in fourth place after dropping the third/fourth-place match against Canada. UK doesn’t necessarily have the full roster strength to put enough confidence behind, but they have the potential to play upset to a handful of teams throughout the World Cup.
UK’s fields another strong roster this year highlighted by star main tank – Cameron “Fusions” Bosworth. Fusions made a name for himself during the 2018 OWWC (helping him to a roster spot with the Boston Uprising) and will once again anchor the team this year. Daniel “FunnyAstro” Hathaway is a new addition to the team this year, but his performance in Overwatch Contenders impressed as he helped ATL Academy to a dominant year and a second-place finish in The Gauntlet.
China – The Chinese team made a fearless run in the 2018 Overwatch World Cup before losing to South Korea in the finals. Chinese Overwatch has grown in strength every year since the beginning of the OWWC in 2016 and they could have been placed under the “Serious Contenders” category if it wasn’t for the late drop of Huang “leave” Xin due to health reasons. Leave played lights out during the 2018 OWWC and his presence will be missed this year.
Despite missing a key piece like Leave, China has one of the best main tanks in the world in Xu “guxue” Qiulin – a 2019 Overwatch League MVP finalist. Ou “Eileen” Yiliang makes his return to the team since playing in 2017 OWWC. Eileen was a strong DPS player for the Guangzhou Charge during the 2019 OWL season.
Serious Contenders
Canada – Team Canada has been a consistently strong team throughout the past years of the Overwatch World Cup and they have a talented roster once again to lead them to a deep run during the tournament this year. They lost to China in the semi-finals last year before beating UK for a third-place finish. Team Canada is returning with the same seven-man roster as last year.
Popular streamer and main tank – Félix “xQc” Lengyel – has been out of professional Overwatch for quite a while so it will be interesting to see how he handles the pressure of being on stage again. He is more than capable of being a dominant tank throughout the World Cup, though and the strong damage duo of Brady “Agilities” Girardi and Lane “Surefour” Roberts are more than popping off during a given match.
United States – Team USA will likely come out swinging after an early exit to UK last year. Despite the unfavorable finish, the United States team have the most potential to take down South Korea with an insanely talented roster with no weaknesses at any position. If they can play to their potential, they are a scary team this year.
Team USA will be led by a pair of teammates and Overwatch League MVP finalists – Matthew “super” DeLisi and Jay “sinatraa” Won. Sinatraa took home the 2019 MVP trophy and will make a major impact this year. Grant “moth” Espe joins his teammates after one of the most consistent showings ever for a support player during the 2019 Overwatch League season. DPS stud, Corey “Corey” Nigra, is making his OWWC debut and will pair nicely with Sinatraa.
Reigning Champs
South Korea – There is no denying that South Korea has historically dominated the Overwatch professional scene and their showings during each of the Overwatch World Cups reinforces that fact. The reigning three-time champions will look to four-peat this year with one of the strongest rosters South Korea has fielded yet.
South Korea’s DPS trio of Jae-hyeok “Carpe” Lee, Minho “Architect” Park and Hyojong “Haksal” Kim (2019 OWL Rookie of the Year) are nasty and have hard-carry potential. The tank line is just as strong with Dong-gyu “Mano” Kim returning and 2019 Grand Finals MVP Hyo-bin “ChoiHyoBin” Choi making is World Cup debut. The support line isn’t as strong as they could have been but Ho-jin “iDK” Park was a 2019 OWL Role-Star for his strong play with the Hangzhou Spark.
The 2019 Overwatch World Cup has the potential to be the most exciting year yet. It’s hard to vote against South Korea as the favorites once again, but there is large amount of talent spread throughout the rest of the teams this year and it’s not a given anymore. All the teams to watch have something to prove, though and no matter what happens, the Overwatch World Cup gives fans the chance to cheer for the greatest players in the world and celebrate the great game of Overwatch with countries all around the world.
