South Korea Defends Their Cup
The pulse bombs, helix rockets, and biotic grenades flew all weekend in Anaheim California as the second Overwatch World Cup was fought over as part of Blizzcon 2017. The tournament wrapped up today with the last four teams playing the semifinals, final, and third place matches. Two days of intense action between eight teams from eight different nations culminated in an intense match that saw South Korea successfully defend it’s cup.
The Korean team was a favorite coming into the cup. Not only were they the defending champions from last year, but they also had a well earned reputation as one of the toughest teams playing the game right now.
Friday Matches
The weekend matches kicked off around noon Friday with the United Kingdom playing against Sweden in the first round. The Swedish team came out swinging and won an impressive 3-0 victory over the English team.
Next up was Canada and Australia. Australia played host to some of the group stage action earlier this year and by all accounts they had excited, loud, and devoted fans there cheering them on. Their progress into the top eight seemed natural when this fan base combined with solid play at the group stages but the top eight would be as far as they got. Canada defeated them Friday 3-2. To anyone who had seen the Canadian team play earlier in the year this win doesn’t come as much of a surprise.
The third match-up of the day was China and France. Team France advanced past China with a score of 3-1. The French team, better known as Rouge, famously can count the government of France itself as one of their fans. Their win against China was unsurprising but each game was closer than a 3-1 score makes it seem.
For the final match Friday South Korea faced off against the United States. Fans of both teams will remember that this is exactly where they met at last years’ World Cup. Unfortunately for the American team this meeting was very similar to the last one with the South Korean team winning 3-1. The United States fought hard, harder than those numbers make it seem and this match is worth a watch if you missed it.
Saturday Matches
Saturday started off a bit earlier in the day but the games were no less intense. First up was Sweden and Canada. Canada won the first game but the next two were won handily by the Swedes and it looked like they would advance. This was not to be as the Canadians rallied and won the next two games to advance with a score of 3-2.
South Korea and France squared off next. This match was a little more balanced with solid play by Korea, though Hanamura did give them some trouble, something that would happen again before the final point was taken. The final score was 3-1 South Korea.
A fight for third place was all that remained before the final. Both Sweden and France played hard and there was another tie game on Hanamura. After five games, Sweden had claimed the third place prize with a score of 3-1.
The final then pitted the defending champions, South Korea, against the Canadian national team. Simply looking at the final score of 4-1 does not do either team justice. The Canadian team fought the Koreans for every point they earned, pulling off impressive plays in overtime. Most impressive was taking the Korean team to 3 rounds on Hanamura. South Korea ended up being just a little bit better. Winning the team fight where it mattered and securing their spot as the top Overwatch team in the world.
The official final results from Blizzard are:
- 1st Place: South Korea
- 2nd Place: Canada
- 3rd Place: Sweden
Congratulations to South Korea. You defended your title with all the skill and style we have come to expect from your team. You can watch all of the World cup matches Via Blizzard at: https://worldcup.playoverwatch.com/en-us/videos
Now it’s onto the Overwatch League where new battles, rivalries, and glory await! The Preseason action there starts on December 6th.
