We aren’t even done celebrating the London Spitfire’s championship win and we’re already moving on to the next big Overwatch tournament. Next up, we have the Overwatch World Cup in Korea! First, players and fans from around the world will come to Incheon, South Korea for the group stages. Also, Korea will be hosting Russia, Finland, Japan, Chinese Taipei, and Hong Kong for the first group stage event. Let us check out the teams battling it out tomorrow.
South Korea
🇰🇷2018 오버워치 월드컵 국가대표 12인 로스터를 공개합니다!🇰🇷
선발된 선수들 모두 진심으로 축하드립니다🎊선발에는 국가대표 위원회 3분이 수고해주셨으며, 오는 8월 인천에서 열리는 조별 예선에 참여할 최종 7인 로스터 역시 곧 발표될 예정입니다.
자세히 보기: https://t.co/LO4mGuLiGc pic.twitter.com/t75MeMcDUs— 오버워치 (@OverwatchKR) July 3, 2018
- Pan-Seung “Fate” Koo (LA Valiant)
- Tae-Hong “Meko” Kim (NYXL)
- Jong-Ryeol “Saebyeolbe” Park (NYXL)
- Hae-Seong “Libero” Kim (NYXL)
- Seong-Hyun “Jjonak” Kim (NYXL)
- Yeon-Jun “Ark” Hong (NYXL)
- Jae-Hyeok “Carpe” Lee (Philadelphia Fusion)
A majority of the Korean national team is made up of New York Excelsior members. Therefore, you can expect the synergy to be through the roof for the defending champions. The New York Excelsior were not able to catch up to the meta in the OWL Playoffs. Still, this Korean roster is teeming with some of the best players in the world, and will be ready to take the World Championship crown again. We will see how they adapt to the newest meta, especially with Wrecking Ball on the playable patch.
Russia
Meet the 🇷🇺 russian Top-7 🇷🇺! We won't disappoint you, #ForMotherRussia!
DPS: @sdburnow @MistakesOW @unfixedow
Tank: @txao_ow @toniclol
Support: @ENGHHHHHH , @May8NezMore details in 🎥 (RU only): https://t.co/hYqh4FTF4v #OWWC2018 pic.twitter.com/IhGfEb7nMx
— OW Team Russia 🇷🇺 (@OWTeamRussia) July 7, 2018
- Denis “Tonic” Rulev (Contenders EU: Bazooka Puppies)
- Ilia “Txao” Makarov (Contenders EU: CIS Hope)
- Stanislav “Mistakes” Danilov (Boston Uprising)
- Aleksandr “MayN” Katarskii (Contenders EU: CIS Hope)
- Andrey “Engh” Sholokhov (Contenders EU: CIS Hope)
- George “ShaDowBurn” Gushcha (Philadelphia Fusion)
- Andrei “uNFixed” Leonov (Contenders EU: CIS Hope)
Overwatch League vets Mistakes and ShaDowBurn will lead the charge for the Russian national team this year. Surrounding them will be a plethora of top-tier talent from the European Contenders league. Hopefully, CIS Hope team captain Engh will be able to face the bright lights of the World Cup and shot call his team to victory. Synergy should also be high, as a good amount of the players are from the CIS Hope Contenders team.
Japan
《オーバーウォッチ ワールドカップ 2018》
日本代表選考トライアウト フェーズ2の結果、7名の選手が決定致しました！
DPS: Ta1yo
DPS: Dep
DPS: Ameken
TANK: SamuraiD
TANK: Kenmohororo
SUP: Sabage
SUP: Claire🎌応援よろしくお願い致します！🎌#OWWCJP #OWWC2018 pic.twitter.com/wNNg0ZnZ3m
— オーバーウォッチ 日本代表 | Overwatch Team Japan 🇯🇵 (@OWWCTeamJapan) July 8, 2018
- Sean “ta1yo” Henderson (Contenders PAC: CYCLOPS)
- Kazuki “SamuraiD” Nouno (Contenders PAC: CYCLOPS)
- Kaito “kenmohororo” Yoshida (Contenders PAC: CYCLOPS)
- Ryoma “Sabagod” Tsuji (Contenders PAC: CYCLOPS)
- Takahiro “CLAIRE” Watanabe (Contenders PAC: CYCLOPS)
- Kenji “AmeKen” Hisano (Contenders PAC: CYCLOPS)
- Yuuma “dep” Hashimoto (Contenders PAC: CYCLOPS)
Pacific Overwatch Contender team CYCLOPS will be representing Japan in the World Cup this year. Also, they have been playing very well as of late in the Contenders PAC. They are actually at the top of the standings right now and look like a strong team heading into the group stages. Look for Japan to surprise some teams and maybe even make it through to the next round.
Taipei
We are happy to announce our 🇹🇼 WorldCup Players
👑Captain & 💪Flex
Kant🛡️Tank
ATing
TenTen⚔️DPS
ShaiuLin
Blue➕Support
Craz1S
OYO#OWWC2018#KantStopWontStop#ChineseTaipei#TAIWAN pic.twitter.com/K4h4fUdfVC— TW1LIGHT FORMOSA 🇹🇼 #OWWC2019 (@ChineseTaipeiOW) July 4, 2018
- Wei-Teng “kant” Kao
- Chao-Hua “ATing” Chen (Contenders PAC: Hong Kong Attitude)
- Jing-Han “TenTen” Liao (Contenders PAC: Hong Kong Attitude)
- Keng-Yu “ShaiuLin” Lin (Contenders PAC: Hong Kong Attitude)
- Shiao-Chin “Craz1S” Wei (Contenders PAC: Nova Esports)
- Ruei-jhou “OYO” Gao (Contenders PAC: Nova Esports)
- Erh-Fu “BLUE” Kao (Contenders PAC: Nova Esports)
With a lineup created from a combination of Nova Esports and Hong Kong Attitude, this Taipei squad looks underwhelming going into the World Cup. Hong Kong Attitude is sitting in third place in the Contenders PAC, but Nova Esports is sitting near the bottom of the standings in the same region. As a result, I do expect this team to be a lower tier squad when comparing them to the rest of the group stage teams, but do not underestimate their skills.
Hong Kong
Here we are! This is #TeamHongKong Final 7!
🔫 Mikouw
🔫 Moowe
🛡️ YiWind
🛡️ GZQQ
❤️ MangoJai
🛡️❤️ JazZy
Sub: AmcrazyWe have submitted our list to Blizzard for final approval and…
We have plans to introduce our players as well so stay tuned!#StrikeAsOne #香港勁揪 pic.twitter.com/42xFk1AY74— FIRE DRAGONS 🇭🇰 #OWWC2019 (@OWTeamHongKong) July 3, 2018
- Kin-Long “ManGoJai” Wong (Contenders PAC: Hong Kong Attitude)
- Ka-Chung “GZQQ” Wong
- Chi-Yeung “Moowe” Yip (Contenders PAC: Hong Kong Attitude)
- Tsz-Kit “Mikouw” Wan (Contenders PAC: Hong Kong Attitude)
- Chung-Ching “JazZy” Pak (Contenders China: LGD Gaming)
- Chan-Yuan “YiWind” Ho
- Cheuk-Pang “AmCrazy” Lai
Similar to Taipei, Hong Kong is sporting plenty of players from the Hong Kong Attitude. Therefore, I do expect them to be near the bottom of the standings by the end of the group stage. For example, they were at the receiving end of an Australian beatdown in a showmatch back in early August. However, the Hong Kong team believes that they will be able to play at a higher standard come the World Cup.
Finland
We're bringing in the big guns.
Introducing: Team Finland in the Overwatch World Cup 2018#OWWC2018 #torille pic.twitter.com/oYaMrwOMdN
— OWWC Team Finland (@owwcfinland) July 6, 2018
- Joona “Fragi” Laine (Philadelphia Fusion)
- Joonas “Zappis” Alakurtti (Florida Mayhem)
- Jonas “Shaz” Souvaara (LA Gladiators)
- Benjamin “BigGoose” Isohanni (LA Gladiators)
- Jiri “LiNkzr” Masalin (Houston Outlaws)
- Timo “Taimou” Kettunen (Dallas Fuel)
- Tuomo “Davin” Leppänen (Contenders EU: Team Gigantti)
A plethora of Overwatch League pros will front the attack for the Finnish national squad tomorrow. Led by star DPS player LiNkzr, there is a lot of hope for this European squad. Additionally, many of these players already competed with each other! This lineup is a callback to Team Gigantti, who won Season Zero of Overwatch Contenders Europe. We will see if they can find similar success at the World Cup group stage.
Overwatch World Cup Details
The Incheon group stage will take place on August 16-18 at 8 p.m. PDT. They will be held at the Paradise Studio in Incheon, South Korea. Also, international fans can catch all the action on Overwatch‘s various Twitch.tv channels. Additionally, all maps will be available for play in the group stage, which is a big change from the Overwatch League. Here’s the full group stage schedule:
What are your thoughts on the World Cup group stage teams? Let us know what you think in the comments below! If you want more Overwatch content, check us out here!
