E-sports has been becoming more and more popular in recent times. However, some games have been becoming more popular than others in this regard for the simple reason that some kinds of games are better-suited for competition than others. For example, it is difficult to imagine people getting excited about watching people compete in a single-player story-driven RPG. In contrast, it is much easier to see people wanting to watch either a MOBA or a FPS shooter such as Overwatch.
Like its name suggests, the Overwatch World Cup is a competition between teams from 32 countries and regions from all around the world. The 32 countries and regions were chosen based on the average skill rating of the 100 most skilled players from each place. As for why it is 32 countries and regions as opposed to just 32 countries, well, suffice to say that both Taiwan and Hong Kong made it into the competition at ranks 14 and 16.
Regardless, the team members representing each of the 32 countries and regions were chosen by their competition committees, which in turn, are made up of the people voted on by both players and viewers. Each team has a total of six members. Furthermore, the 32 teams are separated into eight groups in four separate locations, with those locations being Shanghai, Sydney, Katowice, and Santa Monica. Each of the groups play the other group members in a round robin format. After which, the two highest-scoring groups move on to a single-round playoff format, thus raising the stakes.
What Has Happened in the Overwatch World Cup So Far?
At this point, the teams are in the quarter-finals, meaning that there are eight teams that remain in the Overwatch World Cup. First, there are the United Kingdom and Sweden, both of which beat their previous opponents Taiwan and Spain by 3 to 0. Second, there are Canada and Australia, with Canada having beaten the Netherlands by 3 to 0 while Australia’s matchup with Japan was much closer at 3-2. Third, there are China and France, which are similar to the United Kingdom and Sweden in that both teams beat their previous opponents Thailand and Norway by 3 to 0. Fourth, there are South Korea and the United States, which managed the same feat versus Russia and Germany.
It is interesting to note that there are multiple patches that will be added to Overwatch between now and the start of the main event, meaning that there is an element that could throw off some of the players. As a result, it is not impossible for there to be an upset, particularly when one considers all of the other elements that will be playing a role in this competition in much the same manner as other competitions. With that said, there are some favorites in these match-ups as well. For example, the South Korean team had a very strong showing in the qualifier at Katowice, meaning that the United States team might be in for a rough time. Still, the main event won’t be happening until November 3 at BlizzCon at the Anaheim Convention Center, meaning that there is still plenty of time for further speculation.
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