Although exclusive in nature, every Overwatch World Cup 2017 team is in the end made up of players that also participate in other esports events through organizations.
Overwatch World Cup 2017 Analysis
So, by going over recent results teams have been obtaining, can one know who’s going to win the upcoming matches of the Overwatch World Cup?
The short answer is no, as this doesn’t reflect in any way the synergy they’ve built up with their world cup team, it could be worse than that of their main team, it could be better due to the lack of language barriers in some cases.
With all that said and done, one can however get a glimpse at which teams are more likely to perform.
USA vs South Korea
Whilst analyzing the United States vs South Korea match, the clear favorites coming into this match of the final eight is South Korea as they are looking as strong as ever.
Dissecting the South Korean roster
The South Korean roster, is primarily made up of three Lunatic Hai players, followed by two LuxuryWatch Blue players and an Afreeca Freecs Blue player.
Now, as mentioned, it is a given default that this roster will most likely perform to its utmost maximum, making it to the next stage after taking down the United States. However, going by recent results. Lunatic Hai is currently in somewhat of a hard spot, as they seek to hold their spot in the OGN Overwatch APEX against Meta Athena, as a loss would mean being eliminated in the first round of the APEX.
Meanwhile LuxuryWatch Blue have dropped out of the OGN Overwatch APEX and are in somewhat of a hiatus as they await their time to join the Overwatch League. This could mean in another sense that their players are getting more practice time that could help them towards the World Cup matches.
Finally, Afreeca Freecs Blue have already been eliminated from the OGN Overwatch APEX. Again, this could mean more practice time, but the player’s morale needs to be taken into consideration as a disappointment coming out of the major local league could lead to under performance on the World Cup roster.
United States, a breakdown of the team
Looking at the United States’ lineup, they are by no means pushovers, and judging by their recent performance in Santa Monica, they are not to be taken lightly by any team in the finals.
Their roster however, is made up of a Cloud 9 player, two FaZe clan players, an FNRGFE player, an LG Evil player, and a free-agent only recently picked up by NRG eSports.
This gives a slight idea of whom we can expect to be performing. Sinatraa, recently was picked up by NRG eSports for a hefty sum, as he is on his way to be earning in the region of $150,000 a year. However, this means that he may have been missing out on somewhat synergistic practice with an actual roster.
Jake is basically on the same boat, with LG Evil not having participated in any recent event, as they failed to qualify for Contenders Season One. This leaves CoolMatt69, FCTFCTN, Rawkus and Adam. Adam’s team Cloud 9 is currently in a bit of a hard spot, as the team is underperforming, having only secured two wins in Contenders. Which might post a problem if he is required to increase his organization centric training at the expense of his World Cup centric one.
Meanwhile FaZe Clan is doing quite well in contenders hitting third place with four wins and one loss currently, meaning their duo should be looking good heading into the finals.
Finally, FNRGFE’s coolmatt69 is also in a bit of a slump, having secured only one win and a draw out of the last four matches played, they will be looking to secure as many wins as possible in their final three matches, which could work against his performance going into the world cup or help him push that extra mile.
Ending
When all is said and done, South Korea will remain the clear favorites with the best odds going into this match. However, a United States upset on home turf, would be somewhat of a bittersweet ending to a road to the finals that made the USA Squad shine in the most unexpected manner.
