By GinArgent
October 28th, 2023
The top 16 are heading to the Group Stage of the World Cup! We’re here to bring you a list of standout players from each team to keep your eye on heading into this week.
Matches begin Sunday, October 29th at 2PM ET.
South Korea
LIP, Damage
The Atlanta Reign crashed and burned to finish the season, and LIP shares some blame for that. Can he find his footing with Fearless and Hanbin by his side?
Honorable Mention: Sp9rk1e, Damage
Colombia
dr0mr, Damage
EQO may have the star power, but he was outshined by dr0mr at many points during the qualifier run. While Colombia will miss EQO’s experience and clutch factor at BlizzCon, don’t count them out. dr0mr and his DPS partner Eternal have enough firepower for Colombia to make some noise. Be excited for dr0mr to face off against Mexico’s AngelVolado in Group A.
Honorable Mention: Mixvi, Support
Mexico
Paolette, Support
Paolette is the most experienced player on Team Mexico, having played in Calling All Heroes for Ex Oblivione’s Azathoth team this year. They excel at Brigitte and are also extremely funny on Twitter.
Honorable Mention: AngelVolado, Damage
Finland
Sauna, Damage
Poor Sauna. He’s traded from the Mayhem and has to watch his former team win a championship from the London Spitfire’s bench. Now, he finally has his chance to shine on the world stage. Sauna is an extremely flexible player who can be counted on for a variety of heroes.
Honorable Mention: Vestola, Tank
United Kingdom
Backbone, Flex
Team UK has a weird situation in the flex support role. In qualifiers, they played Kronus when playing Baptiste compositions, and subbed in Backbone, usually a DPS player, to play Ana and Zenyatta. Along with his typically excellent Mei, Backbone’s support play must stack up next to the likes of Rupal and Fielder.
Honorable Mention: FunnyAstro, Support
Australia
cuFFa, Tank
Few players have more to prove at the World Cup than cuFFa. Can he play on LAN? Is he more than a Winston one trick? How will he fare against tanks like False and Smex in his group in a potential off-tank meta?
Honorable Mention: Bertlog, Support
Brazil
Ludwig, Damage
Ludwig has been in the South American Tier 2 scene since 2016. He was on Brazil’s 2019 OWWC squad and on the War Pigs team that won the South America Contenders Gauntlet in 2020. Ludwig plays the classic projectile heroes, look for him to go toe-to-toe with WMaimone in Group B.
Honorable Mention: Neil, Tank
Canada
Noxious, Damage
If you look at Team Canada’s roster, Noxious stands out as having the shortest resume on paper. We know how good Seeker is, and Canada’s three-player support line is top-four at the event. With his collegiate experience, Noxious should have plenty of LAN experience, even more than some of his teammates who have played in OWL.
Honorable Mention: Cal, Support
China
Mmonk, Support
Mmonk popped off at the Overwatch League Playoffs. Can he continue this hot streak alongside his Spark teammates on Team China?
Honorable Mention: Guxue, Tank
Spain
Helv, Tank
No beating around the bush, Spain is in a rough spot. Having lost both of their initial DPS to out-of-game incidents, Spain’s tank, Helv, will need to step up. Watch for his excellent Reinhardt and Orisa.
Honorable Mention: Khenail, Support
Hong Kong
R3K, Tank
Hong Kong’s solo tank player, R3K comes with multiple APAC Contenders trophies under his belt. Specializing in heroes like Junker Queen and Sigma, R3K’s hero pool should thrive in the current meta.
Honorable Mention: XIAOLIAN, Damage
Thailand
Ace, Damage
Like Paitphan in the past, the nation of Thailand has a prodigal DPS player in Yoshinori2k. Unfortunately, he’s too young to play in the World Cup. Can Ace rise to the occasion?
Honorable Mention: HyVision, Damage
United States
Coluge, Tank
Have you seen the meta recently? Sigma, Orisa, Junker Queen –– this is Coluge’s dream scenario. After missing out on the OWL Playoffs, Coluge and his Defiant teammates are hungry. Will Coluge get most of the tank playtime, or will super and Danteh play significant maps as well?
Honorable Mention: Sugarfree, Damage
Saudi Arabia
Haku, Support
Haku, formerly known as “Nutella”, will be key to Saudi Arabia’s success or failure. In the Pro-Am, his Mercy play propelled Twisted Minds to an upset map win over the Outlaws and a match win over NYXL. At the same time, his Lúcio was a weak link whenever Twisted Minds played non-pocket comps (e.g., on Colosseo vs. the Outlaws). His performance on the DJ hero will be pivotal to his team’s compositional flexibility.
Honorable Mention: Quartz, Damage
France
Poko, Tank
Poko is still regarded by many as an extremely capable tank player on heroes like D.Va and Sigma. Yet, Poko has not been a full-time starter since 2019, the time of the last Overwatch World Cup. With all of the drama surrounding Team France, Poko should be a rock of stability for this team, but can he still hang mechanically with some of the elite tanks in his role?
Honorable Mention: Pak, Damage
Japan
Qloud, Support
After an impressive qualifier, will Qloud’s years of experience propel Team Japan out of a stacked Group D? He mostly played Baptiste in Contenders Asia-Pacific Fall Series, and that is likely to continue at BlizzCon.
Honorable Mention: Plankton, Tank
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