eSports Overwatch World Cup - what Team UK’s progress told us
Team UK’s dominance at this year’s world cup signals a new age in UK competitive gaming, with a performance worlds apart to that of their previous campaign.
Released in 2016, eSports heavyweight, Overwatch is a multiplayer, first person shooter, team game which pits 12 players against each other in two teams of six to attack and defend an objective.
Soon after its release, it developed its own, fully recognised world cup, which was broadcast to over 600,000 people worldwide.
Despite favourites and defending champions South Korea retaining their title, this year’s Overwatch World Cup showed the vast improvement of many other teams, notably that of Team UK.
The British squad was completely overhauled in 2017. Four out of six players from the previous line-up were replaced in the hope of reaping more rewards.
ChrisTfer, MikeyA, Kruise, Smex, Boombox and Realzx dominated their group with three successive wins and 12 straight rounds unbeaten, edging out a titanic US team who won 11 and lost one.
In an interview with the BBC before the Quarter-Final, MikeyA spoke about the team’s attitude and desire this year.
He said: “We’re taking everything very seriously, we really want to win, not just for us but also for the UK and the fans.
“Everyone always has their eyes on South Korea, they’re the favourites, but we’re confident that we can beat them,” he added.
Earlier this year, Team UK finished top of the pack at the Santa Monica Qualifier to earn their place in this year’s Worlds Quarters.
Despite falling out of the tournament to Sweden in the quarter-finals, the UK roster has made significant progress with a great string of form in 2017.
Team UK’s 2017 successes will come as a breath of fresh air to UK Overwatch fans, following on from the disappointing results of last year’s roster, who failed to qualify for the 2016 World Cup.
Their performance this year has without a doubt, put the UK on the competitive gaming map, if they are able to continue to improve at this rate, it could be their names on the trophy in 2018.
Looking ahead to the 2018 Overwatch World Cup, this tournament will bring with it a lot of questions from supporters and what will be expected of this year’s roster. Most notably is the standard of play that fans will demand of the team, especially given the rapid turnaround in form from the 2017 campaign.
British fans truly want the best for the team this year, die-hard Overwatch fan Divesh Mungur feels that to see the team achieve on that level would be greatly significant.
“Their success would reaffirm to me that the UK has a good scene going for it, to see them take a top four place or win would be absolutely incredible, knowing that we would have a solid foothold in at least one major game.”
Joel Gabriel, an avid video-gamer who has played Overwatch since its release feels that success for the UK team will really put British eSports on the map.
“The UK has never been greatly respected as a nation of pro gamers. Not in the way that South Korea has for say, StarCraft. Or the Scandinavian countries for Counter-Strike.
“It’s not really part of mainstream British culture to be a pro gamer. Perhaps success for the UK team will generate more interest in the UK gaming scene” Mr Gabriel added.
Like Mr Gabriel, Overwatch player Willem van Hoof has high hopes for the UK team with the expectation of a top tier finish.
In a phone conversation he said “I’m expecting them to get a top four placing at a large tournament, I think they will be able to cope as most of them have experience of playing on a big stage.”
The Overwatch World Cup begins in August, so get ready to tune in and support your team at 2018’s biggest event.
