Overwatch fans have plenty of reasons to celebrate this weekend, as the most important tournament of the year begins on Friday. The preliminaries will determine the names of the five nations that will join the five teams that have already secured direct qualification to the Overwatch World Cup. The qualifiers will surely do their best to make a deep run in the competition, but the winner is most likely to belong to the group of seeding nations. Canada, China, France, and the United States teams will challenge the reigning champions South Korea, trying to end their winning streak in Anaheim.

Overwatch Fans Warm Up with Friday Qualifiers

The Overwatch World Cup action begins early, on Friday afternoon when the names of the five qualified teams will be revealed one by one. There are plenty of strong contenders in 2019, but certain nations such as Finland, Russia, and Sweden stand out from the crowd. These teams have performed well in the previous years and they have strong starting formations capable of reaching the group stage.

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The format of the tournament clearly states that the winner of each group advances directly to the semi-finals, while the next two teams will qualify for the quarterfinals. Group A will be the most difficult for the qualifiers, as the United States, South Korea and France were already assigned to it. The ones that join Group B will essentially compete for the third place, as Canada and China will fight for the top two positions. There’s a strong possibility that in 2019 a Scandinavian team will qualify for the quarterfinals.

Few Reasons for Concern among South Korean Fans

South Korea is the reigning champion and the team that has won all previous Overwatch World Cup tournament so far. The Asian nation is heavily favored in 2019 after strengthening its starting formation with several players from the San Francisco Shock and the Vancouver Titans. These are the two teams that have played the final of the Overwatch League and their best members will play for South Korea.

Speaking of nations with strong rosters, the United States is expected to give the main favorites a run for their money in Anaheim. The team also consists of three members from the San Francisco Shock and Jay Won, Matthew DeLisi, and Grant Espe are expected to propel the US to victory. They will aim for first place in Group A, but will likely finish in second ahead of France who have lost Benjamin Chevasson.

In Group B, the race will have two protagonists, as China will try to return to the Overwatch World Cup final after being swept last year. In spite of losing all four matches against South Korea, they are confident that they can do better in 2019, because of their strong and experienced roaster. Most of their players compete for Chengdu Hunters, a team that made a deep run in the Overwatch League.

Canada is actually regarded as the second strongest team at the Overwatch World Cup by the main esports betting sites. In spite of finishing third and second in the previous two competitions, they are one of the few teams to have defeated South Korea on one map. Whether they finish first or second in Group B, they should be able to advance from the quarterfinals and set the stage for another epic final against the South Korean giants.

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