Today, Blizzard’s Overwatch World Cup got off to an explosive start with the fan-favorite United States being eliminated from the tournament by the United Kingdom. Despite starting off the series with a strong showing on Illios, United States was unable to match Team UK in tank-focused compositions and lost the series 3-1.

Team USA talked to the media after their 1-3 loss against the United Kingdom.

I think the question in everybody’s mind is: What happened in map two? You guys had a lot of momentum after map one… what changed and what did [Team UK] bring that you were not able to accomodate for?

Moth: One of the things we weren’t prepared for was how much Hanzo they were playing. And we didn’t have a lot of practice against double sniper as well. So, Hanzo with the sonic arrow and stuff was a challenge to work around. And just figuring it out was really hard.

How is playing on an Overwatch League team different from playing on a World Cup team?

Space: I don’t really know what to say because… in the World Cup, we have to prepare for one match, whereas in the Overwatch League, we prepare for multiple maps. In Overwatch World Cup, you have to prepare for a lot of different teams so sometimes when you are preparing, you forget to prepare for some teams. There’s much more you have to worry about.

You guys were the favorite team coming into this matchup. You mentioned it, Space, that you can get ahead of yourselves with preparation and forget about what is right in front of you. Was there any level of… “We don’t have to prepare much for these guys?”

Zacharee: I’d say that yeah, we weren’t prepping hard for UK. We were mostly putting a lot of our cards into South Korea because in scrims, playing all the other teams like France and Finland, we pretty much thought that we were just better at the same comps we played as UK. We were pretty much just beating them so I guess we didn’t feel like we had to put in much preparation against the UK and they caught us off guard. Obviously, scrim results aren’t the same as playing on stage as well.

Sinatraa: Yeah, we prepped zero for UK.

How much of a factor did tilt play in the match?

Sinatraa: Yeah, no one tilted.

Muma: Yeah, everyone was really level headed for the entire series. Tilt wasn’t a problem.

Looking ahead for some of you guys, what is the greatest takeaway going forward for your Overwatch careers?

Space: Don’t underestimate any teams. Depending on what meta your playing, anyone can master any comp and be prepared for anything. I think what you have to do most is be prepared for anything and always be ready to swap. That was what I learned from this match.

On the broadcast, they mentioned that European talent hasn’t really been tested in the Overwatch League… Did you guys feel that the players themselves had different playstyles than others you had played before?

Muma: I wouldn’t say that it was different playstyles. I would just say that GOATs is a comp that on the outside seems really simple to play, but what really comes down to it are the micro cooldowns of heroes. You can actually be really good at GOATs.

You’ve had the opportunity to play both in Overwatch Contenders and the Overwatch World Cup. What would you say is better in terms of experience and exposure?

Zacharee: I feel like World Cup is really overproduced compared to Contenders. Actually competing in Contenders and being in a league like Contenders means a lot more than World Cup, but towards the Overwatch community… no one really cares about Contenders at all or watches. The majority of people watch Overwatch League and World Cup. While I think Contenders is definitely better for developing yourself as a player, World Cup does take precedence over it because of the public view.

Do you guys have any thoughts on the new hero that was revealed, Ashe?

Zacharee: I think having an ultimate that summons another character in the game is pretty interesting, in a shooter game. I’m not sure how strong she is going to be with that… a lot of the base power could be in her ult. Her base kit looks pretty strong as well with a lot of movement and killing potential.

Thank you so much for coming and speaking with as after your match. I just kind of want to get your feelings on representing the United States? Can you take something away from being able to represent your country in a prestigious tournament?

Muma: Yeah definitely, being able to represent the United States is not just like representing Houston in the Overwatch League. This is the entire country. It’s a huge thing that feels really nice. It’s obviously unfortunate that the matches went the way they did, but it was still really cool to play with a new group of people and all of these players who play in Overwatch League teams. Being able to bring us all together and bring a different experience is something I’ll be able to take out of World Cup. Yeah, it was unfortunate that we lost, but it’s something that will still be good for us in the future.

Photo: Robert Paul, Blizzard Entertainment