Overwatch World Cup: Day 3 Recap

Day 3 was packed full of action, we saw many upsets and spectacular plays. Several matches went the full distance, with overtime and even tiebreaker games required. In addition to the best World Cup action so far, all fates were to be decided and our eight Quarterfinalists revealed on this final day. Below is a breakdown of each match from Day 3, be warned as it was a long day of action so there was a lot to catch up on. It is also worth noting that some of these games were incredible, full of genuinely high skilled, edge-of-your-seat Overwatch. You'll find all the VODs linked next to each match and many are well worth watching, but definitely check out that United States vs Russia game!

Group A

Sweden vs Spain - VOD

Dorado

Sweden looked comfortable throughout only eventually losing the first point due to an over-extension from the entire team on right-hand side. Whilst they traded evenly, because of how far forward the fight was Spain had a respawn advantage. That was to be the only time Spain broke through and they ended up finishing just after the first check point.

Sweden starts the attack as Spain did, with a Hanzo. TviQ wields the bow and is gifted acres of space by Spain. The constant damage from TviQ turns into frags and opens up the Spanish defence. Spain are never able to recompose and Sweden take the first map comfortably.

Temple of Anubis

As Sweden open up on attack iddqd takes Widowmaker, but is quickly shut down. In spite of this Sweden take control of Point A. Spain attempt a bold retake of Point A but it fails and almost costs them Point B too. neptuNo and BromaS create good delay on Mei and Pharah respectively. The Pharah works out well for a few fights and Sweden swap to counter. BromaS is a step ahead though and swaps off to Reaper to nullify Sweden’s counter picks - a clever move that ultimately means nothing as Sweden win the next push anyway.

As Sweden come out for the defence TviQ is on his favoured Junkrat for Point A but he is exposed and Spain capture on the first time of asking. Point B proves a tougher test as Spain keep giving away early picks and wasting ultimates on their offence. Eventually Spain find the perfect wipe thanks to some great play from BromaS and Pescanova, but they are 40 seconds worse off.

Spain attack again and Pescanova continues his fine form on Zarya, taking a Nano Boost to get two opening frags and help Spain secure Point A with 24 seconds left on the clock. Spain surge forward for their one and only attempt at Point B and once again Pescanova is phenomenal and the Spaniards make the most of their chance, leaving Sweden 3:11 to capture both points.

As Sweden start the attack they lose the first few battles but win an ultimate showdown to secure Point A. A scrappy fight on Point B ensues, then that man again, Pescanova, gets another great Graviton Surge off to set BromaS up for three kills. The point is held and Spain force it to a third map, everyone on the Spanish team delivered and fully deserved another map.

Lijiang Tower

Control Center: Spain neutralise a Nano Boosted cocco on Reinhardt with ease and dominate from there on to take the first round with neptuNo and BromaS outperforming the Swedish DPS superstars TviQ and iddqd.

Garden: Spain finds themselves at an early ultimate disadvantage, but come out on top nevertheless. A Nano Boosted BromaS trumps a Nano Boosted TviQ and Spain storm to a 2-0 lead taking the round 100-0.

Night Market: BromaS continues his outstanding McCree play, beating iddqd on his best hero. Giving Spain a 95-65 lead before Sweden take back the point. From there the Swedes manage to stagger their opponents' deaths and Spain can never properly challenge the point again. Sweden steal a round back.

Garden: Sweden take the point early on and finally start shutting down BromaS who has been going off all night. From there Sweden demonstrate their experience with better ultimate usage and tie it up 2-2.

Night Market: Before the round starts neptuNo and BromaS swap heroes. neptuNo takes McCree and BromaS takes Tracer. A swap we later learn was due to neptuNo looking nervous and BromaS offering the swap.

Spain gets first control of the point, followed by a long drawn out fight that they eventually lose. A clinical Dragonblade from TviQ clinched it, but Spain gained 97% in the process. Spain attempt several retakes but were careless with their ultimates. As Spain take the last fight Sweden's troops get split in two; iddqd, Zave and chipshajen are cut off from the point and their tanks. This gives BromaS some easy frags and Spain a straight forward push to win a long series.

Vamossssss!!!!! Close victoryyyyy vs Sweden, this is a miracle.. — Jonathan Tejedor Rua (@EnVy_HarryHook) October 31, 2016

Spain completed the upset and had great performances from their entire team, especially Team Dignitas’ BromaS, the lesser known Pescanova and neptuNo. HarryHook as shot caller and Ana was a marvel too, and led his team to a great win that should secure an easier Quarterfinal game. Sweden struggled to find their best form and were ultimately let down by some crucial mistakes and overconfidence.

Canada vs Brazil - VOD

Dorado

Canada begins their attack with the same three man flank as they tried on Day 2 versus Sweden. This time they win the first engagement. It is relatively smooth sailing from there for the Canadians. Some Genji heroics from Soulive causes delays, but Surefour demonstrates his prowess time after time and secures a strong opening attack for Canada.

Brazil fights valiantly and battle their way through the first point before getting stalled out for a while just after the first checkpoint. Brazil have another surge and push the payload just shy of the second checkpoint but Canada find their feet and flex their more experienced muscles shutting down Brazil multiple times to take the first map.

Temple of Anubis

Brazil attack first but have real trouble breaking down a Canadian team who have looked much better since keeping Surefour on DPS. Despite the odds, Brazil convert Point A before encountering issues on Point B. Canada only concede a single point and put themselves in a great position.

Canada start with Poke on Widowmaker, he only manages to trade but creates enough of a distraction to allow his teammates to take position and secure Point A. Point B causes Canada some problems. Poke takes a Nano-Blade in and converts four frags by himself, unfortunately a Nano-Blossom from Nextage devastates the rest of Canada which does enough to allow Brazil to defend for the time being. Their success is short lived though, as Canada overwhelms the Brazilians to take the map and the series.

A good revival from Canada to win their final match - the experience they had was too much for Brazil. Surefour and Poke consistently put out damage and found frags to the point where a few magical moments from Soulive was not going to be enough to upset Canada.

Group B

United States vs Russia - VOD

Hanamura

The USA started out with three tanks and a Mei in anticipation of the ShaDowBurn Genji, but the Russian starts on Tracer. After the building of ultimates Russia take Point A following a Graviton-Bomb combo. The USA looked strong on Point B but some sloppy defending allowed Russia in and a ShaDowBurn Dragonblade clears the point.

Russia pulled out the triple DPS defence as they like to on this stage; ShaDowBurn on Genji, uNFixed on McCree and Anak on Reaper. The setup counters dive comps quite hard and MESR feels its wrath on the first push. A quick adaption allows USA to take Point A. USA take a huge ultimate advantage into Point B but some great walls from uNFixed stave them off. It was only a matter of time though, as USA take Point B and we move on to the second round.

With the smaller remaining timebank USA are forced to attack again, and this time they go triple DPS to counter the three from Russia. The USA take Point A with ease but run out of time for Point B thanks to more good Mei play from uNFixed.

Triple tank and Mei defence from the USA delays Russia significantly. Russia eventually captures Point A. Russia still have ample time left, but a long drawn out fight in which the USA managed to keep staggering their spawns means Russia also finish having only capped one point. The match ends in a draw, the first of the group stages.

Route 66

Russia started on attack struggling on every single stage, but importantly for them they still complete the full course. USA were clearly putting focus on shutting ShaDowBurn down and it was working, but some how Russia find a way through in the dying seconds of each stage.

USA attack and exploit an disorganised Russian defence to quickly take the first checkpoint. Russia were able to recover most of their time on the second stage, but USA still manage to reach the third and final stage. As the USA edge ever closer to completing the map ShaDowBurn drops a crucial Blizzard to allow Russia to clean up. Forty seconds remaining for Team USA and they have a huge ultimate advantage. uNFixed uses a Deadeye but is unable to find any frags. As it rolls into overtime, unbelievably, no one from the USA contests the payload and it ends right there. A huge blunder that cost USA the map.

Lijiang Tower

Night Market: It opens with recent free agent DPS Gods winning the McCree duel, but Russia keep up the aggression. The point trades back and forth, but better point presence from the USA throughout gives them enough of an advantage to take the round. Talespin on Tracer was impressive throughout.

Control Tower: The USA continue their dominant play with uNFixed now swapping off the McCree as he is struggling to have an impact. The USA put Gods on Zarya instead of Seagulland it works well. 2-0 USA.

Garden: Russia open up strongly, but again the point is traded back and forth. A decisive fight where Anak uses his Graviton Surge at the same time as ShaDowBurn reflects the enemy Graviton Surge trapping most of the USA players. This allows Russia to take the point and hold off to win the round.

Night Market: Russia are again strongest out of the gates, but the USA are able to retake while keeping hold of most of the ultimates. From there Russia have a big ultimate advantage but all get caught by a good Graviton Surge and end up wasting them. From then on Russia looked out of sorts and it ended comfortably for the USA, 3-1.

Nepal

Sanctum: With the scores even a best of three Nepal match will decide who takes top seed from Group C. The USA start with three tanks and a McCree and the Russians continue to struggle to do enough damage against the three tanks. The USA has better point presence (as they have throughout this series) and Russia have lost direction. 1-0 USA.

Village: uNFixed tries Mei, then Tracer, he seems unsure of what to play and is having minimal impact. The USA gain a 99-0 lead during this period, but some nice work from ShaDowBurn helps Russia take back the point. Russia look like they are in a great position to take the round as ShaDowBurn cleans up with Dragonblade again, but just as they finish the few remaining Americans Anak wastes his Graviton Surge. This gifts an advantage back in the USA’s favour, Gods coming in with 95% of his Graviton in a very even fight but just as he is about to get the last bit of damage required he is Earthshattered by Redzzzz and denied the chance. Russia tie it up 1-1.

Shrine: So it all came down to this final round. As with all the KOTH rounds so far it is a constant tug of war on the point. Gods is doing more work on McCree but Talespin now on Roadhog is not finding the hooks he wants. The USA played the point better again and Russia are only able to take it back on 99%, holding on until it comes down to one final fight. As the USA come in to attack they trap two players, including ShaDowBurn, in a Graviton Surge. Somehow ShaDowBurn turns this around with one of the best plays of the tournament to win the round, map, match and group in one fell swoop.

GGs to Russia, Seriously close games. Hope we get a rematch — GODS (@NRGgods) November 1, 2016

Such as incredibly close and long game. The USA seemed to have the better of it, they had superior point presence throughout and their players performed well, but in the crucial moments ShaDowBurn always came up trumps. It is remarkable how he does it in so many situations, but Russia will need to tighten up to get past the Quarterfinals. The game was so close that on another day the USA would have won it meaning both these teams are still major contenders in this tournament.

Germany vs Chile - VOD

Hanamura

Chile starts on offence and capture the first point despite failing several attempts. As they get on to the second stage they are clearly struggling and INTERNETHULK rips them apart on Winston.

Germany take their turn to attack and *INTERNETHULK * continues his reign of terror; destroying them on Point A swiftly, then crushing them on Point B too. Germany finally show their class.

Route 66

The Germans start on defence swapping their heroes around; Ruster on Genji, skipjack on Ana and art1er on Reinhardt. While Chile are majorly delayed they do manage to get through, with that Germany swap back on to their standard heroes and put an end to Chile’s progress.

Germany have a very beatable distance to reach but struggle early on. A Bastion from EISSFELDT fails and is swapped out for a McCree. Germany begin to get frags and INTERNETHULK seals the deal with a great Graviton Surge. From there it is a straight forward win for Germany.

Wir haben unser bestes gegeben, aber manchmal reicht auch das nicht... Nichtsdestotrotz war das alles ein tolles Erlebnis. Danke dafür! — Nicholas Rosada (@skipjackOW) November 1, 2016

Group C

South Korea vs Finland - VOD

Temple of Anubis

ArHaN starts on the defensive Bastion for South Korea taking a slightly off position. Finland gets crushed on their first few offences and this gives South Korea a significant ultimate advantage and from there it is one way traffic. Economic ultimate usage led South Korea to a complete shut out.

As Finland begun their unenviable task of shutting out South Korea they actually started well. South Korea keeps going though, and force Finland off the point. Finland have to recontest and some miracle McCree play from Taimou helps Finland reassert themselves on the point. South Korea keep up the pressure before Finland can regain position and Taimou goes down to Miro. In combination with the respawns favouring South Korea, they edge it out and take the first map.

Eichenwalde

South Korea opens up with their customary Bastion and Symmetra. This delays Finland massively. Eventually Finland find a way to circumvent the bulletstorm and get a proper fight on the point, where once again Taimou shines, and they secure the first point. After that it was downhill for Finland as they wasted ultimates and never consistently contested South Korea, managing to get it no further than just before the bridge.

Finland comes out with three tanks and a Mei, a popular strategy for defences all tournament. South Korea look unfazed and roll through to take the first point with relative ease. Moving on to the second stage, a chaotic fight ensues, Finland focus a lot of resources in to neutralising a Nano Boosted Genji, but this allows zunba to clear up. Finland have another chance to re-engage before losing the series but get caught out before the play is executed and are unable to capitalise on Taimou’s Blizzard. South Korea clean up and take the second map without having to break a sweat.

Koreans are amazing ✌️️ — Joonas Alakurtti (@zappisOW) November 1, 2016

Despite some shaky moments in the groups, Finland are still a team full of world class talent but South Korea swept them aside. It is starting to feel like it will take a phenomenal performance to even come close to South Korea. Finland still have a lot of talent on their roster, but their mismatched roles have already been exposed by stronger opponents - a weakness that has potentially been exacerbated by finishing second in the group.

Australia vs Chinese Taipei - VOD

Temple of Anubis

Chinese Taipei grinds out Point A, but Australia do a much better job on Point B. The Aussies keep finding picks before Chinese Taipei can properly engage, keeping them at bay until a Nano-Blossom from Zonda clears the point and allows Chinese Taipei to finish the map with 3:02 left on the clock.

Australia struggle a lot more with Point A, but a Nano Boosted Reaper opens up the capture for them. This was the same way Australia capped their two points on Day 2. Australia go straight for Point B with yuki becoming an absolute frag machine to help his team clean up all of Chinese Taipei. Australia finish with 4:02 left.

Chinese Taipei took their second shot at attacking and captured Point A with relative with ease again. Setting them up with a big ultimate advantage with 30 seconds left, Chinese Taipei use this to clear the point but are foiled by the notorious respawns of Anbuis Point B.

Australia has 4:02 to capture both points and have been playing more aggressively all day and it has worked well for them. Australia take point A with 3:25 left on the timer. Point B is tougher but Australia build up all six ultimates after a few failed pushes. Then a very intelligent push from the Australian team using only the Nano Boost baits Chinese Taipei into using their ultimates defensively. Australia now have an even bigger advantage as Chinese Taipei are left with very limited resources to deal with the next push. Australia converts to take the first map.

Eichenwalde

The game starts with a bang as Zonda on the offensive Hanzo picks off Kura, however Australia hold the first point for several attempts after that. After Chinese Taipei relinquish the first point, they struggle and concede all three points, a rare occurrence.

Australia with some clever wall tactics surprise Chinese Taipei and quickly gain the first point. Australia’s aggressive style continues and Chinese Taipei cannot keep up. Australia completes the map in a faster time than Chinese Taipei again.

Once again the first point is captured with ease by Chinese Taipei but as they come through the gate yuki, now on Mei, and termo on Zarya, put in great work to prevent any real progress from Chinese Taipei on the second stage.

Danny is on Bastion for Chinese Taipei's final defence and his antics keep Australia guessing, buying good time for Chinese Taipei. Eventually Australia get through and an elongated fight is eventually won by a big Resurrection from Kura. From then on the fights are scrappy, but Australia keeps the payload going inch by inch until they surpass Chinese Taipei’s distance.

What an epic way to finish up the #OverwatchWorldCup ! Soldier 76 jacket confirmed as the secret weapon! — Muselk (@MrMuselk) November 1, 2016

Australia have surprised here; On Day 1 and 2 they looked thoroughly out of their depth but they turned up and played their best Overwatch of the event on their last day to take a win all the way back Down Under. On the flipside, what was a promising start for Chinese Taipei faded away. It was always going to be a tough group for these two teams but they represented their countries well.

Group D

China vs France - VOD

King's Row

France to attack first with KnOxXx swapping back to Zarya and Kryw taking Pharah for this must win game. France's first attempts initially fail and despite some hero swaps trying Reaper, Genji and Winston, China always came out on top. YjjPP and JamLee with some good work on Winston and McCree respectively.

China get in early disrupting France's positioning and go on to win a messy engagement thanks to a Nano Boosted Reaper from MengMao.

Hanamura

China attack first, again disrupting France's positioning but a missed wall by YjjPP allows France to hold on. DeGuN stays on top of counter-walling and prevents China going into the right-hand side room every time. China are forced to take more direct engagements instead and lose every single one. While France were trigger happy with their ultimates they consistently got more value out of them than China, resulting in a complete shut out.

Kryw takes Bastion for attack but gets blown up instantly by JamLee. France switches it up but continue to struggle. Eventually Mickalow swaps to Winston and takes the Nano Boost into China's backline. This was what France needed; the Chinese supports go down, allowing France clean up. Both teams have struggled on offence as we go into the third map.

Lijiang Tower

Temple: The stage begins with another failed Bastion push from Kryw, from there China dominate the fights. DeGuN is struggling to make his Mei walls work but his Blizzard freezes enough players to gift Kryw the clean up on McCree. The point was turned at 97%, but more McCree heroics from Kryw keep the point in France's favour until the last moment when China retakes to secure the first round.

Command Center: Kryw continues to impress on McCree, helping France secure the point. Despite more overeagerness with ultimates France maintain the point up to 93%. When a Nano-Blossom from MengMao gives it back to China. The heavy use of ultimates gives France a huge advantage though, which they take. There seems to be very little Kryw cannot do as he continues to be involved in every kill.

Night Market: France wins the opening fight, and plays everything perfectly from there. They kite a Nano Boosted pangge, then transition to a forward hold. Whilst they used a lot of ultimates to secure the forward hold they did so much damage the ultimate advantage was not that bad for the final fight. This is crucial as a Nano Boosted DeGuN on Reaper beats his Nano Boosted counterpart MengMao to secure the round for France.

Command Center: China does not change any heroes, as we continue to see a mirror match up. China dominates early, stopping DeGuN achieving much with the Nano Boosts he keeps getting. As China tick up to 99% during a long engagement France are eventually able to turn it around, getting the better end of the respawns. A big ultimate advantage push from the Chinese is secured with DeGuN being picked off before he can use the only ultimate France had.

Night Market: The team that captured the point first had won every round so far. France get first blood this time thanks to Mickalow, capturing off the back of it. From there France remain in control of the point up until 99%. China retake in the end but have a mammoth task to hold out. France's play becomes messy and disjointed with their players dying at different times. It all comes down to one final fight, both teams stacked with ultimates, but Mickalow gets a stun on three with his Earthshatter which gives France the early frags and they take the final round and the series.

Both teams faltered in attack which meant a lot of the maps and rounds were decided by a few crucial fights. Despite a strong start China did not play at the same level they had done previously; their ultimate management that helped secure them the win against Thailand was not as good today. This gave France room to come back into the game, spearheaded by Mickalow who was really impressive throughout the series playing against the more experienced Chinese opponents. Kitty was very good too, allowing Kryw, DeGuN and KnOxXx to shine and take the series for their country.

Thailand vs Singapore - VOD

King's Row

Alternative picks from both sides with NzNr from Thailand starting on Soldier 76 and Singapore's Colbat on the offensive Junkrat. This leads to some peculiar engagements that ultimately end in Singapore capturing the first point. NzNr switches to Pharah exploiting Singapore's lack of range, this is eventually countered by Colbat going McCree, but it happens too late and Singapore run out of time just short of the second capture point.

As Thailand take their attack we see more commonly used heroes, leading to Thailand taking the first fight and winning a good ultimate showdown. Getting stopped just before Singapore's distance, but with four minutes left Thailand have plenty of time to work with and they secure the map on the next attempt.

Hanamura

A three tank and Reaper setup for Singapore's offence struggles to break through Thailand's defence. Zalphx on Symmetra and NzNr on Mei exploit Singapore's slow movement speed and continue pick people before the fight properly begins. Very comfortable shut out for Thailand.

Thailand takes Point A on their very first push thanks to some good Genji play from oPuTo and just like that the group is headed tiebreakers.

It's impossible to hate Thailand's team after seeing thishttps://t.co/Qz4nKQxwyX — [MEADOW_DEV] (@Meadowcottage13) November 1, 2016

Singapore lacked the quality to really challenge anyone in this group but clearly had fun and gained valuable experience. Thailand won as expected and forced a tiebreaker situation - it will be a round robin of best of three Nepal matches until the teams are separated. Every KOTH match between China, France and Thailand so far has gone the full five rounds, so it was an open contest as to who would actually take the final two spots in the main event at BlizzCon.

Tiebreaker #1 - Thailand vs China - VOD

Village: JamLee from China opens on Tracer, most likely to counter NzNr's Mei and looks good getting the opening pick. However, NzNr stays alive, gets the Blizzard and turns the fight in Thailand's favour. From there NzNr keeps separating China's pushes and oPuTo capitalises with Nano-Dragonblades to take the first round for Thailand.

Shrine: Thailand takes the point early but a wasted Dragonblade from oPuTo allows China to retake the point. Thailand use their ultimates out of sync during their attempted repushes and this allows China to manage their ultimates better. Staying ahead and locking out the point to tie it up.

Sanctum: China take the first fight, JamLee finding the frags on McCree. From then on the Chinese tanks do a great job of keeping Thailand on the back foot, giving JamLee free reign and letting China get a large lead. Thailand manage to take it back just in time and hold on to it for a while with another nice Nano-Dragonblade from oPuTo but they never seem stable. China retake in the end to win the first tiebreaker.

Tiebreaker #2 – China vs France - VOD

Shrine: France takes the opening fight thanks to a Kryw flank on McCree. From there we see a repeat of the game earlier in the day, France made better use of their ultimates and China waste theirs. A confident start from France.

Sanctum: Mickalow loses the Reinhardt duel at the start of the fight, something we did not see a lot of in the same fixture earlier. China transitions into a forward hold which is very difficult to break, but France eventually do and regain the point. The next decisive fight is won by good Winston play from YjjPP who separates the French team and allows China to clinch the fight on point.

Village: Back and forth fights ensue as the point is traded. It all comes down to a fight top right with France in control of the point but three French players get caught too far forward in a Graviton Surge from MengMao that swings the fight in China's favour and allows them to recap. France attempt the must-win fight but are desperate and divided allowing China to win the series.

Tiebreaker #3 – France vs Thailand - VOD

Village: As the first round starts it is winner-takes-all with this last best of three deciding who goes to BlizzCon. France start with the Reaper and Mei combo and dominate the early stages of the round. Forcing oPuTo onto Tracer and NzNr onto Pharah, the switches make sense but they are in vain. Thailand end up using their ultimates after already dropping players, giving France the chance to take the first round.

Sanctum: oPuTo goes Roadhog as he did in the previous tiebreaker, it pays off early combining well with Mickie's D.Va. After a failed Junkrat outing, DeGuN switches to Genji but struggles to make an impact and switches again to Mei. Thailand continues to dominate during this period but overextend trying to follow up on a Graviton Surge, allowing France to retake the point. This allows France to equalise the percentage and it all boils down to one last fight. It's very scrappy with ultimates being thrown down from both sides, but in the end DeGuN's Blizzard gives France enough of an advantage to take the map.

These tiebreakers really could have gone either way, seeing great play and mistakes from all teams. Eventually France out-picked Thailand in the crucial match and will take their place at BlizzCon. This was expected to be the closest group and it was. Each team made mistakes, but I think the two teams that made the fewest mistakes across the three days went through. In the Quarterfinals neither team will be afforded the same luxuries as the competition intensifies.

So we have our eight Quarterfinalists after some incredible tightly fought games. I think the best eight teams got through and we learnt a lot about all the teams. In Groups A, B and C the seeding games gave us a great perspective on how the top teams stack up against each other. A benefit the teams also receive as they now have a few days to correct and adjust before they reach the single elimination stage where there are no second chances. It will certainly be worth watching, stay tuned for more coverage of the brackets and live updates on the matches themselves as they commence on Friday 4th November.

Xavier 'CommanderX' Hardy is a former top level Team Fortress 2 Caster and Analyst. Follow @Xavierhardy8