Overwatch's Team USA were heavily favored coming into the BlizzCon finals, the annual capstone to Blizzard's Overwatch World Cup. Even the South Korean team, made up of some of the League's strongest players, expressed their concerns about the American roster coming into this weekend. Turns out, Team South Korea has a different foe to worry about: Team UK.
No one expected America's lineup of Overwatch League superstars to fall in the quarterfinals, but Team UK stepped up and surprised the world by defeating Team USA 3-1, in what's already being called the biggest upset in World Cup history.
Team USA's efforts were noticeable throughout the set, but Team UK was overwhelming. Their strongest play was on the final map, Route 66. Particularly impressive was their frontline lead by Cameron "Fusions" Bosworth's Reinhardt. His ultimates were timed perfectly from the very beginning:
Team USA simply had no response for what was really a standard composition that Team UK fielded. The first signs of big trouble came around Point B of the UK's push, when Team USA's heat-of-the-moment decisions became questionable. Even though Fusions had been giving them a ton of trouble on Reinhardt, they decided to take Muma off of their own crusader.
With no shield for protection, they fell victim to even more Earthshatters:
After a very easy three points on offense, Team UK got right back to work on defense. Team USA looked decent for a little bit, but they ran into the wall known as Fusions yet again:
And once more at the very end, because why not?
Amazingly, Team UK only has two Overwatch League players on their roster — Kruise and Boombox. That a mostly Path to Pro lineup was able to dissect a powerhouse team full of OWL players is a testament to the upcoming talent that remains unsigned in Overwatch's pro league. It's the reason the Overwatch World Cup still has a very unique feel, and why you should be paying attention if you're a fan of professional Overwatch. Team UK will go on to play the winner of South Korea and Australia. Win that one, and they'll have a shot at the grand finals.
