Reigning champions South Korea changes roster for Overwatch World Cup playoffs
Robert Paul for Blizzard EntertainmentThe final rosters for the Overwatch World Cup playoffs have been announced.
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The playoffs will see the eight remaining national squads battle for the title at BlizzCon, November 2-3.
Each nation in the World Cup had to submit a 12-man roster before the lock ahead of the group stages, but only seven players can actually compete for each team in any given stage. With the playoffs fast approaching, the final squads for all eight teams have now been locked in.
In most cases, teams elected to stick with the same rosters that got them to the playoffs in the first place by finishing in the top two of their respective group stage.
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Notable, however, is the roster of the defending World Champions, South Korea. Having won the title in both 2016 and 2017, South Korea will be looking for a third consecutive win at this year’s event.
For their group stage, which took place on home soil in Incheon, South Korea, the team fielded a roster largely based on that of the New York Excelsior, with Philadelphia Fusion’s Lee ‘Carpe’ Jae-hyeok and LA Valiant’s Koo ‘Fate’ Pan-seung the only non-Excelsior players of the seven.
Though South Korea conceded just two maps in their group stage on their way to locking in the top seed, the team has opted to swap out some players, moving away from the NYXL-heavy core.
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DPS Park ‘Saebyeolbe’ Jong-ryeol, flex fank Kim ‘MekO’ Tae-hong, and support Hong ‘ArK’ Yeon-jun, all of the Excelsior, have been replaced by Seoul Dynasty DPS Kim ‘Fleta’ Byung-sun, London Spitfire flex tank Kim ‘Fury’ Jun-ho, and NYXL support Jeong ‘Anamo’ Tae-seong.
The following rosters will represent their countries at the 2018 World Cup playoffs.
South Korea
| Player | Role | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Koo ‘Fate‘ Pan-Seung | Main Tank | Los Angeles Valiant |
| Kim ‘Fury‘ Jun-ho | Flex Tank | London Spitfire |
| Kim ‘Fleta‘ Byung-sun | DPS | Seoul Dynasty |
| Kim ‘Libero‘ Hae-seong | DPS | New York Excelsior |
| Bang ‘JJoNak‘ Seong-hyun | Support | New York Excelsior |
| Jung ‘Anamo‘ Tae-sung | Support | New York Excelsior |
| Lee ‘Carpe‘ Jae-hyeok | DPS | Philadelphia Fusion |
United States
| Player | Role | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Indy ‘Space‘ Halpen | Flex Tank | Los Angeles Valiant |
| Shane ‘Rawkus‘ Flaherty | Support | Houston Outlaws |
| Jay ‘Sinatraa‘ Won | DPS | San Francisco Shock |
| Austin ‘Muma‘ Wilmot | Main Tank | Houston Outlaws |
| Zachary ‘Zachareee‘ Lombardo | DPS | Fusion University |
| Grant ‘Moth‘ Espe | Support | San Francisco Shock |
| Joao Pedro ‘Hydration‘ Goes Telles | DPS | Los Angeles Gladiators |
United Kingdom
| Player | Role | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Cameron ‘Fusions‘ Bosworth | Main Tank | British Hurricane |
| Eoghan ‘Smex‘ O’Neill | Flex Tank | NRG Esports |
| Isaac ‘Boombox‘ Charles | Support | Philadelphia Fusion |
| Harrison ‘Kruise‘ Pond | Support | Toronto Esports |
| Michael ‘MikeyA‘ Adams | DPS | British Hurricane |
| Finley ‘Kyb‘ Adisi | DPS | British Hurricane |
| Kai ‘KSP‘ Collins | DPS |
France
| Player | Role | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Terrence ‘SoOn‘ Tarlier | DPS | LA Valiant |
| Benjamin ‘Unkoe‘ Chevasson | Support | Dallas Fuel |
| Dylan ‘AKM‘ Bignet | DPS | Dallas Fuel |
| Gael ‘Poko‘ Gouzerch | Flex Tank | Philadelphia Fusion |
| Michael ‘Winz‘ Bignet | Support | |
| Benjamin ‘Benbest‘ Dieulafait | Main Tank | |
| Micolas ‘Nicogdh‘ Moret | DPS |
Canada
| Player | Role | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Lane’ Surefour‘ Roberts | DPS | Los Angeles Gladiators |
| Brady ‘Agilities‘ Girardi | DPS | Los Angeles Valiant |
| Liam ‘Mangachu‘ Campbell | DPS | XL2 Academy |
| Christopher ‘Bani‘ Benell | Support | Houston Outlaws |
| Félix ‘xQc‘ Lengyel | Main Tank | |
| William ‘Crimzo‘ Hernandez | Support | Team Envy |
| Lucas ‘Note‘ Meissner | Flex Tank | Boston Uprising |
China
| Player | Role | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Cai ‘Krystal‘ Shilong | DPS | T1w Esports Club |
| Xu ‘Guxue‘ Qiulin | Main Tank | LGD Gaming |
| Li ‘Yveltal‘ Xianyao | Support | LinGan Esports |
| He ‘Sky‘ Junjian | Support | |
| Ma ‘LateYoung‘ Tianbin | Flex Tank | Team CC |
| Huang ‘Leave‘ Xing | DPS | |
| Zheng ‘Shy‘ Yangjie | DPS | LGD Gaming |
Finland
| Player | Role | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Joona ‘Fragi‘ Laine | Main Tank | Philadelphia Fusion |
| Joonas ‘Zappis‘ Alakurtti | Flex Tank | |
| Jonas ‘Shaz‘ Suovaara | Support | Los Angeles Gladiators |
| Benjamin ‘BigGoose‘ Isohanni | Support | Los Angeles Gladiators |
| Jiri ‘Linkzr‘ Masalin | DPS | DPS |
| Timo ‘Taimou‘ Kettunen | DPS | DPS |
| Tuomo ‘Davin‘ Leppänen | DPS | DPS |
Australia
| Player | Role | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Ashley ‘Trill‘ Powell | Main Tank | Blank Esports |
| Leyton ‘Punk‘ Gilchrist | Flex Tank | Dark Sided |
| Huseyin ‘Hus‘ Sahin | DPS | Blank Esports |
| Felix ‘CKM‘ Murray | DPS | Blank Esports |
| Dario ‘Akraken‘ Falcao-Rassokha | Support | Sydney Drop Bears |
| Scott ‘Custa‘ Kennedy | Support | Los Angeles Valiant |
| James ‘Yuki‘ Stanton | DPS | Dark Sided |
