The Overwatch World Cup is back, and NRG player Seb “numlocked” Barton is confident the UK can do better this time*.
Following in the footsteps of England’s football side in the Euros, the UK Overwatch team lost 2-1 to Iceland last year. The tournament was eventually won by South Korea.
For 2017, Blizzard is tracking the skill ratings of the top 100 Overwatch players from every country. In April, it will use each nation’s average rating to identify the top 32 countries from around the world, which will then move on to live qualifiers.
Players from the top 32 countries will then assemble their 2017 Overwatch World Cup National Committee, consisting of three local experts charged with recommending roster picks for all stages of the competition.
Blizzard will select up to ten nominees per country, and then players will vote for who they want to see on their nation’s committee.
It’s also offering live qualifiers around the world, with a series of four group stage events that are slated to take place this summer across Europe, North America and Asia.
Each live event will see eight national teams going head-to-head for a full week, with the top two finishers automatically qualifying for the Overwatch World Cup finals at BlizzCon 2017.
Reacting to the news, numlocked said on Twitter:
https://t.co/ipRPX4sO7N uk will win this time
— Seb Barton (@numlocked) March 29, 2017
The current top ten
The UK are currently fifth in Blizzard’s skill ratings. Here’s the top ten so far:
damn, UK 5th for average SR! notbad https://t.co/fSD2NqX5VN pic.twitter.com/DdrBd6gfw9
— Seb Barton (@numlocked) March 29, 2017
As the patron saint of UK #Overwatch, it warms me to see our overall skill rating ranked 5th in the World! ?? pic.twitter.com/sonx8LN9uZ
— Stylosa (@unitlostgaming) March 29, 2017
The UK’s team last year
You can find out more and see the current top 50 countries by skill rating on the Overwatch World Cup website.
*KappaOneHundredAndTwentyThree
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
