The Overwatch World Cup 2023 has now wrapped up, and there was a surprise winner this time around. Here’s all you need to know about the event, including a full rundown of the results.
It has been four long years since we saw the last Overwatch World Cup in 2019, and it finally returned in 2023. A lot has changed between 2019 and now, with former champions and competitors retiring, a huge meta shift with the release of Overwatch 2, and new faces ready to take the trophy. The tournament was held at BlizzCon, a gaming convention held by Blizzard in Anaheim, California, at the Anaheim Convention Center.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia took home the trophy in a surprise upset, managing to beat China in the Grand Final following an undefeated performance in the Group Stage and wins against Finland and Spain in the Playoffs. It was a remarkable effort from a team that had never qualified for an Overwatch World Cup before 2023.
Here are all the details you need to know about the Overwatch World Cup this time around, including the latest results, the full schedule, group stages, and where to watch online.
Contents
- Final placements
- Group stage results
- Playoff results
- Schedule & Format
- Teams & Players
- Skins & Cosmetics
An all-time great performance from our newest all-time great team.Congratulations to our 2023 Overwatch World Cup Champions, @SAOWWC! #OWWC2023 pic.twitter.com/uJeIVTi7ma
— Overwatch Path to Pro (@owpathtopro) November 5, 2023
Overwatch World Cup 2023: Final placements
A total prize pool of $365,000 was handed out to teams who competed in the 2023 Overwatch World Cup.
| PLACEMENT | TEAM |
|---|---|
| 1st | Saudi Arabia |
| 2nd | China |
| 3rd | Finland |
| 4th | South Korea |
| 5-8 | Canada, United States, United Kingdom, Spain |
| 9-12 | Colombia, Australia, Thailand, Japan |
| 13-16 | Mexico, Brazil, Hong Kong, France |
Overwatch World Cup 2023: Playoff results
Eight teams qualified for the Overwatch World Cup 2023 playoffs, with South Korea, United Kingdom, China, and Saudi Arabia all entering with perfect 3-0 records. Finland, Canada, Spain, and United States all made it through with 2-1 records.
Day 5: November 4
| Stage | Match |
|---|---|
| Quarterfinals | South Korea 3-1 Canada |
| Quarterfinals | China 3-0 USA |
| Quarterfinals | United Kingdom 0-3 Finland |
| Quarterfinals | Saudi Arabia 3-0 Spain |
Day 1: October 29
| Stage | Match |
|---|---|
| Semifinals | South Korea 2-3 China |
| Semifinals | Finland 2-3 Saudi Arabia |
| Third Place Match | South Korea 2-3 Finland |
| Grand Final | China 2-3 Saudi Arabia |
Overwatch World Cup 2023: LAN Group Stage results
There is a total of 16 teams participating in the LAN Group Stage. 15 from the Online Qualifier and one spot for a Chinese team.
Due to the shutdown of Overwatch’s servers in China and that the country has historically performed well at the World Cups, they were given a spot in the Group Stage directly.
Group A
| Placement | Team | Record |
| – | South Korea | 3-0 |
| – | Finland | 2-1 |
| – | Colombia | 1-2 |
| – | Mexico | 0-3 |
Group B
| Placement | Team | Record |
| – | United Kingdom | 3-0 |
| – | Canada | 2-1 |
| – | Australia | 1-2 |
| – | Brazil | 0-3 |
Group C
| Placement | Team | Record |
| – | China | 3-0 |
| – | Spain | 2-1 |
| – | Thailand | 1-2 |
| – | Hong Kong | 0-3 |
Group D
| Placement | Team | Record |
| – | Saudi Arabia | 3-0 |
| – | United States | 2-1 |
| – | Japan | 1-2 |
| – | France | 0-3 |
Day 1: October 29
| Stage | Match |
|---|---|
| Group Stage | United Kingdom 2-0 Canada |
| Group Stage | Finland 2-0 Mexico |
| Group Stage | Brazil 0-2 Australia |
| Group Stage | France 0-2 Japan |
| Group Stage | Thailand 2-0 Hong Kong |
| Group Stage | Colombia 0-2 South Korea |
Day 2: October 30
| Stage | Match |
|---|---|
| Group Stage | Thailand 0-2 Spain |
| Group Stage | Japan 0-2 Saudi Arabia |
| Group Stage | Mexico 1-2 Colombia |
| Group Stage | Hong Kong 0-2 China |
| Group Stage | France 1-2 USA |
| Group Stage | Canada 2-0 Australia |
Day 3: October 31
| Stage | Match |
|---|---|
| Group Stage | Finland 2-0 Colombia |
| Group Stage | Spain 0-2 China |
| Group Stage | Canada 2-0 Brazil |
| Group Stage | Mexico 0-2 South Korea |
| Group Stage | Australia 0-2 United Kingdom |
| Group Stage | Saudi Arabia 2-0 United States |
Day 4: November 1
| Stage | Match |
|---|---|
| Group Stage | France 0-2 Saudi Arabia |
| Group Stage | South Korea 2-1 Finland |
| Group Stage | Hong Kong 0-2 Spain |
| Group Stage | Brazil 0-2 United Kingdom |
| Group Stage | USA 2-0 Japan |
| Group Stage | China 2-0 Thailand |
Overwatch World Cup 2023: Teams & Players
The Overwatch World Cup trials and qualifiers have wrapped up, with rosters finalized across the board.
The Trials saw some interesting pickups for some rosters. Team USA decided to bring Matthew “super” DeLisi out of retirement, as he is now the only original member of the last OWWC winning roster.
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And Team South Korea decided to sign what is essentially 2022’s OWL Champions in the Dallas Fuel, with LIP included. And unfortunately for xQc fans, he won’t be making an appearance for Team Canada.
Additionally, due to the shutdown of Blizzard’s servers in China, they have been given a slot for the main event.
So here are all of the teams that have made it to the Main Event, sorted by region:
| Country | Region | Players |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | Asia-Pacific | QIN, naahmie, Nanda, cuFFa, Bertlog, Ackyyy, Meritt |
| South Korea | Asia-Pacific | LIP, Sp9rkle, Hanbin, Fearless, Fielder, ChiYo, FiNN |
| Japan | Asia-Pacific | Nico, Qki, Mihawk, KSG, Plankton, mint, Qloud |
| Hong Kong | Asia-Pacific | Despair, Kurumi, XIAOLIAN, R3K, AmCrazy, ManGoJai, IRP |
| Thailand | Asia-Pacific | HyVision, Ace, KallBun, Rodtunglnw, Teetawat, PaLee, oPuTo |
| China | Asia-Pacific | Shy, leave, guxue, Mmonk, lengsa, Faraway1987 |
| United States | Americas | Hydron, Sugarfree, Danteh, Coluge, super, Rupal, Ultraviolet |
| Canada | Americas | Seeker, Noxious, Astronexz, False, MagicM8Ball, Crimzo, cal |
| Mexico | Americas | Chobilux, Angelvolado, hysteria, Castled, Sopa, Paolette, Momo |
| Colombia | Americas | dr0mr, Circci, Eternal, SuperGomez, HappyAlonso, Mixvi, Hug |
| Brazil | Americas | Ludwig, Svenko, TheSeriusGui, Dalca, neil, Nyohl, xfel |
| United Kingdom | EU & Middle East | Backbone, WMaimone, Kai, JkAru19, Smex, Kronus, FunnyAstro |
| Spain | EU & Middle East | Punk, CrazyDragon, Helv, heaveNN, Galaa, Khenail, Bones |
| France | EU & Middle East | Avo, NiCOgdh, Pak, BenBest, Poko, FDGod, Natlocks |
| Saudi Arabia | EU & Middle East | Youbi, Quartz, KSAA, Haku, SirMajed, One, LBBD7 |
| Finland | EU & Middle East | Sauna, Clowd, Vestola, Mickji, Olli, Masaa |
Overwatch World Cup 2023: Where to watch
In previous years, the Overwatch World Cup has been streamed on the official Overwatch Twitch channel, but since Overwatch League’s broadcast deal with YouTube, it is now available to stream on both YouTube and Twitch.
Additionally, Blizzard has allowed more co-streaming rights than in previous years, and streamers such as Emongg, Flats, and Jay3 have been confirmed to be co-streamers.
Overwatch World Cup 2023: Schedule & Format
Before the main playoff event, there were two programs to determine who gets to play on LAN. There were World Cup Trials to determine which teams would represent their country.
And then the online qualifier, where countries went head to head in their groups to determine who made it to the LAN Finals.
In June, all 36 selected countries played in an online qualifier group stage to earn one of 15 spots in the LAN finals.
And now that the qualifiers are done, the group stages are underway, having begun on October 29 with the World Cup ending on November 4.
Overwatch World Cup 2023: Skins and cosmetics
Starting on 7 February, players can earn an exclusive charm celebrating the start of the Overwatch World Cup 2023. All players will have to do to obtain it is log in and play a game.
Additionally, the Overwatch devs revealed that for the first time, the Overwatch World Cup skins which have been released for this year’s tournament will fund team operations cost and the prize pool for the main event.
With the announcement of the crowdfunding skins, the devs also revealed the legendary skin to celebrate the World Cup, Ocean Goddess Sojourn, is now available for purchase.
As for the prize pool, the total prize pool will be announced on the day of the Grand Finals. So if you want to support your country’s team, you can purchase the OWWC skin from the hero gallery.
