Four maps in a row after losing the first
Saudi Arabia took Nepal 2-0 and the grand final looked like it might run away from South Korea. It never happened again. South Korea won Neon Junction 3-1, New Junk City 3-2, Route 66 2-1 and closed out Esperanca 106.46 metres to 100.74, taking the Overwatch World Cup 2026 in Anaheim on Sunday by 4-1.
The Esperanca finish captured the night. Under six metres separated the two sides on a payload map at the end of a series in which almost every score stayed inside a point. Kim “Simple” Ji-sung was named MVP.
Saudi Arabia had reached the final without much trouble. They removed Spain 3-1 in the quarter-finals on Saturday, then swept Sweden 3-0 in the semi, winning Nepal 2-0, Aatlis 3-0 and Route 66 2-1. The first-to-four format then asked them to win four maps in one evening. They managed one.
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South Korea nearly went out in the semi-final
France had them two maps down. Samoa went 2-1 to France, Route 66 went 2-1 to France, and a run that had started with a 3-0 quarter-final sweep of the United States was one map from ending. South Korea answered on Esperanca, 112.99 metres to 80.03. New Junk City followed 3-2. Eichenwalde ended it 3-2.
France recovered well enough to take third. They beat Sweden 3-1 in the bronze match, opening on Samoa 2-1, conceding Route 66 3-0, then burying Esperanca 141.97 metres to 3.9 before finishing on Aatlis.
From Busan to Anaheim
Sixteen nations opened the tournament in Busan with round-robin play across four groups between 20 and 23 August. The top two in each group carried through to a single-elimination bracket that ran across Saturday and Sunday in California.
Sweden finished fourth. Spain, Germany, Australia and the United States shared fifth to eighth. Prize money has yet to be announced.
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