The United States swept China in the first-to-three final of the 2019 Overwatch World Cup on Saturday night in Anaheim, California. They became the first team other than South Korea to win the gold medal in the world cup's four-year history.
Team USA were nearly perfect on their way to gold, winning 18 of 19 maps they played. Jay "Sinatraa" Won claimed MVP honors via a fan vote.
The Americans started the championship match with an aggressive 2-1 win on Ilios, then replicated that success with a disciplined approach on King's Row, claiming it 3-2. With a chance to win it all on Dorado, the United States went on offense first.
Team USA were able to complete the escort map but used all of their time to do so. On defense, China were able to escort the payload to gain a point, but a stalwart defense by Corey "Corey" Nigra and Sinatraa kept the Chinese from progressing any further, helping the U.S. win the world cup.
What a dominating performance. USA sweeps China 3-0 to win the 2019 Overwatch World Cup.#BlizzCon2019 #OWWC2019 pic.twitter.com/PnDtZAmWma
- Darin @ #BlizzCon2019 (@darink) November 3, 2019
The playoffs began earlier Saturday when Denmark and South Korea played the first of two quarterfinal matches to open the six-team playoff bracket. Denmark performed valiantly in defeat, forcing a draw on two maps to stave off elimination. It took five maps for three-time champion South Korea to win 3-0 and advance to the semifinals.
The other quarterfinal pitted France against the Netherlands, and it was an even more competitive match. After taking the first map, France appeared to be on their way to a 2-0 lead on Blizzard World. The Dutch extended their magical run by coming back to claim that map, but that was the last of their magic. France went on to win the next two maps to advance to the semis.
In the first semifinal, South Korea got their second crack at the U.S. in as many days. While the South Koreans would fare better than they did in the group stage -- in which the Americans didn't drop a map -- the result would be the same. After dropping Busan 2-1, the U.S. took Hollywood 2-1, Watchpoint: Gibraltar 5-3, drew on Horizon Lunar Colony 3-3 and won Nepal 2-0 for a 3-1 series victory.
China took the stage next against the French team, which came out strong with a 2-1 win on Busan. But the Chinese won three of the next four maps -- tying the fourth map -- to ensure the championship matchup between the tournament's top two seeds.
South Korea finished their World Cup by grabbing some hardware, taking their frustrations out on France and capturing the bronze medal. In two of the three maps, the French team failed to get on the board.
-- Field Level Media