Unpopular opinion: I find this year’s Overwatch World Cup dull and boring. It lacks the excitement, the meaning, and the circumstance that surrounded it last year.

Lack of Excitement.

Heading into last year, I was incredibly hype for the OWWC. I can vividly remember getting out of my college level U.S. History class and turning on the World Cup on my TV in my dorm. From the group stages where Australia and Japan went 99% to 99% on round 3 of tie-breaker map Oasis to see who would qualify, to the 6 round Hanamura match between Reigning champs South Korea and the crowd-favorite Underdog of the U.S.A., I was on the edge of my seat in excitement. I wanted to see the best of the best play each other to establish which region was truly dominant. And the World Cup delivered.

In comparison, this year’s World Cup has been exciting once: When a sloppy looking S. Korea played a nail biting match against an invigorated Finland team. Otherwise, each match has felt uninspired and lacking hype. The crowds seem disinterested and the outcome of each group stage is dull and predictable. A lack of analysis, and players, such as those from the United States, spawn camping while playing off-meta comps and heroes makes the entire event feel like a joke.

Meaningless Matches.

What made the Overwatch World Cup bearable last year was the concept of the best players in each nation coming together to battle it out on the world stage via a Blizzard sponsored event. Previously, Overwatch tournaments were put on by 3rd-party sponsors and tended to be mainly separated by regions. As exciting as seeing Lunatic -Hai win Apex was; seeing a competition between Korean only teams, or NA only teams, left viewers wondering who the greatest team in all of Overwatch truly was.

Blizzard fulfilled this desire via the World Cup. Watching teams such as France, U.S.A., and Canada put up fights against the then juggernauts of Overwatch that was South Korea gave fans hope for a strong competitive future in the Overwatch League. That same Overwatch league destroyed any meaning the World Cup had. No longer do fans question who the best players in the world are. Nor do they have to. Overwatch League weekly showcased a high quality competition between the world’s best players. Third-party tournaments became obsolete to the fan base while the World Cup lost its appeal. After all, when the Overwatch League already named a World’s greatest team in a competition between the world’s best players all the World Cup offers is a look at players that very few people have heard of from lesser nations.

The best in the world has already been decided, the OWWC has become obsolete.

Pomp and Circumstance

Last year, all I heard about was the Overwatch World Cup. There was no event more hype in Overwatch esports. With the addition of team skins, new spectator tools, and the promise of top tier talent both on stage and at the analyst desk, the World Cup was looking to be the biggest Overwatch tournament ever scene. Larger than Apex, on a custom built stage at Blizzcon, the OWWC was a first glimpse at the potential size of the upcoming Overwatch League. In comparison, this year’s World Cup feels almost like a downgrade from the production level of the OWL.

Conclusion

When all is said and done, the 2018 World Cup has been nothing but disappointing. Making an event that was previously exciting, utterly undesirable. I do not know if Blizzard Co. care less about the World Cup, something we’ve seen previously from Blizzard in their handling of their Tier 3 scene in Open Division, and that is why it feels disappointing, or if the lack of meaning has crippled the event. However, I do know that the World Cup has, in less than a year, become a hollow shell of what it was last year. Here’s hoping something changes.

~Ashley