On the Fourth of July, many people like to kick back, take some time off work, and relax. Some people prefer to get out and party, barbeque some meats, and socialize. For the American Overwatch community, they found it to be the perfect time to announce the Team USA roster for the 2018 Overwatch World Cup!
On July 4th, Team USA held an event on their Twitch page to announce everyone who made it the cut for the preliminary World Cup roster. The team’s roster looks to be packed with the best Overwatch talent that the USA can offer, but not all of them will be playing in the Overwatch World cup.
To find out why, join TGH as we look through the recently-announced 2018 Team USA OWWC roster!
Overwatch League Talent Shines
At first glance, many people may immediately recognize that most of the players announced are from the Overwatch League. This is for good reason, as many of the world’s best players compete on that stage together, making for a small microcosm of what will come to pass during the World Cup.
Credit to @USAOWWC on Twitter
Most of the players on the roster hail from the three California-based OWL teams. Super, Danteh, Sinatraa, Sleepy, and Moth are all coming from the San Francisco Shock. If you followed this team during the regular season of the Overwatch League, you should know that these players really helped SFS make a name for themselves in the latter half of the Inaugural Season.
Next from our Cali teams are Hydration from the LA Gladiators (who is a dual-citizen of Brazil and USA) and Space from the LA Valiant. Both of these players are among the best in their respective roles and helped both of their teams qualify for the upcoming OWL Season One Playoffs. Also worth noting: Sinatraa is one of the only current members of Team USA that played in the 2017 World Cup.
Two other players from the 2018 Team USA OWWC roster that competed in OWL are Rawkus and Muma from the Houston Outlaws. Rawkus is the only other player besides Sinatraa in the current 12-man roster that has previous experience with the Overwatch World Cup. Meanwhile, Muma is a newcomer, but definitely made a name for himself during the Overwatch League’s Inaugural Season. Both of these players stood out when the Outlaws were on a positive trend and have great communication and coordination skills.
Three New Contenders Appear!
Courtesy Liquipedia
The last three players we haven’t mentioned yet are McGravy, Elk, and ZachaREEE who are all on Overwatch Contenders teams. Caleb “McGravy” McGarvey comes from current Contenders squad Team Envy (Dallas Fuel’s OWC team) and is their current Team Leader. Elijah Hudson “Elk” Gallagher and Zachary “ZachaREEE” Lombardo both are from the Philadelphia Fusion’s OWC team, Fusion University, who placed first in 2018 Season One.
Courtesy Liquipedia
McGravy’s main tank hero of choice is D.Va, which he will no doubt be playing for OWWC since he is placed in the tank role. Elk’s signature hero is Lucio, which stays in line with his support role placement on the Team USA roster. Last but not least, we have ZachaREEE whose role is DPS and predominantly plays Tracer and Genji. All of these relatively young or newer players may be showcasing their talents on the world stage once 2018 Team USA begins their first Overwatch World Cup match on September 7th.
Only Seven Will Remain
Courtesy @USAOWWC Twitter
According to Blizzard’s Tournament Rules for the Overwatch World Cup, each team will have to reduce their preliminary twelve-person roster down to seven. This means that all of the players featured in this article and the featured tweet are not guaranteed their spot in the roster as of yet. Even so, this is a good thing because it enhances the competitiveness of the current roster and should push the players to try their best to qualify. This ensures that each team will have only the best of the best representing their home country.
Be sure to follow TGH on social media! Share this article if you enjoyed it and sign up for TGH’s newsletter for the best of what we have to offer! Also, check out Rob’s article featuring what his Top 5 US Overwatch Players are! All of them made the cut for the World Cup so he may be on to something! Featured image courtesy of PlayOverwatch Blog.
