The Biggest Upset Ever? France vs. South Korea
In 2016, 2017, and 2018, the Overwatch World Cup was dominated by one country - the Republic of Korea. In 2016, South Korea got directly invited to BlizzCon, and then crushed the United States, Sweden, and Russia without dropping a single map to win it all. In 2017, South Korea went 12-0 in the Katowice Qualifier, and then beat the United States, France, and Canada to win it all at BlizzCon. When 2018 rolled around, one year after the launch of the Overwatch League, South Korea was still as dominant as ever. They hosted a qualifying tournament in Incheon, where they went 19-2 on maps, then rolled over Australia, the United Kingdom, and China at BlizzCon, not losing a single map (though they had two draws against the UK).
South Korea is the best country in the world at Overwatch, and while their history of dominance in the early OWWC proves it, their representation in OWCS asserts it. In the last two LANs, the Champions Clash and Midseason Championship, Korean players accounted for 47% and 45% of all players who saw stage time. That number was even higher in the Overwatch League days - before region locking - where Koreans were 59% of all players in 2022, and 57% of all players in 2023.
Even though they’ve arguably fallen off in recent years, being unable to win the World Cup when it was played in 2019 and 2023, they are always ‘the team to beat’. Especially this year, with the majority of their core coming from Crazy Raccoon, the team that won the Champions Clash and came second in Stages 1 and 2 in OWCS Korea. The Group Stage of this year's World Cup is in Busan, South Korea. The stands were packed to the brim as the team took the stage for the first time on the weekend, starting their quest for glory against France.
France may never have won the World Cup, but they are certainly no team to write off. They peaked in 2017 and 2019 with 4th-place finishes and have a large, loyal fanbase. When the Paris Eternal was in the Overwatch League, fans had an avenue to show their support, and they came out in full force. That being said, even at their peak in 2019, France accounted for only 4% of active Overwatch League players, and that number continued to dwindle over the years. In 2023, Team France would go 0-3 in the group stage and finish at their lowest position ever, 13-16th place.
With the advent of OWCS, France began to return to its former glory, most notably with Team Peps fielding a majority-French roster and eventually making the World Finals in Stockholm in 2025, earning a spot as an OWCS Partner Team. Other French players started to come out of the woodwork in FACEIT Master, with organizations like Frost Tails eSports and Goud Guys having large French representation. Despite the resurgence, their expectations remained low heading into the match against South Korea. Pre-match predictions put the French team on the losing end of a 3-0 sweep. Their main ticket to BlizzCon was the fight against Denmark for a spot at BlizzCon later in the week. All three members of the desk had South Korea predicted to win, with Jack "Jaws" Wright explicitly saying on broadcast, “I’d find it hard to really argue against Team Korea.”
This match started quite softly with Korea selecting Nepal and deferring the first ban to France in a show of confidence. France banned Jetpack Cat, and Korea took away the Shion. Both teams ran out on similar comps, with Lúcio/Kiriko support lines and a Tracer to keep momentum up. Park "JunBin" Jun-bin came out flying fast on the Wrecking Ball, while Loïc "KroxZ" Ricci was playing D.Mon for France. When JunBin went in for the initial dive, KroxZ turned on him and sent him back to spawn, earning France the first teamfight win and starting them out strong. This led to JunBin swapping to Mauga, and Park "SeonJun" Seon-jun playing Genji to help with closer-range encounters. KroxZ would mirror the Mauga, and both teams would trade fight after fight, but Korea would edge out the first round. Going into Village, France started hot, taking the initial 60% thanks to clutch picks from KroxZ’s D.Mon. Jeong "Stalk3r" Hak-yong swapped onto Pharah, and Korea strung together three fight wins in a row to take the second control point and win Nepal 2-0.
France’s response was to send the game to Neon Junction, aiming to run a hard brawl composition and get kills before Korea could respond. They banned the Emre to keep Stalk3r from taking over the lobby, but Korea banned D.Mon, forcing KroxZ onto the Reinhardt (and eventually Mauga). Korea also subbed in Choi "MAX" Su-min to play Sigma, harnessing his incredible off-tank expertise to hold down the fort. France came out hot on the offense, quickly winning the first engagement, but Park "SeonJun" Seon-jun moved onto the Mei, and Korea kept them from fully capturing the point. Once Korea got a hang of fighting into the Reinhardt, they held steadfast, refusing to lose another fight and holding France to a mere 78.1%. France tried to pull out a Jetpack Cat/Bastion composition to defend with, but Korea played for picks and eventually was able to break the defense to go up 2-0.
With their backs up against the wall, France chose to lean into their D.Mon advantage, getting rid of the Mauga and bringing the match to a brawl-favored New Junk City. South Korea brought JunBin back to the main stage, and subbed Chae "HeeSang" Hee-sang in for Seonjun. They used their ban on Cassidy to force Corentin "Kio" Foulgoc onto the Shion. JunBin, trying not to play D.Mon, started on Orisa, and HeeSang played the Symmetra to ferry him around. With Arena being a very tight-knit point, the horse was very effective at breaking up France and giving Korea the first point. As the map opened up, JunBin went to Wrecking Ball on Junkyard, but the more open environment also allowed for Brice "FDGod" Monsçavoir to thrive on the Jetpack Cat, hauling around Florian "Dip" Lefèvre on Bastion. This composition gave France back-to-back points on Junkyard and Bomb Flats before South Korea was forced to mirror it. Korea locked in on Refinery, taking the point 100-0, and The Ducts was shaping up to follow suit, with them starting 99-0. Trying to stop France from touching, HeeSang dove into the team and used his Satsuriku Spree, dying immediately. France used this opening pick to take the point, and refused to give it up, taking Map 3 in surprising fashion.
South Korea, for the first time since Map 1, got to choose where the game went. They decided to send the game to Esperança, and kept JunBin and HeeSang in. Oddly enough, Korea chose to ban D.Va, a tank that KroxZ seemed to have no intention of playing. It didn’t seem to be a tank protect either, as JunBin only played D.Mon, a tank that France definitely wouldn't have banned. Regardless, both teams entered the push map on similar compositions, both running Cassidy/D.Mon/Kiriko/Jetpack Cat, with the only difference being HeeSang on the Shiion and Dip on the Bastion (he started on Tracer and swapped three minutes in). Korea won the first few fights, jumping out to a lead of ~75-15 on the map. After Korea lost a fight, JunBin and HeeSang got stuck in the backline and were forced to jump off the map and reset, allowing France to gain a 100-75 lead, which Korea could not claw back from. KroxZ stood out on this map as a magnificent D.Mon, absolutely dominating JunBin in the mirror. Going into the final map, Korea reset their roster, sending JunBin and HeeSang back to the bench for MAX and Seonjun. South Korea chose to play on Shambali Monastery, but made a questionable decision by giving up the first ban. France chose to execute Ramattra, and Korea used their second ban to kick Dip off the Bastion, stopping the Cat/Bastion combo in its tracks. Korea opened the map on the attack, and after a minute of bouncing around on swaps, they eventually settled on a Tracer/Emre DPS line, with MAX on D.Mon and the meta-standard Kiriko/Jetpack Cat backline. France ran the same way they did on Esperança and played hyper-aggressively. Within the first few seconds, France was already pushing Korea back into their spawn with early kills and aggressive follow-ups. KroxZ was being airlifted into Korea’s backline and leaving with multiple picks. Korea was unable to put together anything, and France dominated fight after fight, holding Korea to a mere 54.58 meters.
The local crowd - once giddy with thoughts of a 3-0 - now fell silent as France stood inches away from a reverse sweep. For their attack, France made no changes to their composition, but Korea put MAX on his standard Sigma, and had Sung "CH0R0NG" Yoo-min try the Mizuki to ground any flying shenanigans. France came in swinging, with KroxZ flying into Korea. Stalk3r and MAX killed three and sent France back to spawn. Benjamin "Xerion" Nambruide opened the next fight by catching Seonjun on the flank, but CH0R0NG and MAX killed FDGod and KroxZ, standing strong. The crowd started to pick up noise and hopes of a fuller hold filled their head. With only a minute and a half left, it was completely possible that Korea would clutch and pull off the fuller hold. Seonjun one-clipped Dip on the flank, and the crowd ignited in a roar. Athena gave the one-minute remaining warning, and France geared up for their final fight. MAX activated Gravitic Flux, but France scattered beneath him and dodged it masterfully. Xerion unleashed his Kitsune Rush, and Korea had to retreat into the hut. As the rest of Korea entered the building, MAX moved to the payload and was immediately surrounded by KroxZ and the rest. Cut off from his supports, MAX fell, and chaos broke out. Seonjun managed to take out Xerion and Kio, pushing the fight in Korea’s favor, but France didn’t come this far to fall now. KroxZ cut down Stalk3r and stabbed CH0R0NG with his Surging Strike, while FDGod tore Simple apart with claws. KroxZ cleansed up Seonjun and pushed the payload its final few meters, and as the game finally came to a close, the French team lit up in celebration.
The date is August 21st 2026, and the French have upset the home team of the tournament to start their Overwatch World Cup journey. Games like this are what make the Overwatch World Cup one of a kind. Entire nations rallying together to root for their brothers and sisters, and incredible battles allow previously unknown players to etch their name in the annals of Overwatch history.
Team France is made up of players who spent the last three months in FACEIT League, clawing their way back to OWCS. Now they have beaten the consensus best team in the world, and will almost certainly continue their story - not only throughout this weekend - but potentially in a deep run at BlizzCon. Continue watching the Overwatch World Cup Group Stage this weekend, and be sure to tune into the Playoffs September 12 and 13.