We finally have the winners qualified for the Quarterfinals following the conclusion of the Katowice Qualifiers. South Korea defeated Russia, and Canada bested the Netherlands in the Semifinals, meaning both South Korea and Canada will proceed to the Quarterfinals.

Russia, which was placed 2nd in the 2016 Overwatch World Cup, was again defeated by South Korea this year. South Korea has finished the Katowice Qualifier with perfect victories, not allowing any sets to be lost to opponent teams. The following match was between Canada and the Netherlands, which Canada also won with a clean sweep.

The 1st set of the match between South Korea and Russia took place in King’s Row, where South Korea played Junkrat with Reinhardt and Zarya. Russia also picked Reinhardt and Zarya to counter this along with ShadowBurn’s Hanzo, but it wasn’t enough for them to take control of Point A. When it was South Korea’s turn to be on attack, they came up with a 3-healer composition with Fl0w3R playing Zenyatta, dividing the Russian team. With Sharyk’s Winston down, team Russia fell apart, allowing South Korea to take control of the point.

The 2nd set took place in Lijiang Tower. The first match took place in Control Center where Russia prepared a dive comp, although South Korea countered with Reinhardt and Zarya with ease. Eventually, Russia was blocked from leaving the spawn room, losing to South Korea. Later, both teams played Pharah in the Night Market map. Fl0w3R’s Pharah took the lead in the game, successfully pushing enemies to their death or killing the opponent Pharah midair with his Rocket Launcher. Russia tried their best and managed to capture the control point once; however, they lost to South Korea in the later team fights, allowing South Korea to win the 2nd set as well.

The 3rd set took place in Volskaya Industries. South Korea chose to play by using the EMP from Fl0w3R’s Sombra against Russia, although Russia calmly countered by killing off the South Korean players one by one with good focus. There were some tense moments where Russia nearly captured Point B several times; whenever this occurred, Saebyeolbe’s Tracer would save his team by cutting off the opponent healers and protecting the point. The teamfights continued to take place at the point later, though Russia failed to capture it in the end.

Next, it was South Korea’s turn to be on attack; they had a dive comp that featured Genji, Tracer, and Winston. Forsak3n’s Sombra used EMP to stop South Korea from moving on after they quickly captured Point A. However, tobi’s Lucio stayed hidden, unhacked, putting a stop to Russia’s skill combos with his Sound Barrier. In the later 2nd attack, zunba’s Soldier 76 finished off team Russia with his Tactical Visor, capturing the Point And leading South Korea to their 3rd victory.

The 2nd match of the semifinals was between the Netherlands and Canada. The 1st set took place in King’s Row. Canada had a dive comp with Genji and Soldier: 76, and the Netherlands also had a dive comp with Genji and Tracer, although Canada had better focus. The Netherlands was able to capture Point A, but failed to make it to the next checkpoint due to Canada’s fierce defense. When it was Canada’s turn to be on attack, Mangachu once again picked Pharah. In response, Crusade also played Pharah as a countermeasure, though Canada won rest of the teamfights, allowing them to escort the payload all the way to the end.

The 2nd set took place in the Shrine, Nepal. Surefour from team Canada picked Sombra, hacking the large health packs near the control point. Canada used this strategy to quickly gain EMP to use in teamfights, not letting the opponent team capture the point, not even once; Canada won with a 100% capture progress to the Netherlands’ 0%. The next round took place in the Sanctum. Canada chose to use Surefour’s Sombra strategy here again, although they were stopped by Vizility’s Genji and TwoEasy’s McCree from team Netherlands, giving 1 point to the Netherlands. The last round was set in the Village, and while both teams played Pharah, Mangachu’s Pharah displayed better performance. In the end, the Netherlands failed to use their ults at the right moment before their last team fight, allowing Canada to win the 2nd set as well.

The 3rd set took place in the Horizon Lunar Colony. Dante chose to play Sombra when it was the Netherlands’ turn to be on attack, hacking health packs and using her EMP. The Netherlands was able to quickly capture Point A thanks to their Sombra strategy, although they again failed to use their ults at the right moment and couldn’t capture Point B. When it was Canada’s turn to be on attack, Mangchu and Roolf used Pharmercy; despite how the Netherlands did their best to withstand with 3 DPS and 1 Healer, Canada succeeded in proceeding to the Quarterfinals by managing to capture the point.

The 2017 Overwatch World Cup Katowice Qualifier Semifinals Match Results

1st Match South Korea 3 - 0 Russia

1st Set King’s Row: South Korea (W) - Russia (L)
2nd Set Lijiang Tower: South Korea (W) - Russia (L)
3rd Set Volskaya Industries: South Korea (W) - Russia (L)

2nd Match Canada 3 - 0 Netherlands

1st Set King’s Row: Canada (W) - Netherlands (L)
2nd Set Nepal: Canada (W) - Netherlands (L)
3rd Set Horizon Lunar Colony: Canada (W) - Netherlands (L)