Overwatch World Cup 2018 Preview: Team Brasil

As the Overwatch World Cup 2018 season takes off, Team Brazil is ready to clap back with a vengeance and are hoping to finally punch their ticket out of group stage and into playoffs at Blizzcon. To qualify, Brazil will need to secure one of the top two slots in their group against Norway, Switzerland, Austria, Canada, and the United States. It’s a daunting task, but with each iteration, the Brazilian World Cup roster has become stronger since its beginnings in 2016.

In the inaugural OWWC, Brazil ran a motley crew. The players hailed from several different organizations and the team did not make it out of the group. Brazil fell 0-2 to each opponent they faced, ending their run at 0-6, without a single series win.

For 2017, Brazil took a new approach. The entire roster was pulled from a single team, Brasil Gaming House (BGH). Not only did they have the best win record in all of South America at the time, the players had been gaming with each other long before they picked up OW and were able to draw from their developed synergy to supplement their mechanical skill. Unfortunately, though they performed better than in the previous year, Brazil missed playoffs by one series, ending 1-0-2. While they beat New Zealand 3-1 in an impressive match, they fell 0-4 to both the United States and Taiwan.

This year, the team will again be comprised of the entire roster from BGH, adding three players from paiN Gaming, another powerhouse in South American Overwatch. Both teams exemplify the hallmarks of South American OW: aggression and a never-say-die attitude. Scrappy fights that teams from other regions may give up as lost are battled through to the end. Even at the top tiers of South American play, teams can swing fights back despite disadvantages, through grit and determination. Brazil will be looking to leverage this passion and tenacity, along with BGH’s explosive style, to nab themselves their first WC playoffs slot.

As with any region, South American OW is not without its weaknesses. Some teams have struggled when it comes to implementing Brigitte, particularly in the 3-3 triple support triple tank composition, and have had difficulty running the 3-2-1 solo support and other static shield comps with Orisa. Instead, South American teams often prefer to run the mobile dive tanks, Winston and Dva, as well as heroes with high individual carry potential like Widowmaker, Hanzo, and Genji.

Lack of hero flexibility should not, however, be an issue for this Brazilian WC team. Between the seven starting members of the team and the five substitutes, they not only cover nearly every hero in the game (Torbjorn and Symmetra included no doubt), but play them at an extremely high level.

With these factors in mind, Team Brazil has a strong fighting chance to find themselves at playoffs, Blizzcon 2018.

Tank:

NEIL
Name: Mateus Kröber
Role: Main tank
Team: Brasil Gaming House

Neil is a stand out main tank player, equally comfortable on Reinhardt, Winston, and most notably, Orisa. Known for his synergy with his BGH teammate Honorato, Neil rides the fine line between aggression and calculated plays, enabling his team to make the most of openings in fights.

HONORATO
Name: Maurício Honorato
Role: Off tank
Team: Brasil Gaming House

While his D.Va is excellent, Honorato’s Zarya is particularly stand out. His well timed bubbles enable Neil to become a battering ram for the team while Honorato’s ability to quickly generate high charge makes him a dps threat, despite his role.

WETTER
Name: Marcello Floriani
Role: Off tank
Team: Black Dragons e-Sports

One of the three non-BGH members on Team Brazil, Wetter is a strong off tank. His sneaky self-destructs give him clutch ability and Wetter has both saved and opened fights for his team with his D.Va play.

DPS:

DUDU
Name: Eduardo Macedo
Role: DPS
Team: Brasil Gaming House

Previously known for his monster Tracer, Dudu now usually plays the long distance threat
Widowmaker. Recently, Dudu added Brigitte to his hero pool, enabling more synergy between himself and Neil’s Reinhardt.

LIKO
Name: Felipe Lebrao
Role: DPS
Team: Brasil Gaming House

The other half of the formidable BGH dps duo, Liko excels at projectile dps, picking up the Genji, Junkrat, and Pharah to his counterpart’s hitscan. He also reps Hanzo, often as the solo dps alongside Dudu’s Brigitte.

Support:

OLE
Name: Pedro Orlandini
Role: Support
Team: Black Dragons e-Sports

Beating out BGH’s own Zen player for a starting spot on the World Cup team, amazing aim has carried Ole far. He is not only able to find finishing blows to confirm kills in the midst of a fight but is also deadly with his opening volleys.

ALEMAO
Name: Renan Moretto
Role: Support
Team: Brasil Gaming House

Pronounced “ah-leh-mong” and sadly not “eyyy lmao”, Alemao is one of the few dedicated Lucio players left in South America. Many have moved off the hero to the more meta favored Zenyatta. Playing both Lucio and Mercy for BGH, Alemao is known for his ability to frag with the Brazilian frog.