Crazy Raccoon takes Overwatch Esports World Cup final over Ultra

Field Level Media|published: Sun 28th July, 21:27 2024

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Nov 5, 2022; San Francisco, California, USA; Fans react during the League of Legends World Championships between T1 and DRX at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

On the heels of a dominant semifinal victory, Crazy Raccoon dispatched the Toronto Ultra 4-1 Sunday in the grand final of the Overwatch event at the Esports World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Toronto, which had defeated ZETA DIVISION 4-3 earlier Sunday to advance to the final itself, dropped the first three maps of the grand final. Crazy Raccoon won 2-0 on Lijiang Tower Control, 5-4 on Circuit Royal Escort and 3-1 on New Junk City Flashpoint 3-1 to fall into the early hole.

A narrow win on Runasapi Push, 130.43 meters to 130.42 meters, helped Ultra stave off elimination. But Crazy Raccoon closed things out one map later, winning 3-1 on Eichenwalde Hybrid to take the $400,000 grand prize as well as 1,000 club points.

South Korea's Kim "Shu" Jin-seo of Crazy Raccoon was named tournament MVP, earning an additional $50,000 prize.

The $1.05 million tournament began with 16 teams divided into four groups for a round robin of best-of-five matches. The top three teams in each group earned spots in the single-elimination playoffs.

Crazy Raccoon started its day with a 4-1 semifinal victory over Team Falcons. CR won 2-0 on Busan Control and lost 92.24 meters to 83.85 meters on Runasapi Push. CR ran the table from there, winning 3-2 on Suravasa Flashpoint, 2-1 on Shambali Monastery Escort and 2-1 on Eichenwalde Hybrid.

Ultra had a back-and-forth affair with ZETA in the semis. Toronto won 2-0 on Busan Control before Zeta responded with a 3-1 win on Suravasa Flashpoint. The Ultra rallied for a 1-0 win on Circuit Royal Escort, but ZETA again answered, winning 70.06 meters to 54.81 meters on Colosseo Push.

The two sides continued trading wins, with the Ultra prevailing 2-1 on Midtown Hybrid and ZETA taking the next map 4-3 on Dorado Escort. Ultra clinched the victory with an 85.59 meters to 52.97 meters win on Runasapi Push.

Overwatch -- Esports World Cup prize pool (money, Esports World Cup club points)

1. $400,000, 1,000 -- Crazy Raccoon

2. $160,000, 600 -- Toronto Ultra

3-4. $80,000, 275 -- Team Falcons, ZETA DIVISION

5-8. $40,000, 60 -- ENCE, Virtus.pro, Spacestation Gaming, Twisted Minds

9-12. $20,000, 0 -- Fnatic, M80, LGD.OA, Gaimin Gladiators

13-16. $10,000, 0 -- ROC Esports, Mkers, Bleed Esports, NTMR

--Field Level Media