【1986 Archives】

LOS ANGELES -- 986 Archivesfirst ever OverwatchWorld Cup quarterfinals kick off Friday at BlizzCon 2016 in Anaheim, California, where for the first time fans will root for their respective countries represented by Olympic-style teams.

Eight countries remain after group matches concluded October 31. Teams are competing for honor -- not money, as each player will get a small bonus for attending. But ultimately they are fighting for their home country's glory.

SEE ALSO: 'Overwatch' hero Sombra has hacked the game's subreddit and Discord

Players were voted in by the Overwatchcommunity or invited by Blizzard directly. You can see how they chose candidates below:

---

You May Also Like

---

---

A total of 16 countries competed last week, but only eight are advancing to the quarterfinals. Top teams from the group matches were Russia, South Korea and Spain.

Each of the three undefeated teams came out with 9 points -- one for each match win. The United States trailed with only 6.

Mashable Top Stories Stay connected with the hottest stories of the day and the latest entertainment news. Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories newsletter By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

You can see the groupings and scores here:

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

The top two teams from each group advanced to the quarterfinals. Matches on November 4 will break down like this:

Russia vs France

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

The odds seem to be against France. Russia placed higher during group stages and came out above teams USA and Germany. Interestingly enough, France has a higher overall player win rate with 70% to Russia's 64%.

Spain vs Finland

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Spain came out on top of their group matches, not a huge surprise when you see its roster: Spain has players from high ranking teams Reunited, Dignitas and EnVyUs. Finland's ace in the hole could be popular DPS player Timo "Taimou" Kettunen. Kettunen is known as being a strong Reaper and with the recent Ana/Reaper nano-boost plays, Finland should put up a good fight.

South Korea vs USA

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

South Korea is considered the stronger team in this matchup, but don't count out the USA -- team captain Brandon "Seagull" Larned has proved a worthy player in both OverwatchOpen and APAC Premier. South Korea was undefeated on all points during the group stages so they're undoubtedly going to be a tough opponent.

China vs Sweden

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

This should be an interesting match to watch; both teams ended with the same amount of points but Sweden is boasting top McCree player André "iddqd" Dahlström. China may have a tough time overpowering them.

You can watch the OverwatchWorld Cup quarterfinals this Friday November 5 on Twitch. The OverwatchWorld Cup will have a decided winner the following Saturday.

Topics Esports

• Tech
• Social Good
• Deals
• Life
• Shopping
• Science
• Games
• Digital Culture

• What cracked the Milky Way's giant cosmic bone? Scientists think they know.
• Sleep paralysis demon memes are back since everyone's lonely while social distancing
• 'Succession' Season 4 review: Are you ready to say farewell to the Roys?
• Twitter removes Giuliani tweet containing coronavirus misinformation
• NYT Connections hints and answers for May 10: Tips to solve 'Connections' #699.
• Twitter's '10 Macbooks' hacker continues to run amok, scamming on the platform
• 'Quordle' today: See each 'Quordle' answer and hints for March 24
• Missing bar trivia? There's a coronavirus alternative.
• Stablecoin bill advances in U.S. Senate as Trump critics call to end his crypto dealings
• How to watch Eva Longoria's directorial debut, 'Flamin' Hot'

• Donald Trump slams 'no
• Saturn's moon Titan looks like a pretty chill place in new photos
• Microsoft needs your iPhone as part of its new mobile strategy
• Nintendo games were used to smuggle spiders. Sweet dreams, gamers.
• Fox News sent a very strange push notification and the internet reacted accordingly
• German insurance ad slammed for its 'cheap ripoff' of a Maori haka
• A Russian blogger was sentenced for playing 'Pokémon Go' in a church
• 'Prey' exploit lets players break the game
• Please stop driving into this house, it's had 48 cars crash into it in 2016 alone
• Elon Musk's Boring Company starts it's tunneling project

• Your 'wrong person' texts may be linked to Myanmar warlord
• The power struggle stage: the TikTok dating term explained
• Ashamed of paying for Twitter? Twitter looking into letting Blue subscriber hide their checkmark
• Bing Image Creator: The AI chatbot can now generate DALL
• Ireland fines TikTok $600 million for sharing user data with China
• Neighbours doing 'socially distant dancing' on their street will warm your heart
• NCAA Tournament live stream: How to watch Xavier vs. Texas in the Sweet 16
• Trish Regan, who called coronavirus an 'impeachment scam,' leaves Fox Business
• Operation Mensch
• National park's prized safety system fails during coronavirus pandemic

• Your 'wrong person' texts may be linked to Myanmar warlord
• Why are there so many stock photos of people kissing while wearing face masks?
• Twitter users report slew of new bugs: Disappearing tweets, photo tags removed, link previews gone
• How to livestream Alabama vs. San Diego State in Sweet 16
• 10 Tech Predictions for 2017
• 'Succession' Season 4 review: Are you ready to say farewell to the Roys?
• TikTok users' favorite moments from TikTok CEO Shou Chew's congressional hearing
• Twitter removes Giuliani tweet containing coronavirus misinformation
• The cicadas aren't invading the U.S.
• Hitting that snooze button is a relationship killer. Here's how to quit.