When Friend Becomes Foe
Matches between teammates will pepper the Overwatch World Cup
One of the most exciting parts of the Overwatch World Cup is watching players we usually see on the same side of the lobby instead crossing swords. In this article, I want to hone in one particular matchup that prominently features this dynamic.
Sweden vs. Austria
Kevster vs. Seicoe (Virtus.pro)
The Virtus.pro DPS line has a lot of promise. SMASH puts a lot of faith in Kevster to return to his Hitscan roots by pairing him with Seicoe, who is a full-time starter at the highest level for the first time since 2022. Seicoe split playtime with sHockWave and FITS on New York Excelsior, Backbone and SparkR on Spacestation Gaming, and Quartz and Youbi on Twisted Minds. Seicoe was an every-map player in Saudi eLeague for ROC Esports in 2023 and 2024, but that was him “stepping down” a level while he was in the Overwatch League or OWCS, so I don’t count it. The DPS line delivered a 2nd-place finish in EMEA Stage 1 and a 4th-place finish at Champions Clash.
However, Zorrow’s presence alongside Kevster on Team Sweden will likely see Kevster play more Flex DPS for the national team. Sweden vs. Austria, then, would see the Virtus.pro duo facing off on Flex DPS. Can you imagine Kevster vs. Seicoe on Genji, Vendetta, or Tracer? Kevster’s Cassidy was magical during last weekend’s Champions Clash, so magical that I would not be surprised if he continues playing Hitscan for Team Sweden, despite what Head Coach AlmostPanda said in my Team Sweden preview.
Sweden's Superteam (feat. Zorrow and Almostpanda)
Is this the strongest version of Team Sweden ever? I’m joined by Sweden DPS Zorrow and Sweden Head Coach Almostpanda to find out.
To add more layers to this matchup, Austria’s Hitscan Zydra was teammates on Quick Esports with Sweden’s Tank Willys07, and Austria’s Tank Tama used to play with Sweden’s Flex Support Scyle on Vision Esports. There are plenty of current or former teammates facing off in World Cup, but I find the Seicoe-Kevster battle particularly compelling because they play different roles on their pro team, but could play the same role in World Cup. They are both their country’s strongest player, and will be called upon to go that extra mile.
Austria and Sweden will face off on May 31st at 5:00 PM CEST.