China, Korea lead the list of 2017 World Cup participants
The 32 countries to take part in the second Overwatch World Cup have been confirmed.
In 2016, South Korea hoisted the first major Overwatch trophy in front of the Blizzcon crowd, giving the first signs that the nation will dominate Blizzard’s new title. Now, the reigning champions are ready to return to Anaheim, but at least as far as the average “skill rating” is concerned, they’re not on top of the list.
Skill rating is metric Blizzard used to identify which countries are eligible to make it to the 2017 World Cup qualifiers. The rating of each nation’s top 100 players is collected, averaged and cut off at the top 32. The official list shows China leading the list with an average of 4550, leaving South Korea second at 4522 and the United States third at 4470.
When it eventually comes to actual competition, however, these numbers will likely mean little. Although convincingly winning their group last year, China was eliminated by Sweden 2-0 in the quarter finals—currently ranked four and more than 240 points behind China—before they could get the chance to play the eventual champions. South Korea, on the other hand, cruised undefeated through the entire tournament, finishing with a perfect 14-0.
With the first phase of the team selection process for the 2017 World Cup completed, the actual assembling of the line-ups will commence. A national committee of three experts will be charged with picking the players to represent the national team in the tournament before the live qualifiers begin this summer across the globe. For South Korea, the results of the recently completed APEX Season 2 and the first bouts in the third season starting April 28 are likely to play a crucial role in identifying the most potent roster for the champions.
| Place | Country | Skill Rating |
| 1 |  China |
4550 |
| 2 |  South Korea |
4522 |
| 3 |  United States |
4470 |
| 4 |  Sweden |
4309 |
| 5 |  Finland |
4295 |
| 6 |  United Kingdom |
4293 |
| 7 |  Canada |
4291 |
| 8 |  France |
4268 |
| 9 |  Denmark |
4259 |
| 10 |  Russia |
4221 |
| 11 |  Germany |
4219 |
|
12 |
 Japan |
4184 |
| 13 |  Australia |
4184 |
| 14 |  Taiwan |
4162 |
| 15 |  Netherlands |
4147 |
| 16 |  Hong Kong |
4113 |
| 17 |  Norway |
4101 |
| 18 |  Poland |
4093 |
| 19 |  Brazil |
4071 |
| 20 |  Italy |
4068 |
| 21 |  Spain |
4051 |
| 22 |  Israel |
4007 |
| 23 |  Singapore |
4002 |
| 24 |  Thailand |
3999 |
| 25 |  Argentina |
3992 |
| 26 |  Turkey |
3960 |
| 27 |  Belgium |
3942 |
| 28 |  Vietnam |
3941 |
| 29 |  Portugal |
3930 |
| 30 |  New Zealand |
3922 |
| 31 |  Austria |
3900 |
| 32 |  Romania |
3861 |
