A lot of the games from Day 2 were mismatches, with some of the favourites for the entire tournament taking on countries from considerably smaller and less experienced regions. This meant not many of the games were as exciting as Day 1 but all of them played an important role in deciding who progresses to the Quarterfinals and setting up some spectacular Day 3 games. With six out of the eight Quarterfinalists being decided on Day 2 check out a match by match breakdown of how the day unfolded.

Group A

Canada vs Sweden

Dorado

Canada have changed things up since Day 1, Surefour starts on McCree and Poke on Zarya, playing more to their strengths as they start on attack. Canada attempt to set up a massive flank with id_ on Pharah, Roolf on Mercy and Surefour on Genji but it's a disaster as Sweden just push and kill the front line, then turn around to clean up the flankers. Good idea, bad execution. From there Sweden dominated the defence and shut out Canada, with Zebbosai impressing on Zarya.

Sweden finish the map with relative ease, waiting for the Graviton Surge and Dragonstrike combo to allow Zebbosai to move the payload over the capture zone.

Temple of Anubis

Canada to defend first and iddqd picks apart their defence as Widowmaker. This gave Sweden a great time for capturing Point A. Sweden eventually get the second capture after TviQ hooks Surefour on McCree early on and that will allows them to convert the point with 3:15 left on the clock.

We see TviQ on Junkrat getting a lot of early picks that are messing up Canada's attacks. Canada get the pick on TviQ and that is the catalyst for them to get the first point with over five minutes remaining. Canada cannot make it work at any point during that, Surefour tries various heroes but cannot create an opening with any of them. In the dying seconds Sweden rush forward and Poke tries a back-cap on Genji but it's to be as Canada lose the map and the series.

This result ensures Sweden will go into the Quarterfinals and Canada wont. This was hat a lot of people expected especially after seeing the performances from the first day. Sweden look formidable and do not seem to have any worries about playing anyone except South Korea and with good reason, they have out classed everyone so far. Tomorrow during Day 3 they will get the first real test playing against Spain but if they keep the form they are in at the moment then I cannot see Spain being a problem. For Canada they will play Brazil for pride in their final game.

Brazil vs Spain

Dorado

Spain attack first with Pescanova on Pharah as well as HarryHook on DPS and neptuNo on support. Spain get through the first stage with relative ease and the same can be said on the second stage. Brazil made Spain work the whole way but could not stop them taking all three stages with time remaining.

When Brazil started the attack they got up the first slope pretty quickly with Soulive doing good work on Hanzo. However, a re-engage from Spain as Brazil approach the checkpoint almost goes wrong as they all get Graviton Surged but Brazil do not have the follow up as Soulive wasted his Dragonstrike earlier in the fight. Brazil gets the cap but Spain win the team fight. From there Pescanova swapped off to Junkrat and Brazil never got any further as they are completely shut down, Pescanova just farming damage. With that Spain take the first map.

Temple of Anubis

A solo-healer line-up from Spain with Linepro as Mercy, Pescanova still running Junkrat. Soulive starts to open them up on Widow as the rest of the Brazilians make it a messy fight on point and the respawns are too long for Spain and Brazil cap it out second time of asking. Brazil gets one tick on Point B on their first attempt. Spain swap HarryHook back onto Ana. From then on despite Brazil throwing ultimate after ultimate at the Spanish team they could not do enough to capture the point.

Spain's turn to attack, they need to capture both points to win the game and guarantee progression to the knockout stage. Pescanova on Pharah again and he goes in to Point A completely unchallenged, raining down damage and Spain capture quickly and move on to Point B. Over 7 minutes for left for Spain to win this map. Spain start strong and almost capture it straight away but Brazil get enough spawns to stop it with a sliver of capture time left. The next push arrives and Spain wipe them quickly, Pescanova and neptuNo get the opening frags straight away and before Brazil can even react the push is over and Spain have won the match.

Spain locks themselves in to the Quarterfinals and even though they were delayed throughout their attacks they looked confident playing riskier solo-heal line-ups. Whether they have the ability to overcome Sweden is another matter but we will have to wait until tomorrow to find out, I still think Spain could surprise a lot of people in this tournament.

Group B

United States vs Germany

Hanamura

Germany struggled to have a cutting edge during the first game and they start the same way, they cannot follow up on any of their big ultimates. Eventually they Nano-Blossom art1er in and he gets both USA supports but again Germany fail to capitalise and USA stabilise. After that Germany never really looked like taking Point A again and they get shut out by USA.

USA's turn to attack and they take the first point in a short amount of time. Seagull on Genji opened them up, killing the two German supports before helping his team wipe the rest of the team and take the first map.

Route 66

Germany defend first but their defence falls in to a horrible pattern. Germany would nail the first defence of each stage then get absolutely crushed in the proceeding fight. This meant the USA finished with time to spare, Germany look out of sorts against an organised USA team.

Germany attack with EISSFELDT on Bastion but they cannot find the space to make it work. Eventually Germany build up an ultimate advantage and have a Nano Boost and Tank Mode to use, what could go wrong? Seagull Graviton Surges them against the wall and all of the Germany team get picked off. German still have time and now and even greater ultimate advantage, what could go wrong? They send the Nano Boosted Bastion in first, jumping up top but he is all alone, cannot find any kills and is then slept, then charged off the high ground. An absolute disaster from Germany that sums up their tournament. There are a couple more scrappy fights that allow Germany to move the payload up a little but nothing to really threaten the USA. Map 2 goes to the USA.

A disappointing exit for Germany. Meanwhile, the USA looked comfortable again and will play against Russia on Day 3 in the battle for top seed. That game is set to be a great game and important in whom they get to play in the Quarterfinals.

Russia vs Chile

Hanamura

Russia to defend first with three DPS heroes, Anak on Reaper, ShaDowBurn on Genji and uNFixed on McCree. Meanwhile Chile is on a full dive comp. The first push from Chile is a slaughter, unable to turn a single frag. This trend continues with Chile not getting a single frag all round.

Russia is to attack, Shal on the defensive Torbjorn. The turret deters ShaDowBurn for the briefest of times before Anak, now on Zarya, takes it down and with that Russia pile in and destroy all the Chilean players. Chile finally get a single frag on to Anak but that was an easy first map for Russia.

Route 66

Russia attacking first and ShaDowBurn keeps getting shutdown at first but respawning and coming back in to clean up and keep the momentum on Russia's side. Russia were never really stopped and unsurprisingly it is a another stylish play from ShaDowBurn to finish the map, this time it's a Nano-Blade followed by a reflect onto Shal's Death Blossom to kill him finishing the map with 2:29 left on the clock.

Chile to attack now for their tournament lives, Shal on Genji and yibraN on McCree to try and open it up for them. Russia hold strong and despite the occasional frag or two Russia never looked in much trouble. yibraN switches to Roadhog to try and secure more kills earlier on but cannot land any hooks. Barely any distance for Chile and they lose the map and the series.

Russia finds themselves in the Quarterfinals already and will play against USA for top seed. Chile tried but just did not have the calibre to match up to these teams, perhaps against an underwhelming Germany team they can make something happen on Day 3 and put on more of a show.

Group C

South Korea vs Chinese Taipei

Temple of Anubis

South Korea defend first with ArHaN running Bastion and constantly changing position to keep catching Chinese Taipei off guard and delaying them majorly. Eventually the Chinese Taipei win a scrappy fight to take the first point. Confident and clinical defences from South Korea throughout, at one point a significant ultimate advantage push from the Chinese Taipei looked like it would break the hold but they could not finish the frags quickly enough and got over run with respawners.

South Korea had set themselves up well but struggled against the ultra-defensive set up of Chinese Taipei, three tanks and Mei. It took several attempts before South Korea were able to find the frags to capture Point A, courtesy of five from zunba on Zarya. From there it was a confident push on to Point B that had South Korea contesting the final point throughout, eventually finishing the capture. Miro focusing down targets well to keep the point clear and ryujehong gaining the high ground early as Ana and providing heals constantly to his team. We saw his ability on Ana for Lunatic-Hai at APAC and he has demonstrated it here too.

Eichenwalde

South Korea defend first and it will be Torbjorn and Symmetra and it works for a long time. Despite Chinese Taipei breaking through the choke point regularly the Teleporter keeps the reinforcements coming for South Korea. Eventually a flanking Zonda on Hanzo opens up the first point for the Chinese Taipei. However, South Korea have now swapped on to more traditional heroes, losing the Symmetra and Torbjorn for a Lucio and Genji and come out to boldly defend the payload just before it reaches the second check point. They clear the payload of Chinese Taipei players and from there the clock was always against Chinese Taipei and they were kept at bay.

South Korea goes into the attack and takes the first point with conviction. South Korea keep barrelling forward moving the payload quickly up the slope and then a good combination from EscA's Deadeye and zunba's Graviton Surge, give South Korea two kills straight away and this allowed them to secure map victory and their place in the Quarterfinals.

South Korea continues their strong performance from Day 1 and look like one of the strongest teams at the event. They play Finland tomorrow and it will be intriguing to see how they stack up against the more established players from Europe.

Australia vs Finland

Temple of Anubis

Australia come in off the back of a rough game against South Korea yesterday and todays test was not going to be much easier for them. Taimou opens up on Widowmaker for Finland's attack and gets an instant pick alongside hymzi, it's going to be another rough day for Australia. Finland roll into the second point and LiNkzr is able to Earthshatter uncontested and this set up Finland beautifully to clean up all the Australians and complete the map.

Australia to attack now, they face up against four tanks from Finland and Australia struggle to get more than a frag a push until a Nano-Blossom from HeyKatie is booped by Tseini into his own team getting three frags and securing Point A. Taimou gets off the Winston, opting for more damage in the form of Reaper and wreaks havoc for the rest of the map, demolishing each attack from Australia. Map 1 goes to Finland.

Eichenwalde

Finland starts on defence with three tanks and Taimou on Mei to exploit the geography on the first choke point. Australia starts Map 2 the same way they started Map 1, getting smashed. Eventually a Death Blossom from HeyKatie breaks the Finnish hold again but the forward momentum is short lived as Finland quickly regather themselves to stop Australia getting much past the first point.

As Finland begins their attack with three tanks and Taimou on McCree instead they fail the first push but quickly recover and take control of the first cap. From there they kept their momentum going, Australia made it scrappy at times but never really stopped Finland's momentum. Finland take the second map and the series.

Another quick game as Finland outclasses Australia. There were still some mistakes from the Finns but the real test comes when they play their Round 3 game against South Korea, there will not be room for any mistakes in that one and we will have to wait and see if they are up to the challenge.

Group D

China vs Singapore

King's Row

Singapore attack first and they seem much more together as a unit than on Day 1, capturing the first point after a couple of attempts and start moving it down the streets stage. China's quality shone through though, getting more value out of their ultimates and shutting down Singapore before the second point. YjjPP impressed on Mei.

China starts with YjjPP on Pharah and he shows Colbat how it should have been done, fragging both supports on the first point. YjjPP followed this up with a triple kill with his Barrage in the streets phase and that was the end of Map 1.

Hanamura

Singapore starts the attack struggling to make an impact until they are almost out of time and they make the cap. Singapore's lack of experience shows as they attempt to attack Hanamura's difficult Point B. Singapore get split up on every attempted attack and China handle them all with ease.

China move onto attack having only conceded one point. China force their way in to Point A gaining great positional advantage that they swiftly turn into a successful capture. Point B proves much more difficult for China who struggle to get into the point cleanly, with Doubted doing great work for Singapore on Reinhardt. In the end though his efforts prove fruitless as China finally get into the point not losing anyone while gaining two frags that gave them the platform to focus down the remaining four players.

France vs Thailand

King's Row

This game was a must win for Thailand after having lost to China in a tight series on Day 1. France begins on attack and keep pushing convincingly until the last stretch. Thailand finally stop France here with 4:50 still left on the clock but France only need two minutes before completing the map.

Thailand move onto attack and a poor showing on defence. Thailand eventually wins a long brawl on the first point thanks to an overextension from Mickalow. A valiant series of pushes from Thailand force France all the way back to the last part of the final stage but France always seem to have enough ultimates to fend off Thailand. Map 1 ends with France winning.

Hanamura

France attack first but are majorly delayed by a Symmetra Teleporter and NzNr's Mei play. France eventually cap out Point A despite using most of their initial time, then continue to struggle on Point B. NzNr continues to impress as Mei, while France never really find enough damage or kills to convert Point B. Kryw on McCree and DeGuN on Genji could not find the kills. This seemed to be a symptom of France's lack of hero pool; they seemed unwilling to change until towards the end. Swapping KnOxXx to D.Va and Kryw to Zarya but this made no difference. France finishes only capturing one point.

Thailand was stalled out for quite a while on first point with DeGuN taking his turn to show off his Mei mechanics. Thailand still capped Point A in a better time than France and left with over 5 minutes to take Point B. They took it on their second attempt, focusing frags and clearing the point to tie the series up.

Lijang Tower

Garden: France wins the first fight with DeGuN on Reaper and he follows that up with four kills from a Nano-Blossom. oPuTo takes Genji instead of Roadhog to be less vulnerable to DeGuN and it pays off quickly giving Thailand control of the point that they never gave up after retaking. Thailand gains the first round.

Night Market: KnOxXx takes Reaper and is replaced by Kryw on Zarya, an odd decision. I imagine KnOxXx feels like he was not doing enough on Zarya so gave it to the Zarya main, Kryw. It does not pay off, oPuTo and NzNr are outplaying DeGuN and KnOxXx on the DPS heroes and France go 2-0 down and are looking desperate on this koth map.

Control Center: Mickie and oPuTo give Thailand an early lead on this do or die round for France. Kryw drags his team back into the game with a Graviton Surge as Thailand reach 89% before losing the point. Kryw has been pumping out damage non-stop since he switched to Zarya and DeGuN finally starts to find kills with the Dragonblade to help France take their first round.

Garden: Mickie kicks the round off with some wonderful Zarya play really showing the capabilities of the hero but France will not surrender. Kryw and DeGuN combine again to pull France through to a victory to tie it up 2-2 despite being 75% down to begin with.

Control Center: Not many hero changes since the earlier rounds but towards the end of the last round KnOxXx swapped to McCree and continues with him this round. KnOxXx helps his team to some early team fight wins racking up 50%. oPuTo who has been quiet recently shows back up with a crucial three kill to retake the point. Then oPuTo helps shut down the next push despite DeGuN reflecting NzNr's Blizzard. oPuTo continues his impressive fragging this round to help Thailand take the series.

An incredible game to finish the day, once again a Thailand game goes all the way to the final round of the final map but this time Thailand come out on top. This means Group D is the only group without the top two decided. France have a must win game against China tomorrow, if they do this will force a three way tie. That is presuming Thailand beat Singapore.

Despite six of the top eight teams already being decided there is a lot to play for in Day 3 as the seedings are still wide open. Each team will want to gain top seed to avoid the toughest competition until the latter stages of the tournament. Sweden vs Spain, United States vs Russia, Finland vs South Korea and France vs China. Day 3 of the Overwatch World Cup is going to be incredible and will be the first time we get to see how many of these teams stack up against top opposition.

Xavier 'CommanderX' Hardy is a former top level Team Fortress 2 Caster and Analyst.
Follow @Xavierhardy8