osu!catch World Cup 2019: Group Stage Recap

Summer is upon us and the time is ripe for another fruity fiesta! Featuring the finest catchers and dashers from around the world, the 2019 edition of the osu!catch World Cup is underway! Read on to find out what went down in the Group Stages, and how you can keep up with all of the tournament's delicious developments!

The eight edition of the osu!catch World Cup has begun in earnest, with another thirty-two teams of intrepid fruit-catchers competing for the coveted title of osu!catch Champions. This past weekend marked the completion of the Group Stages - easily one of the most fiercely competitive fields in recent memory - and saw sixteen teams rise to the occasion.

Weren't able to follow the action live and want to find out how your favourite teams fared? Or longing to relive the hype and the heartbreak all over again? Fret not, for VODs from throughout the Group Stages are available on the osu!live Twitch channel!

If you're stretched for time and looking for a speedy summary of the Group Stage's greatest hits, feel free to read on below!

Group Stage

Saturday kicked off with a bang, as three-time Champions South Korea clashed with perennial underdogs Hong Kong in a scramble for supremacy over Group G - this year's "Group of Death", which also featured two-time podium finishers Indonesia. At the same time, China - also three-time Champions - put on a dominant display in three back-to-back matches against Japan, The Netherlands and Australia to top Group B. The opening block concluded with a tense TieBreaker victory on Rita - dorchadas for Taiwan over Norway, just an hour after Taiwan had been on the losing end of another TieBreaker with The Philippines, leaving Group E balanced precariously.

The second block turned the excitement up to eleven, with two further TieBreakers - the first between Russia and The United States after a last-gasp disconnect for rostld on the NoMod pick zakuro - Inochi ni Kirawarete Iru. snatched almost certain victory and sparked a Russian revival. Two hours later, in an almost identically tragic disconnect for Italian stalwart ArMa79 in the closing seconds of the deciding point, Mexico scraped their first victory of the tournament and condemned Italy to a Group Stage exit.

Hong Kong again opened proceedings on the Sunday, this time in a remarkable crushing victory over Indonesia to rally after the previous day's loss. The remaining Group G matches unfolded thick and fast, with South Korea and Hong Kong rising to the occasion and denying Indonesia the opportunity to reach a fifth consecutive Finals Week. Poland also recovered strongly from an opening loss to surprise Top Seeds Finland to secure qualification in Group A, whilst Brazil joined Sweden as one of two Unseeded teams progressing to the knockout stages by defeating the returning Romania.

In the closing stages of the day, France completed a hat-trick of comfortable victories to qualify from Group H, with Germany holding their nerve against a determined Argentinian roster to top group D. Fittingly, the Group Stage culminated with more drama in a high-stakes, do-or-die match between Canada and Mexico for the second qualification spot in Group F. In a match that consisted almost entirely of break points, Canada made a spirited recovery from 4-2 down to force a final TieBreaker. The scoreline flickered back and forth throughout, with all players carrying their team's hopes and dreams at some point, but ultimately it would be the Mexicans that held their nerve to claim a nail-biting 5,000 point victory.

Upcoming Stage – Round of 16

If the skill gap between teams was closer than ever in the Group Stage, you can bet your hat on even more close encounters, epic comebacks and surprise upsets in next week's Round of 16! The top half of the bracket features a number of intense local rivalries, including an all-Scandinavian clash between Finland and Sweden, a South American derby pitting last year's third place Chile against Brazil, and three-time Champions China against neighbours Hong Kong. A not-so-local but still gripping match between The Philippines and The United Kingdom rounds out the top half - two teams with underperforming osu!catch World Cup pasts and a lot to prove.

In the lower half of the bracket, The Netherlands have the unwelcome task of slaying three-time Champions and tournament favourites South Korea, whilst Taiwan and Germany should be a hotly anticipated, back-and-forth affair between two evenly-matched opponents. Last year's runners up The United States clash with neighbours Mexico, and Poland finally break their curse of always encountering China in the Round of 16 by drawing an impressive-looking French side.

Summary

From casual fans riding the World Cup hype train, to the most avid of fruit fanatics, be sure not to miss out on all the tournament action! Next week's Round of 16 matchups will test our remaining players' speed, skill and endurance ever higher, so make sure to stay tuned to the osu!live Twitch channel and follow @osugame on Twitter to stay catch all the action and stay notified of updates, scheduling and live broadcasts.

If national pride is the order of the day, or if you just wish to show your undying love and support for your favourite players, profile banners for the remaining 16 teams will once again be available to purchase from the osu!store in the very near future, so keep a close eye out!

The following weeks' matches are sure to be full to the brim with more fantastic fruit action, so hopefully you’re just as excited for the remainder of this year's osu!catch World Cup as I am! I look forward to seeing you all this weekend for the Round of 16 and beyond!

—JBHyperion