Jessica S. August 14, 2018
Jake “JAKE” Lyon announced on Twitter that he would be joining Andrew “ZP” Rush in casting the second Overwatch World Cup.
In a follow-up tweet, JAKE said that he was not retiring from professional play, but that he just wanted to try something new. He is paired with veteran Overwatch caster ZP who casted the first World Cup and has been casting games for various tournaments and competitions, including Contenders North America with James “Jamerson” Lee.
Confirmed talent for the rest of the casters consists of familiar personalities such as Alex “Goldenboy” Mendez, Malik Forté, Seth “Achilios” King, Wolf Scroeder, Harry “LegDay” Pollitt, and Jack “Jaws” Wright.
A comment on reddit by ZP revealed that he and JAKE would be color casters and that they pair had done a good amount of practice in the last few days to prepare for the first group stage. He also noted that the World Cup won’t have an analyst desk.
Before Overwatch League Season 1 even ended, it had been rumored that JAKE was going to cast instead of play since his declining to try out for team USA. He had previously hinted that he had “bigger plans” for this year’s World Cup.
The casting team will travel to South Korea, America, Thailand, and France for the group stage before ending at Blizzcon for the playoffs in Anaheim, California.
JAKE will travel to Incheon, South Korea to cast the first round of matches starting August 17.