“We have a real local scene with this OWCS program. We have fans in Korea, Japan, and the Pacific, and local fans help each other build up the community.”
The Overwatch Champions Series (OWCS) World Finals at DreamHack Stockholm marks the culmination of the circuit’s top teams from North America (NA), Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), and Asia. Among the crowd watching the competition is OWCS Asia program lead Craig Cheon, who sat down with esports.gg for an interview! He shared his thoughts on OWCS Asia's Korean and Japanese scene plus the increase of fans through watch parties, player storylines, and more.
OWCS Asia interview with Craig Cheon
In his interview with esports.gg, Cheon emphasized the strength of OWCS Asia, particularly its fanbase in Korea. He shared that the revival of offline events in the region led to nearly every season's watch parties by WDG eSports Studio selling out. According to him, since OWCS Asia's regions are home to some of the best players, it’s only natural that they boast the largest fanbases.
"In Korea and Asia, we have huge fanbases who cannot really come to Sweden," Cheon revealed. "So we try to organize viewing parties for the fans who want to cheer for their teams in person. We organized a viewing party by inviting Korean casters and fans to a venue, and then they can just cheer each other [on] and then [have as close to a] live experiences as possible."
He continued, recalling how the main event for OWCS Asia Stage 2 happened in Busan. There, Team Falcons took home the gold while Crazy Raccoon earned the silver. These results advanced both teams to the OWCS World Finals at DreamHack Stockholm.
"We had the last Asian finals in Busan, and fans were really excited about having that in Busan for the first time," Cheon said. "That memory and experience was really, really awesome for me."
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OWCS Japan and the power of community
Cheon then shared his thoughts on Japan's Overwatch 2 esports scene, noting the energy and growth within the community. He pointed out the compelling story of Nozl, who balanced competing in the OWCS while maintaining a full-time job. He even practiced on his laptop during business trips. This dedication captivated fans and generated lots of buzz within the Japanese community.
This story resonated across the NA and EMEA OWCS audiences as well. In another interview with esports.gg, OWCS product lead Bailey McCann revealed that Nozl actually had a match right after work while on one of the aforementioned business trips. The player ended up duking it out on a trackpad in his hotel room.
To Cheon, seeing player stories like this and meeting excited fans in person at live events makes what he does worth it. "We have a real local scene with this OWCS program," he said. "We have fans in Korea, Japan, and the Pacific, and local fans help each other build up the community. Meeting those fans and then hearing [about] their [excitement for] this program — that's really worth it for me."
OWCS Asia 2025 gives rise to more community growth
As for parting words, Cheon said that he's excited about the OWCS Asia program in 2025. The program will include the new studio in Hongdae, Korea, to accommodate more fans. He also mentioned expanding Japan’s teams from eight to 12, which will further increase community involvement.
"We are launching the new studio in Hongdae, which is a really, really popular area in Korea where youngsters are spending time together. [It's also] the center of the university, so I'm very excited to have that venue. We're gonna have more capacity. And in Japan, we are extending the number of teams from eight to 12."
That's all for now. Stick around on esports.gg for more Overwatch 2 interviews, news, and updates!
