After 11 hours and 23 hard-fought battles, the 2019 Overwatch World Cup has its top 10 countries—Canada, China, Denmark, France, Netherlands, Russia, South Korea, Sweden, United Kingdom, and USA—set for the group stage play on the first day of BlizzCon proper. 

Across five single-elimination brackets, 28 teams were in action on four simultaneous streams—an Overwatch esports first—in an action-packed schedule. In Bracket A, New Zealand and Australia put on a show, the Pacific region neighbors pushing each other to a tiebreaker. However, it was Denmark swooping in to top the group, sweeping Australia 3-0 to clinch their spot. Bracket B posed little trouble for Team United Kingdom, who swept both of their opponents aside to advance.

Bracket C nearly produced a Cinderella story, as unheralded Italy survived a six-map thriller against Japan before pushing Sweden to five maps, led by the inspirational Sigma play of Edmondo “DragonEddy” Cerini. Still, the Swedes pulled through, redeeming themselves from last year’s poor performance.

Every single match in Bracket D ended in a sweep, and it was the Russian Federation going through. Finally, in the last battle of the night, the Netherlands proved themselves worthy by defeating Finland 3-0 to confirm their spot in the top 10. 

Check out the best photos from the first day of the Overwatch World Cup!

Action resumes at approximately 12:15 p.m. PT tomorrow, Nov. 1.