osu!mania 7K World Cup 2025: Round of 32 Recap

The first round of many came by. Let's catch up with one of the wildest starts to a tournament we've ever seen!

While the Qualifiers have been full of surprises, nobody could expect the many secrets that the Round of 32 was going to reveal: multiple neck-and-neck matches to rising stars showing their worth. Who knows what the future holds for us. With a beginning this exciting, anything is possible!

On a side note, the MWC 7K 2025 support banners went up for sale last week. For those who would wish to support their favourite team(s), now is the time to make it known on your profiles! Thanks to the community's support, we can enjoy a tournament packed full of surprises and enjoyment for players and spectators alike.

For those who prefer enjoying the recap in a video format, SurfChu85 and yukina meng have made that possible by providing you with a bite-sized version of the recap.

Mappool recap

Download the pool here! (54 MB)

As is customary, the first pool tends to have quite a drop-off in difficulty compared to the Qualifiers. This time around however, things wouldn't be as easy for our players, especially those high above the seeding charts. Everyone had to play to win their spot in the next round's winners' bracket!

Some of our readers and viewers from previous World Cups may've recognised Sparxe - Switcheroo (RC5) mapped by Maxus and Tedjimo yomigY - Usuva Kagerow (HB1) mapped by _Yiiiii. These were osu! originals from the osu!taiko World Cup 2024, now repurposed and reimagined for the osu!mania World Cup.

But as alluded to in last week's recap, the pools to come — including this one — feature a new skill set never tested in cups prior: LN inverses. Embodied by Neko Hacker - Shadows feat. Such (LN1) mapped by SurfChu85, it's a test of players' finger independence as well as their noodle reading ability. A very polarising pick for sure, but a threat that players will have to face in all of the upcoming rounds!

Another stand-out of this round must've been Xyris - Crash-Landing Rendezvous (HB3) mapped by Irone OSU. The mappooling team has slightly repurposed the slot by using it as a "mini-TB". This will be one of the hardest, if not the hardest, maps on the pool, not just because of its length, but also for its full-flavour assortment of patterns and skill sets it will be testing in one go. Players can only expect everything everywhere all at once.

While we unfortunately have no new osu! originals to cover for this week's pool, don't worry! There are lots of surprises to come, and osu!'s musical repertoire is bound to be one of them.

Round of 32 summary

While we always try to enjoy new World Cups with the least amount of prejudices possible, it is hard to deny that most people believe the Round of 32 ends up being quite predictable at times.

And while we haven't got any groundbreaking upsets, we've sure had our fair share of close calls and breathtaking matches to enjoy! As expected, these matches came from closely matched teams, fighting for their survival in the middle of the seeding chart.

Our writers have curated the following highlights from the most exciting matches this round had to offer. From 53-point wins to teams denying expectations of full sweeps, we got you covered!

Spain vs. Sweden

You can view the match information here!
You can view the match VOD here!

The match between Spain (#16) and Sweden (#17) must have been one of the most polarising, yet closely tied matches witnessed this weekend, which shouldn't come as a surprise considering our contestants were basically seed siblings! A battle to test a the versatility and consistency of Sweden, versus the accuracy and precision of Spain.

The teams wasted no time showing their strengths and weaknesses right off the first two maps played. Keen-eyed viewers must've noticed how Luqas678 and Manuel-san_UWU's ratios overpowered their opponents in MisomyL - Catalinésie (RC1) on their very first pick. Sweden took no time whatsoever to recover, picking Neko Hacker - Shadows feat. Such (LN1) and completely shadowing Spain's scores with an eye-watering 170,632-point lead thanks to Craty and Henkayy's efforts!

But that loss did not discourage Spain, as they quickly got back on their feet, winning map after map. By winning their break point, Spain managed to reach a lead of 4–1. With a clever use of what could very well be their last pick, Sweden chose AAAA + yadrigg - Sakase Natsuzora, Koi no Hana. (LN3) to try and gain some ground. It was not an easy task as Spain's accuracy far surpassed their opponents', but thanks to Manuel-san_UWU's series of misses, the balance quickly shifted towards Sweden that managed to stay afloat, managing to overturn Spain's counter pick.

With one point short of a tie, Sweden took a risky gamble and chose Spain's protect, Tedjimo yomigY - Usuva Kagerow (HB1). This precarious gambit would end up sealing this match's fate, but not without giving Spain a run for their money! Were it not be for Luqas678's impressive full combo, we may've been recapping the tiebreaker between our two teams.

With all of that said, we believe this match was a testament on how important it is to play with your strengths and against your opponents' weaknesses. Both teams held an edge over the other's blind spots. This match was not only fought through technical skill alone, but won through strategy and thoughtful choices.

France vs. Macau

You can view the match information here!
You can view the match VOD here!

One of our most interesting matches this weekend must've been between France (#15) and Macau (#18). While France has had a consistent presence in the tournament for many years now, this is the first time since 2019 that Macau has made it to the elimination phase. A considerable feat all things considered, if we take into account the fact that Macau only disposed of two players, as opposed to France's more robust roster of four. An unusual match to experience for sure.

Our first surprise was Macau's lack of bans nor protects prepared in advance. After discussing it in game, they opted to protect HB3 and ban RC3. France took the chance and picked Xyris - Crash-Landing Rendezvous (HB3). With quite an unbalanced team score, France won the point with 3,440 points of margin to spare, beginning the match with a break point right off the bat.

After another discussion, Macau decided to pick rerulili - Noushou Sakuretsu Girl (Cut Ver.) (RC2). This time, France let Mokett tag in, using this chance to show off their great ratio. France began with a 16,000-point lead, showing a clear difference in the teams' ratios. Unfortunately, both Mokett and Milla[Monkey] missed at almost the same time. Despite's Macau's efforts, they managed to lose with only a 42-point difference. The smallest point difference in the entirety of the round!

Now with a 2–0 lead from France, they picked Sparxe - Switcheroo (RC5) in the hopes of gaining more ground. Much to their dismay, they weren't so lucky this time. Randumbs and idqoos123 won the point with a small 2,697-point lead. Unbeknownst to France's strengths, Macau picked their opponent's protected map, that being Neko Hacker - Shadows feat. Such (LN1). Thanks to their strong LN coordination skills, France easily won the map by a landslide.

By taking advantage of Macau's bold gamble, France picked rejection - White Canvas (feat. Aitsuki Nakuru) (osu! edit) (LN2). Much to their surprise however, Macau was able to pick up the pace and keep a double FC for quite a long time, while France was struggling to keep up. With an impressive score of 977,806 from idqoos123, the tally was 3–2 now. Macau picked the very last long note pick remaining, AAAA + yadrigg - Sakase Natsuzora, Koi no Hana. (LN3), but thanks to Mokett's impressive 984,011 full combo, Macau wasn't able to even the score due to their less impressive ratio, giving France both break and match points.

France's last pick ended up being II-L - VANGUARD-3 (RC4), letting Whirst do the heavy lifting. Unfortunately, Mokett's combo wasn't able to match up to their peer's. Even with Macau's loss of accuracy on the very last segment, they were still able to hold up with a meager 153-point advantage — yet another minute difference in scores! As their last pick, Macau chose BPM15Q - Kyo You Mu (HB2). Thanks to Randumbs's impressive 974,493 play and both of the players' efforts, it was time to break the tie that this last map produced.

Saying that the tiebreaker was hard would be an understatement. Despite fighting tooth and nail, France managed to stay on top with their lead in ratio. While France may be going into the next round facing China, Macau's surely left a mark with their impressive performance this match, having to face Mexico in the round to come.

Venezuela vs. Canada

You can view the match information here!
You can view the match VOD here!

As the week came to a close, there was but one more surprise awaiting us in the match against Venezuela (#12) and Canada (#21)! Everyone's expectations were sky-high, as this was the first time Venezuela had the chance to go against Canada in a World Cup match, who reached Semifinals just last year. Nobody expected the roller coaster of emotions to ensue, ending in a nerve-wracking tiebreaker to decide the victor.

The first map chosen was Tedjimo yomigY - Usuva Kagerow (HB1). A gruelling battle of precision, only won by a fairly narrow margin of 5,360 points in favour of Venezuela, managing to maintain their cool till the very end. The next three maps also ended in victory for Venezuela, who extended their lead by such large, seemingly uncontested margins. At this point, many viewers thought the match would end in a complete sweep in favour of Venezuela.

But lo and behold, everything changed when Canada took a gamble and chose Neko Hacker - Shadows feat. Such (LN1), a map that featured the new LN inverse category not seen in previous tournaments. This proved to be very effective however, as the map's style played very well with Canada's strengths, managing to secure their first win of the match! This substantially boosted the team's morale as they managed to win point after point thereafter. Despite the multiple close calls experienced by Canada, they managed to tie things up with Venezuela, forcing a tiebreaker to be played.

Tiebreakers had been a sore spot for Canada, as they had previously lost a crucial match against China in a past World Cup. However, despite their determination and past grievances, Venezuela managed to come back from their slump and maintain their concentration and advantage all throughout the map, ending ~30,000 points ahead of their opponent! Nobody was expecting such a match full of highlights, subverting everyone's initial expectations, and turning into a dramatic reversal that ultimately got resolved in a decisive tiebreaker.

But be not mistaken, as while Venezuela will get to continue their journey in the winners' bracket, Canada has proven that they're a force to be reckoned with. They're not out of the game yet, so keep your eyes peeled for their next move!

For this week's round of interviews, and as a fitting conclusion to this fantastic match we bore witness to, we've got the chance to host an interview with Adogg145. Venezuela's captain and arepa extraordinaire, we'd like to get some insight from one of the most interesting teams currently competing this year.

Score highlights

The increase of teams from 24 last year to 32 gave us a bigger player pool to look at when looking for amazing scores to highlight this weekend. Here are some scores that we think are worth shouting out:

• Panda Eyes & Teminite - Highscore (Cut Ver.) (RC3) featured two high scores (see what we did there?) from butanic and Kalkai. butanic obtained 19x300 on their run versus Thailand, and Kalkai achieved their 16x300 against Czechia.
• We'd also like to give a shout to some lesser-known players such as Arcaxio, who topped the leaderboard in II-L - VANGUARD-3 (RC4) with the only 990,000+ score on this chart over the weekend on their match against Germany.
• Neko Hacker - Shadows feat. Such (LN1) featured a skill set new to MWC 7K, and we already have some names to look for upon its mention by the way of af- and Sanni who both obtained 991,000+ scores on the chart.

Stay tuned for the streams and recaps to come! Join us on osulive or osulive_2 to bear witness of upcoming matches from a first row seat. For those eager to delve deeper into this round's statistics, the wiki article will be your best friend.

But until then, we hope you enjoyed this week's matches to the fullest! We can only wish for that passion of yours to continue throughout the tournament.

—RandomeLoL, Maxus, SurfChu85, [GB]yobrevelc