For the first time ever, the FIFA World Cup and the FIFA Interactive World Cup will collide as 20 of the best FIFA 14 players take their place in Brazil among world class footballers. Whittled down from almost two million players, the twenty gamers to make it to the grand finals fought tooth and nail to make it to Brazil.
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Road to the grand final
The road to the grand final was no easy feat, with the qualifiers starting in October of 2013. There were six online qualification seasons, from which the top two players from each advanced to the grand final. Alongside these 12 players are the six winners of each season’s community qualifier, which was introduced this year to recognize the players who have the skill but not the gameplay time needed in order to qualify. The community qualifier spot was given to the player with the best win-loss ratio of the season. Inkeeping with the FIFA World Cup, the defending champion (Bruce Grannec) and a champion from the host country (Rafael Fortes) will make up the last two spots.
Source: Facebook.com/FWIC
The groups are drawn
The groups for the grand final were drawn yesterday in the company of two footballing legends, Dwight Yorke and Dunga, bridging the gap between real and virtual football. The players’ names were divided into five pots according to their seeding, which takes into account the performance of the players in the past four editions of the Interactive World Cup. The groups were drawn with a player from each pot, making four groups of five players.
|
Group A |
Group B |
Group C |
Group D |
|
August Rosenmeier (DEN) |
Bruce Grannec (FRA) |
Krasimir Ivanov (BUL) |
Ovidiu Patrascu (ROU) |
|
Ty Walton (ENG) |
Alban Xhemajli (NED) |
Adam Johnston (IRL) |
David Bytheway (ENG) |
|
Michael Ribeiro (USA) |
Anders Bollerup (DEN) |
Steven van de Vorst (NED) |
Farid Diffallah (FRA) |
|
Jorrick Boshove (NED) |
Marian Avram (ROU) |
Johann Simon (FRA) |
Irving Velazquez (MEX) |
|
Tihomir Kolev (BUL) |
Rafael Fortes (BRA) |
Adrien Viaud (FRA) |
Julien Dassonville (FRA) |
The group stage and the quarter finals will take place today (July the 2nd) at one of the oldest stadiums in Brazil, the Estadio das Laranjeiras. The four players who navigate their way through the quarter finals will face off tomorrow (July the 3rd) at Sugarloaf Mountain. The pressure will be on as Dwight Yorke and Brazil’s own Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima will be in attendance to watch the showdown.
Who will emerge victorious from this year’s FIFA Interactive World Cup? French player Bruce Grannec will definitely be hoping to cling onto his title with a third FIWC victory. The crowd favorite will assuredly be Brazil’s Rafael Fortes, who will use the energy from his supporters to try and bring home the title. Alternatively, perhaps August Rosenmeier, who has qualified for the past two grand finals, will finally bring home the trophy.
Source: Facebook.com/FIWC
FIFA prestige
In the realm of video games, FIFA is surrounded by as much prestige as the World Cup. Released in 1993, it is the longest running football gaming series, the best-selling football game and recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest online gaming tournament. The winners of the tournament will go home with US$20,000, two invites to the Ballon d’Or Gala and the FIFA Interactive World Cup trophy!
Watch on Twitch | Watch on YouTube
If you’re suffering withdrawal symptoms from the rest days of the World Cup, make sure you tune in to the FIFA Interactive World Cup to get your football fix. You can watch today at 18:00 CEST and tomorrow at 21:00 CEST over at Twitch.tv or YouTube - make sure you catch all the FIFA 14 action!
