Following yesterday’s intense group-phase action, the 16 quarter-finalists in the Xbox One and Playstation 4 divisions resumed hostilities on Thursday. Germany’s DETO and England’s GORILLA are in the driving seat ahead of the second legs of the division finals on Friday. The two winners will advance to the Grand Final, which will decide who is crowned the FIWC 2017 champion.

Memorable moments*The coach with the most*: TIMOX was not tipped to beat ICEPRINCIPE ahead of their PS4 semi-final, but the German showed nerves of steel to down the Italian 4-2 in the first leg. Beaten 3-1 in the second, he sealed victory with a golden goal in the decisive third match, thanks in part to a motivational pep talk from his coach, Ehran Kayman, who said: “I just told him before the match that he was the better player. He’s only 20 and he needs motivating. For the third match, I told him to be patient and not to go for all-out attack.”

Back in the big time: With two previous FIWC appearances to his name, including a place in the 2011 final, JANOZ is one of the most experienced players at this year’s Grand Final. Six years on from that run, the Colombian returned with a bang. Though he only just made it to the quarters, he caused quite a stir with a 6-1 aggregate defeat of France’s ROCKYY. His comeback ended with a 6-2 Xbox One semi-final loss to GORILLA, a player he had beaten in the group phase.

Germans impress: Germany has six players at the Grand Final, more than any other country. Four of them made it out of the groups, three of them in PS4, which then saw two all-German knockout matches. After beating compatriot MO_AUBAMEYANG 4-2 over two legs, DETO edged out TIMOX1-0 in the first leg of the PS4 final. Over in Xbox, meanwhile, CODYDERFINISHER advanced to the final but now has it all to do against GORILLA in tomorrow’s second leg.

The stat 17- the number of goals GORILLA scored in his five matches today, underlining his status as tournament favourite.

What they said“It’s not necessarily an advantage to take on players you play against a lot. I’ve played MO_AUBAMEYANG and TIMOX many times and I know them well. I always find it tough because it’s hard for me to take them by surprise.” Playstation 4 finalist DETO

The programme  18 August: Division finals, final (16:30-18:30)