Sunday 04 August 2019, 19:00

'MoAuba' crowned FIFA eWorld Cup champion 

  • 'MoAuba' wins his first eWorld Cup, bags USD 250,000 prize

  • Buoyant crowd at The O2 in London take in EA SPORTS FIFA bonanza

  • On-field football stars watched competitive FIFA's finest

Thirty-two kicked off the FIFA eWorld Cup™ on Friday morning and one winner was crowned on Sunday evening at The O2 in London. 'MoAuba' was named the EA SPORTS FIFA 19 king, beating defending champion 'MsDossary' 3-2 on aggregate in the Final Showdown to become the first German to conquer the competition. The trophy was presented to him by Crystal Palace and Côte d'Ivoire star Wilfried Zaha and FIFA's Chief Digital Transformation & Innovation Officer Luis Vicente.

The action at the iconic arena was played out in front of a buoyant crowd, which included FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019™ adidas Silver Ball winner Lucy Bronze, who carried out the eWorld Cup trophy ahead of the Final Showdown, fellow England international Keira Walsh and two-time Premier League winner Dimitar Berbatov. Many more tuned in around the world via the many live streams broadcasted in six different languages.

As well as boasting the prestige of being global champion and getting his hands on the trophy, 'MoAuba' also bagged a life-changing USD 250,000 and an exclusive trip to this year’s The Best FIFA Football Awards.

“I can’t believe it," 'MoAuba' said after his triumph. "It was such a hard run [in the knockout phase] playing against ‘Pinna97’, ‘Maestro’ and ‘Nicolas99fc’. I didn’t think I’d win those games, but I beat them all. I didn’t expect this, it’s unbelievable.

"I started with four wins [in the group stage] and in the knockout rounds, I played well. It’s crazy that I beat ‘MsDossary'."

While naturally despondent to lose in the Final Showdown, runner-up 'MsDossary' nonetheless walked away as the champion of his console and a USD 100,000 prize. FIFA.com recaps an action-packed day.

Semis start the day with a bang

Before the action got underway at The O2 in London, fans were treated to an exclusive sneak peak of FIFA 20 before its official release - getting to grips with the game the pros and millions of others around the world will be playing soon.

Having navigated through the ultra-competitive groups and the ruthless early rounds of the knockouts, the four remaining contestants took centre stage. 'MsDossary' came back from a first-leg defeat to advance from the Xbox side after getting the better of 'Rafsou' in the return tie, while 'MoAuba' soon joined him in the Final Showdown after seeing off 'Nicolas99fc' in a gripping semi-final on the PlayStation side. 'Nicolas99fc' bagged a dramatic late equaliser to take the game to extra time at 5-5, but 'MoAuba' held his cool to advance after winning a nail-biting penalty shoot-out.

All eyes on Final Showdown

The FIFA 19 season came to a climax on Sunday evening when 'MoAuba' and 'MsDossary' went head to head for competitive FIFA's biggest prize after overcoming formidable opposition. In the first leg of the Final Showdown, 'MoAuba' earned a 1-1 draw on his opponent's preferred Xbox console, setting up a tantalising finale on the PlayStation in the second leg. It was the German who held firm, beating last year's champion 3-2 on aggregate.

The eWorld Cup trophy was not the only award handed over on the final day. Before the Final Showdown, Berbatov presented the adidas #DareToCreate award to runner-up 'MsDossary' – an accolade which recognises the most creative goal or moment at the Grand Final, voted for by fans on social media.

Additionally, emerging hip-hop artist 'Deekayy' was crowned the FIFA Head 2 Head Freestyle Champion 2019 ahead of the FIFA 19 showpiece decider. At a venue synonymous with music, a FIFA and Mixtape Madness collaboration saw four rappers demonstrate their lyrical skills with 'Big Jest' and 'Deekayy' progressing to the final. The latter was proclaimed the winner after a social media and in-crowd vote at The O2 in London.

What they said

'MoAuba'

“I didn’t expect this. I thought I’d reach the quarter-finals or semi-finals. On FIFA, you have to be there on the day, it’s not important how you do throughout the year. I didn’t think a German would win it because there were three players in 'Tekkz', 'Nicolas99fc' and 'MsDossary' that are on another level than us all. They’re still on another level because they’re so constant. You have to have luck and be in great form."

Mo Harkous (MoAuba) of Germany celebrates victory following the FIFA eWorld Cup Final

'MsDossary'

"Obviously I’m sad but Mo deserved the win. Congratulations to him. I will get a new [eWorld Cup trophy] either next year or the year after."

Lucy Bronze

"Pressure always plays a part in big games. You have to play it like any other game, you have to keep your head, keep calm and pretend like no-one’s watching. People say it’s hard to get to the top but it’s even harder to stay there. That shows the true quality of a top, top player – someone who can not only get there, but stay there and be consistent."

Wilfried Zaha

"It’s exciting. There are a lot of people here and it's crazy how the competitors are able to play so well on both Xbox and PlayStation. I’m glad to be here and happy to be a part of it. They’re playing for pride and so much money. It’s crazy watching all the chances they’re getting and when the ball bobbles in the box, it's nerve-wrecking. I’m decent at FIFA - I beat all of my friends and everyone at Palace knows what I’m about. I would put myself as one of the top five FIFA players in the Premier League."

The stat

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