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The Spanish capital is the venue for the European FUT Champions Season 2 regional final this Saturday 6 May
Several star names who fell by the wayside at the Season 1 event in Paris will be seeking to make amends
Eight tickets to the FIFA 17 Ultimate Team Championship, to take place in Berlin on 19 and 20 May, are up for grabs
This Saturday, the best 32 European gamers from FUT Champions Season 2 will be descending on Madrid, where the top eight performers will book themselves a berth in Berlin. This event represents a second chance for six of the participants, who contested – and failed to progress from – the Season 1 regional final in Paris, back in February. There will be a number of other familiar faces in action, with several players who have featured at previous editions of the FIWC Grand Final among the field, including a former world champion.
What's the format?The participants will be divided into two divisions, PS4 and Xbox One, each of which will comprise four groups of four players. The top two players in each group will qualify for their respective knockout phase, in which a double-elimination rule applies. The champions of the Xbox and PlayStation 4 tournaments will then lock horns in the final, which will be played over two legs, one on each console. The aggregate winner over the two matches will capture the overall title.
Players to watchAfter a disappointing showing in Paris, 2014 world champion August 'Agge' Rosenmeier will be desperate to atone and live up to his credentials this time around. His Paris Saint-Germain team-mate, the French youngster Lucas 'Daxe' Cuillerier, will be equally keen to make the most of this second bite at the cherry. Meanwhile, Harry-John 'Hashtag Harry' Hesketh and Ivan 'Hashtag Boras' Lapanje** **will be raring to join their own team-mate, 'Hashtag Tass', in Berlin.
Another player worth keeping an eye on is Schalke's Tim 'TIM LATKA' Schwartmann, who will be contesting his second regional final. This is also the case for Erhan 'DrErhano' Kayman who, just like Michael 'MegaBit' Bittner, Niklas 'NRaseck' Raseck and Sean 'Dragon' Allen, will be seeking to draw on his experience at the FIWC Grand Final. Speaking of which, Ty 'Ty Walton' Walton– a veritable FIWC veteran – will also be in the fray. Last but not least, Spencer 'Gorilla' Ealing, considered one of the world's best gamers by his peers, has a golden opportunity to justify his glowing reputation.
Sights set on Berlin–and London!The best eight players in Madrid will go on to Berlin, where they will take on the cream of the crop from the rest of the world for the chance to showcase their considerable virtual football skills on the biggest stage at the FIWC 2017 Grand Final, to be held in London.