Best in the World
A Danish gamer has been crowned the official FIFA World champion, beating more than 2 million players to the coveted number one spot.
Mohamad Al-Bacha was crowned the FIFA Interactive World Cup (FIWC) Champion after beating Sean Allen of England in the Grand Final event at the world famous Apollo Theater in New York City earlier this month.
Al-Bacha was presented with his trophy by FIFA World Cup winner and New York City FC Captain, David Villa.
The Dane also received a cheque for $20,000 and an invitation to attend FIFA’s annual awards ceremony for the world’s best football players, the FIFA Ballon d’Or in Zurich.
“To win the competition is beyond words for me,” Al-Bacha said.
“For the last few months I have really worked on my performance and was totally committed to playing the best I could here in New York.
“Being presented with the winner’s trophy by David Villa is amazing and I can’t quite believe this is reality yet.”
In a thrilling two-legged final, with one leg played on PlayStation4 and one on Xbox One, Allen played with Brazil before Al-Bacha swooped to victory playing as France.
Trailing 3-1 in the second leg, following a 2-2 draw in the first, Al-Bacha scored two goals, including one in the 90th minute, to claim the title of world’s best FIFA 16 gamer.
The 2016 edition marked the first time that the annual tournament was played on both the world’s leading gaming consoles – The PlayStation4 and Xbox One.
The new champion is the first FIFA Interactive World Cup Champion to ever win the event while playing on multiple platforms.
Speaking about Mohamad Al-Bacha’s win, David Villa said: “It’s been a real eye opener for me to see the level of competition here.
“The professionalism and mental strength in the final was just like in a real World Cup Final.
“I played a few of the competitors myself but I’m nowhere near their level. Congratulations to Mohamad Al-Bacha. He played a great match this evening and showed a real passion for football.”
The 2016 Grand Final, the twelfth edition of the tournament, was the first time that New York City had the pleasure of hosting the showpiece event.
Over 2.3 million players from around the world took part in online qualification for the 2016 edition of the largest video gaming tournament in the world, but only an elite 32 players made it to New York.
