FIFA eSports' year in review
2019 once again saw FIFA eSports reach greater heights, new players stake their claim, established ones cement their status at the forefront of the game and new tournaments become part of the Global Series.
What better time than now to take a look back at an exciting year with a whole host of different events and champions? Enjoy this review of the FIFA eSports highlights of 2019.
January
The year began with a surprise at the first major of the year when 16-year-old 'DullenMike' became the first German player to take the FUT Champions Cup trophy, outdoing 'Tekkz' as the youngest ever winner of the event. This performance set 'DullenMike' well on the way to making it through to the FIFA eWorld Cup 2019.
'Nicolas99FC' meanwhile had been one of the most consistent players of the last few years, and he took the Gfinity FIFA Series in January. It was his first title of the year, but it would not be his last...
February
The 'dream team' of the year came, saw and conquered at the FIFA eClub World Cup 2019, with 'Nicolas99FC' and 'Tekkz' taking the third edition of the tournament for King eSports .
The month continued in an equally successful vein for 'Tekkz', who bagged his next FUT Champions Cup title just a few weeks later to become the first player to win three FUT Champions Cup trophies.
March
New month, same success for the Englishman, who continued his dominance over the pack in March. 'Tekkz' was in the winners' circle once again at the next FUT Champions Cup and extended his record with a fourth FUT Champions Cup trophy.
His FIFA eClub World Cup team-mate 'Nicolas99FC' also followed suit, taking home the Gfinity FIFA Series in March after his win at the first event of the year in January.
The inaugural ePremier League was held in March and once again, it was 'Tekkz' who grabbed the headlines, steering Liverpool – the team he has followed since he was a boy – to victory as they became the first ePL champions.
April
This was an historic month for the competitive FIFA scene with the inaugural FIFA eNations Cup – FIFA’s official tournament of nations. The opportunity to represent their respective countries saw players experiencing some truly unforgettable moments at the tournament in London, where France went down as the first ever winners courtesy of 'DaXe' and 'Maestro'.
After a brief title drought at the start of the year, the 2018 FIFA eWorld Cup Champion 'MsDossary' came roaring back at the FUT Champions Cup in April and secured his second title of the season.
Playoffs & FIFA eWorld Cup
At the end of what had been an exciting season, the top 128 players did battle in the play-offs as they fought it out for the hotly-contested spots at the FIFA eWorld Cup 2019. The play-offs were the final opportunity to pick up points for the Global Series Rankings which dictated who would get to go to the big dance at the end of the season.
The PlayStation play-offs were dominated once again by 'Nicolas99FC' who took first place at a canter, with a total of 9,770 Global Series points. Second was surprise package Lev Vinken, who catapulted his way up the leaderboard and booked his ticket for London.
On the Xbox it was 'Stokes' who was the dark horse, defeating 'Tekkz' and making it through to the FIFA eWorld Cup 2019 courtesy of a strong play-off performance. Despite that set-back, 'Tekkz' still managed to increase his points haul and finish with a record tally of 13,265 Global Series points as he cruised into the Grand Final.
FIFA eWorld Cup
The most prestigious FIFA eSports event of the year took place at the beginning of August in London – the FIFA eWorld Cup 2019 – and once again history was made and a new world champion crowned. After 'Tekkz' crashed out surprisingly early in the group phase after a season where he had swept all before him, plenty of other players decided that this after all might well be the year to get their hands on the most glittering of prizes.
'MoAuba' and 'Nicolas99FC' each enjoyed relatively comfortable wins in the the quarter-finals and found themselves going head-to-head in the PS4 final. That match turned out to be one of the most exciting contests in eSports history, thrilling fans at The O2. 'MoAuba' just squeezed through into the overall final after a pulsating tie and got to face the reigning champion 'MsDossary'. And after another nail-biter, he emerged victorious 3-2 to become the first German to win the FIFA eWorld Cup title.
September
'MoAuba' certainly did well out of his FIFA eWorld Cup win – as well as USD 250,000 dollars in prize money, he was given an invitation to The Best FIFA Football Awards™. Just a month after his win in London, the newly-minted world champion got to create some more unforgettable memories in Milan, chatting with Jurgen Klopp and getting to meet none other than Lionel Messi.
November
The new season got under way in November in Bucharest and picked up where the previous one had left off, with 'Tekkz' winning the opening FUT Champions Cup of the season for the third time in a row.
A few days later, the next FUT Champions Cup was held at the same location and it was Nicklas Raseck who wrote a new chapter in eSports history, loosening the stranglehold that Tekkz had on the discipline and becoming the second German player to win a FUT Champions Cup trophy.
December
After an exciting start to the season, the main focus of the competitive calendar turned in December to qualifying. Over 190 teams battled it out over five weeks to book a spot at the FIFA eClub World Cup 2020. Just before Christmas, the top 24 teams from around the world had made it through to the event in February which will crown a new club world champion: click here to see the full list of qualifiers.
As we prepare to ring in the new year, the competitive scene will be taking a few days off to catch its breath, before the FIFA 20 Global Series gets rolling again in January. You can find a full list of the coming months' events right here.