Norwich City have been crowned the 2021/22 FIFA ePremier League Champions, with Polish player Damien ‘Damie’ Augustyniak (right) and UK player Jack ‘GoalPoacher_’ Wignall (left) emerging as victors.
Damie and Goalpoacher_ saw off Brentford duo Sam ‘SamBrwster’ Brewster and Peace ‘czohino’ Chirwa in Sunday evening’s grand final, thanks to a 5-1 aggregate victory.
Damie, a semi-finalist in the inaugural ePremier League in 2018/19, produced a convincing performance to win the Xbox leg 3-1. GoalPoacher then won 2-0 on PlayStation to secure the trophy for the Canaries.
The Norwich duo went unbeaten in four matches to top Group D, billed the ‘Group of Death’, on Saturday.
In Sunday’s knockout fixtures, a fine performance from Damie was enough to see the pair beat Chelsea 5-2 on aggregate in the quarter-finals.
At the semi-final stage, Damie (who also plays for UK esports organisation Tundra Esports) played out a tense 0-0 draw against last year’s runner-up Olle ‘Ollelito’ Arbin, before a 2-1 victory for Goalpoacher_ over Mitchell Hayward saw the Canaries overcome Leeds United to progress to the grand final.
The winning Norwich pair also picked up the £30,000 first prize, £15,000 per player, with Brentford’s players each winning £7,500. Damie, Goalpoacher_ and SamBrwster also won all-important seats in the FIFA 22 Global Series European Playoffs.
“This is my first ePremier League title and lifting the trophy is a moment that I’ll never forget. I was always confident we’d have a chance, but to go and win the tournament is a dream come true.”
GoalPoacher_, Norwich City
After clinching the title, Damie said: “Words can’t describe how I’m feeling right now. The standard of player this year went up a level, so it feels a bit surreal to call myself an ePremier League champion. I’m so proud to lift the trophy, for the first ever time, and I’m pleased that the hard work has paid off.”
Goalpoacher_ added: “This is my first ePremier League title and lifting the trophy is a moment that I’ll never forget. It has been a tough tournament, but I feel that Damien and I worked well as a team and, together, managed to progress past any opponent who stood in our way. I was always confident that we’d have a chance, but to go and win the tournament is a dream come true.”
Premier League commercial director Will Brass said: “Congratulations to Damie, Goalpoacher_ and Norwich City on winning the 2021/22 ePremier League. There was plenty of exciting action over the course of the tournament, with some new names making their mark on the competition, and it was great to see all the finalists competing in person for the first time in three years.
“Many thanks to EA Sports for their support, ensuring we delivered another high-quality tournament, and to our broadcast partners for bringing the action to viewers around the world. We look forward to the next season of the ePremier League, providing clubs with a unique opportunity to engage with their fans, and viewers with a different way to enjoy the colour, excitement and rivalry of the Premier League.”
The climax to this year’s ePremier League tournament was televised live in the UK by Sky Sports, Premier League digital channels and on EA’s Twitch channel. It was also made available to viewers around the world by the League’s international licensees.
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Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
