Image used with permission, credit to Joosep Martinson – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images
UK FIFA talent came close to victory at the FIFAe Club World Cup 2022 in Copenhagen’s Bella Arena yesterday.
SAF (Serious About FIFA) UK players Stingray and Conkai finished second in the tournament, after losing to Movistar Riders in the grand final 2-1.
SAF took home $50,000 in second place, while Movistar won the $100,000 top prize.
Riders, represented by Spanish player Andonii and Portuguese player tuga810, lifted the trophy after four days of top 2v2 team action from July 20th to 23rd 2022.
Leg one of the final started with SAF on the front foot, creating chances to find the first breakthrough, with Riders immediately equalising just seconds later.
It would stay this way until leg two, where Riders would pile on even more pressure and find the winner to eventually raise the newly-designed trophy for the first time, adding their names to a list of previous champions such as Complexity Gaming and Brøndby eSport.
Other UK-headquartered esports organisations Fnatic (with UK player Tekkz and Portuguese player Diogo) and Excel Esports (with UK players Tom and Gorilla) reached the quarter-finals at the tournament in Copenhagen.
SAF posted a tweet congratulating the players’ performance:
“This is an incredible moment for the organisation to lift the brand new trophy – congratulations to the players, the coach and the entire club,” said Adrian Rölli, head of eFootball at FIFA.
“Their unique team spirit is ultimately what allowed them to overcome the challenge from the rest of the competition.”
“After four years of competing, I lost some big matches, never won a major, I never gave up, I worked hard and I’m here right now as the FIFAe Club World Champion,” added Riders captain Tuga810.
“[My partner AndoniiPM] is the best, he adopted me in the family like a brother. Riders, the coach, the organisation, I am so glad to be here.”
“This is an incredible moment for Movistar Riders to lift the brand new trophy – congratulations to the players, the coach and the entire club.”
Adrian Rölli, FIFA
This brings the second week of the FIFAe Finals 2022 to a close, after UK organisation Guild Esports came close to a monumental weekend in the separate FIFAe World Cup 2022.
The third and final FIFAe 2022 tournament, the FIFAe Nations Cup, which take place from July 27th to 30th 2022, with England facing Scotland in their group.
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.
