32 Of the World's Football Gaming Elite Get Ready For The Ultimate Show Down In Berlin on May 24
After seven months of intense competition, FIFA, EA and PlayStation today congratulate the 32 finalists who have secured their place in the Grand Final of the fourth annual FIFA Interactive World Cup. On the virtual football pitches of EA SPORTS™ FIFA 08, players spanning the globe from Australia to South Africa, Brazil to Korea to the USA and Italy, dribbled and scored their way through the tournament’s 20 live qualifiers, while over 25,000 players competed in the online leg via PLAYSTATION Network. The finalists will compete to become the FIFA Interactive World Player of the Year at the Sony Center in Berlin on 24 May.
”I am very impressed with the level of the participants. It is clear that they have been practicing hard, and like any football event, practice is one of the most important things. The FIFA Interactive World Cup is establishing itself as a premier gaming tournament, and the only one under the FIFA banner”, explained Chuck Blazer, who added “I think it is apt that there are now 32 competitors which mirrors the number of teams in the FIFA World Cup. This tournament is a serious one, and like its big brother tournament, the FIFA World Cup, it is the pride of being crowned the FIFA World Champion that encourages these great performances.”
Defending champion Andries Smit from the Netherlands will be vying for the crown for a second year running. Hoping to prevent this from happening are the other 31 finalists, including Chris Bullard from the UK, the only previous winner to have reached three FIWC Grand Finals in the tournament’s four year history; or Davor Brescakovic from Switzerland, who showed his true determination by competing in and winning the New Zealand qualifier having lost in the semi-finals of the Swiss event. They’ll all be keeping an eye on the next generation of virtual football virtuosos, including Ivan Pastyrčák from Slovakia and Sachith Reddy from India - both only 14. All finalists will be in hot competition to be crowned FIFA Interactive Player of the year, win an invitation to the FIFA World Player Gala 2008 and a cash prize of USD $20,000.
“The Grand Final will be played in a real football ambience and it will be an opportunity to experience a live tournament with all the thrills that spectators and players feel with a FIFA World Cup title on the line. It bears all the fast-paced, adrenaline-pumping action of watching real football and in order to compete at this level, you need a tactical mind and a love for football says Anthony Baffoe, former Ghanaian international and the first African player in the German Bundesliga, who will not only be one of the many football guests that evening but also the co-host of the event.
Everybody is welcome to cheer on the finalists at the Grand Final in Berlin and enjoy the free entertainment set up during this one day virtual football extravaganza set to kick off at 11am CET. Live entertainment will include German hip-hop artist Das Bo.
List of Finalists
- Bjorn Diedricks - South Africa
- Gwan Hyeong Kim - Korea
- Sachith Reddy - India
- Chan Charm Wah - Hong Kong
- Andries Smit - Netherlands
- Roland Csaszar - Hungary
- Christian Lonhart - Denmark
- Pedro Caiado - Portugal
- Alex Barets - France
- Karol Rogaczewski - Poland
- Alfonso Ramos - Spain
- Dominik Posch - Austria
- Ivan Pastyrcak - Slovakia
- Michael Labelle - USA
- Davor Brescakovic - Croatia
- Roberto Garrapa - Italy
- Ruben Morales Zerecero - Mexico
- Tunc Polat - Switzerland
- Buey Siong Tay - Australia
- Ivan Soberon - Spain
- Michael Pommer - Australia
- Max Fayers - England
- Marko Krivokapic - Germany
- Abubakr Ebrahim Akhalwaya - South Africa
- Stephen Coorey - Australia
- Andre Casagrande Buffo - Brazil
- Didi Otisi - USA
- Michael Ribeiro - USA
- Carl Condliffe - New Zealand
- Chris Bullard - England
- Danny Taylor - England
- Mustafa Agyuez - Germany