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Monday, April 28, 2008

FIFA, EA And PlayStation Confirm Player Line-Up For The FIFA Interactive World Cup 2008 Final


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
  1. Bjorn Diedricks - South Africa
  2. Gwan Hyeong Kim - Korea
  3. Sachith Reddy - India
  4. Chan Charm Wah - Hong Kong
  5. Andries Smit - Netherlands
  6. Roland Csaszar - Hungary
  7. Christian Lonhart - Denmark
  8. Pedro Caiado - Portugal
  9. Alex Barets - France
  10. Karol Rogaczewski - Poland
  11. Alfonso Ramos - Spain
  12. Dominik Posch - Austria
  13. Ivan Pastyrcak - Slovakia
  14. Michael Labelle - USA
  15. Davor Brescakovic - Croatia
  16. Roberto Garrapa - Italy
  17. Ruben Morales Zerecero - Mexico
  18. Tunc Polat - Switzerland
  19. Buey Siong Tay - Australia
  20. Ivan Soberon - Spain
  21. Michael Pommer - Australia
  22. Max Fayers - England
  23. Marko Krivokapic - Germany
  24. Abubakr Ebrahim Akhalwaya - South Africa
  25. Stephen Coorey - Australia
  26. Andre Casagrande Buffo - Brazil
  27. Didi Otisi - USA
  28. Michael Ribeiro - USA
  29. Carl Condliffe - New Zealand
  30. Chris Bullard - England
  31. Danny Taylor - England
  32. Mustafa Agyuez - Germany
For official terms and conditions of the FIFA Interactive World Cup, visit: http://www.fifa.com/interactiveworldcup/organisation