After an exciting weekend, the FC Pro Open Global Qualifier has come to an end, and we now know the 20 pro players that will compete in the FC Pro Open.
The event kicked off on Friday, November 10th in London with 64 players competing for the 16 available places at the FC Pro Open. With a whopping $500,000 prize pool on the line for those making it to the final stage, the tournament was rife with tension, emotional highs and lows, and unexpected turnarounds.
Dive in and find out how the tournament unfolded.
The Outcome
The first day of the tournament saw all 64 players compete in an eliminatory phase as they had to win at least three of their five total matches to advance to the next round, leading to plenty of late drama in the final round of games.
Tekkz from Manchester City and FacuCowen from Tuzzy Esports stood out by winning all five of their matches, with each scoring 22 goals. Key victories included Tekkz’s win over his Manchester City teammate Matias Bonanno and FacuCowen’s narrow victory against eChampions League winner nicolas99fc.
Other notable qualifiers included Levi De Weerd, dsaanchez, Lukas, The1OS, Bonnano, Leks, AntoniniGabriel, Nicolas99fc, Vejrgang, and AbuMakkah, all winning four matches. Anders Vejrgang of RBLZ Gaming earned the biggest win of the night with an 11-0 score. While most invited players progressed, including Umut and Ollelito, some, such as Lamps, Tuga810, Yuval and eWorld Cup winner MSDossary were eliminated early.
✅ @Tekkz wins the @mancityesports Derby and qualifies for the next stage!#FCPro pic.twitter.com/NezLocYi85
— EA SPORTS FC Pro (@EASPORTSFCPro) November 10, 2023
The second day kicked off with the first knockout round matches – and it’s fair to say it could hardly have been a more dramatic evening of action.
The matches in Groups 1 and 2 required players to secure two victories to advance, while two losses would result in elimination.
In Group 1, Manchester City’s Tekkz won against JH7 with a 4-0 score and narrowly secured his qualification by turning around a 4-3 deficit into a 6-4 victory in his next game. His performance led him to claim this year as his best since 2020. AntoniniGabriel of Italy emerged as a promising talent, winning his matches against Klinger and Levi De Weerd, the latter being a close 4-3 win, earning him the Sony PS5 Player of the Day award. De Weerd recovered from his loss to AntoniniGabriel by beating JH7, thus qualifying for the FC Pro Open. The final qualifier from Group A was Young, who made a comeback to decisively beat Neissat 9-2.
Group 2 brought even more drama with unexpected outcomes and late goals. A highlight match between Fouma and Nicolas99fc ended with a 5-3 victory for Fouma, who then continued his winning streak with a 7-1 win over H1dalgo. FacuCowen remained undefeated with victories over Montaxer and Seanldw, marking him as a favorite for the FC Pro Open.
With the final matches of Group B underway, several high-profile players were on the brink of elimination. Nicolas99fc lost to Leks, but Leks himself was later knocked out by a last-minute goal from Seanldw. H1dalgo’s dramatic game against Ollelito ended with a 7-7 tie in Extra Time until H1dalgo managed to score in the 117th minute, sealing his advancement and leading to an emotional victory statement.
The 2023 FC Pro Open Global Qualifier drew to a close on Sunday night, with the final eight players sealing their spots in the inaugural edition of the tournament.
Group 3, often called the ‘Group of Death’, lived up to its name with a series of intense matches among top players. The group featured invitees such as Bonanno, Vejrgang, Emre Yilmaz, and Umut, alongside others like BerkayLion, Dsaanchez, Cameronrock, and xcharifx.
The action kicked off with a close match between Emre Yilmaz and Bonanno, with Bonanno edging out a 3-2 victory. He continued his strong performance by defeating Vejrgang 5-3, earning the Sony Player of the Day award. Bonanno’s success also meant Manchester City would have two representatives in the final 20 with Tekkz already qualified.
Umut had a relatively smooth path, securing his qualification with a decisive 9-1 victory, the largest margin of the knockout round. His confidence was palpable as he moved forward.
Denmark’s Vejrgang bounced back to win a crucial match against BerkayLion 7-3, and Emre Yilmaz dominated Cameronrock 5-0, ensuring that all four Global Qualifier invitees from Group 3 advanced to the FC Pro Open.
In Group 4, the last to compete for the FC Pro Open spots, Lukas and JistenNSQ from Germany and The1OS and AbuMakkah from Saudi Arabia moved forward after their initial matches. Lukas used Pele to his advantage and won his match 5-2, qualifying for his first elite LAN tournament. AbuMakkah, drawing inspiration from Saudi star MSDossary, won his match to become the first Middle-Eastern qualifier.
The lower bracket featured a thrilling penalty shootout between MUAE14 and Happy, with Happy narrowly winning 11-10. The Mexican player went on to score a last-second goal against JistenNSQ in a subsequent match, qualifying for the FC Pro Open as the first from his country and expressing his disbelief and joy at achieving his dream.
The last qualifier, The1OS, recovered from an earlier loss to AbuMakkah to win against Albertss and Kekkova, showcasing impressive resilience and skill.
These results filled the remaining qualification spots for the FC Pro Open, highlighting the intense competition and showcasing the emotional highs and lows inherent in eSports tournaments.
An INSANE penalty shootout sees @HappyMealx664 remain in #FCPro Open Global Qualifier! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ByI9xKHmcr
— EA SPORTS FC Pro (@EASPORTSFCPro) November 12, 2023
The Finalists
The 16 qualified pro players will join the 2023 eWorld Cup final four with winner ManuBachoore, finalist Mark11 and semifinalists PHzin and Obrun. The 20 players that will compete in FC Pro Open are:
- Tekkz
- Antonini
- Cowen
- Fouma
- Umut
- Matias
- lukas_official11
- AboMakkah
- LevideWeerd
- Young
- H1dalgo
- seanldw
- Vejrgang
- Emre Yilmaz
- 1OS
- Happy
- ManuBachoore
- Mark11
- PHzin
- Obrun
