The two finalists of the VBL Singles Championship are also the strongest German players in the eChampions League: Jonas Wirth and Levy Finn Rieck will go for the Henkelpott on May 29th
VBL double winner, World Cup qualifier – and maybe soon an eChampions League winner? Jonas Wirth is playing an outstanding eSports season in FC 24, and he is far from finished: the Paderborn native is one of two German players to have qualified for the final event of the virtual premier class. In the round of 16, ‘Jonny’ had to prevail against Dylan Gozuacik – and withstand his attacking quality.
The Frenchman had scored seven goals against Italian champion Lucio Vecchione (7:3) in the previous intermediate round – so Wirth was warned. However, the SCP professional showed his usual defensive stability and offensive determination. After a goalless first half, ‘Jonny’ took the lead shortly after the break with a penalty (49′). The German then found his rhythm and increased the lead to 2:0 with a beautiful volley (63′).
Gozuacik made it exciting again as the final phase began and reduced the deficit to 1:2 (79′). In the final minutes of the match, Wirth had to survive a dangerous situation in his own penalty area – only to make it 3:1 and decide the match after a counter-attack (89′). At the final event on May 29 in London, ‘Jonny’ will meet Italian Andrea Montanini, who surprisingly eliminated FC Pro Open champion Paulo Chaves, in the quarter-finals.
‘levyfinn’ and “the attention he deserves “
To round off Sunday’s action, Levy Finn Rieck took to the controller against Luca Guarino. The German runner-up got off to a strong start and struck the top left corner after just under a quarter of an hour in-game. The virtual keeper ‘levyfinn’ then saved the lead before Guarino finally equalized (31′). However, Rieck went into half-time with the better feeling – he scored the 2:1 (43.).
After the restart, the Leipzig player increased the lead to 3:1 (55′) after a wonderful combination – and a little later he even created a three-goal cushion (68′). The supposedly comfortable lead was soon history, however, as Guarino struck twice to bring the score back to 3:4 (73-78). However, Rieck remained calm and made it 5:3 (87′).
In the quarter-finals, ‘levyfinn’ will face Daniel Fernandes. The Portuguese made a last-minute comeback to make it 5:5 in extra time after a penalty shoot-out. RBLZ teammate Umut Gültekin was impressed by Rieck in the EA SPORTS livestream: “He’s one of the most underrated players. Of course he’s well-known in Germany. But internationally, he doesn’t get the attention he deserves. “
1:3, 3:3, 3:6 – Gültekin “disappointed with my game “
About Gültekin: The 2022 World Champion had already failed to make it through to the intermediate round of the eChampions League on Saturday. As the favorite, he was beaten 3:6 by Belgium’s Rudi Ekmen. After catching up from 1:3 to 3:3, things had looked good for him at times, but he didn’t reach his limit in the virtual premier class. “I’m disappointed with my game, to be honest. I know I can play much better,” he said the day after his elimination.
In addition to Wirth and Rieck, the aforementioned Montanini and Fernandes as well as Matias Bonanno, Danilo Pinto, world champion Manuel Bachoore and defending champion Emre Yilmaz also made it to the final event. However, Chaves aka ‘PHzin’, Levi de Weerd, BVB eSport player Roee Feldman and eLigue 1 perennial champion Julien Perbal were eliminated in the round of 16 and round of 16. All matches and results of the eChampions League can be found in our overview.
The quarter-finals of the eChampions League at a glance:
Andrea Montanini (FC Lorient) – Jonas Wirth (SC Paderborn)
Matias Bonanno (Manchester City) – Danilo Pinto (Juventus Turin)
Manuel Bachoore (PSV Eindhoven) – Emre Yilmaz (PSV Eindhoven)
Levy Finn Rieck (RB Leipzig) – Daniel Fernandes (FC Cadiz)