Ronaldinho Team R10’s Brazilian Paulo ‘PHzin’ Henrique claimed the CONMEBOL eLibertadores crown in FIFA 22 on Sunday
First it was a hug for their own coach, then a decent show of respect for their inferior opponents – and then the dams burst. Paulo ‘PHzin’ Henrique threw up his hands seconds after his CONMEBOL eLibertadores final triumph – the South American equivalent of the eChampions League.
His jersey pulled up at that moment, the T-shirt underneath emblazoned with the image of a young man and some writing. “I will love you forever” was among the words in Portuguese – the emotional conclusion to an emotional evening.
The drop in pressure on the 18-year-old Brazilian was enormous, the people in charge of his team R10 must have been more relaxed. After all, they were already certain winners before the start of the final: with ‘PHzin’ and Matheus ‘mh7’ Henrique – no relation, by the way – two R10 players contested the finals at the same time.
Comfortable 2-0 cushion after first leg
The organisation of former world-class footballer Ronaldinho underlined its dominant role in South America’s FIFA eSport. PHzin’ had already won the first Online Qualifier of the Global Series (FGS) in FIFA 22, and he and ‘mh7’ had also been joint zone winners in the FIFAe Club World Cup in February 2021.
Now the good friends met in the CONMEBOL eLibertadores final, having previously eliminated strong competition. ‘PHzin’ won the first leg in commanding fashion: an attack down the left (37th) and an attack down the right (66th), each at the perfect time, gave him the 2-0 victory.
‘mh7’ falls apart at the end
However, this excellent starting position was not to be a preliminary decision: ‘mh7’ resolutely resisted defeat in the second leg, after a combination through the middle he quite quickly reduced the overall score to 1:2 (26th). After that, the game went on without a goal for about 40 minutes, despite a few chances.
The crux of the matter was delivered by ‘PHzin’ shortly before the end of the game after a long ball sequence and with a bit of luck (66th), ‘mh7’ did not find an answer to the 1:1. On the contrary: while trailing, the eventual champion went up 4:1 between the 76th and 86th minute.
Cup presentation by goalkeeping legend
The bottom line was a convincing 6:1 victory across both matches, the anger on the part of ‘mh7’ was completely outshone by the joy for his teammate. A few minutes after the final whistle of the second leg, ‘PHzin’ finally received the coveted eLibertadores trophy.
The CONMEBOL eLibertadores final took place for the first time as an offline event in Paraguay and gave rise to anticipation of further live events in the context of the FGS.