The world’s best FC 24 pros played for an Open slot at the Global Qualifier in London. Four VBL representatives made it into the league, while three colleagues failed dramatically
Eight German qualifiers traveled to London at the weekend to secure a place in the FC Pro Open. In the end, three made it: Umut ‘RBLZ_Umut’ Gültekin, Lukas ‘lukas_official11’ Wolff and Sean ‘seanldw’ Landwehr are among the 20 best FC 24 players in the world, including Gültekin’s RBLZ colleague Anders ‘RBLZ_Vejrgang’ Vejrgang.
However, Joe ‘JH7’ Hellmann, Berkay ‘BerkayLion’ Demirci, Jannis ‘JistenNSQ’ Pütz and Julien ‘julien_fngk’ Fungk were less fortunate, each failing to make it to the finish line. Serhat ‘Serhatinho’ Öztürk had already been eliminated in the preliminary round and, after three defeats in three games, played no part in the awarding of the coveted slots.
Fungk and Hellmann in bad luck – ‘BerkayLion’ ripped off?
The decisive matches were particularly bitter for Hellmann and Fungk. Eliminated in the Upper Bracket, they met in the Lower Bracket of their Group A match. The VBL duel went to ‘JH7’ from Düsseldorf, who then faced none other than Levi ‘LevideWeerd’ de Weerd. The close match ultimately ended 2:1 for the Dutchman
‘BerkayLion’ experienced two intra-league duels. The Werder returnee was first defeated by Gültekin in the Upper Bracket, who then shot himself into the FC Pro Open with a 9:1 victory. Demirci then kept his chance alive thanks to a 6:3 win against David ‘dsaanchez’ Sanchez, but was unable to seize it. The second RBLZ pro was eliminated in the decider. ‘RBLZ_Vejrgang’ followed his teammate into the newly created league with a 7:3 win, which will take him to the FC Pro World Championship.
“Anyone who saw the game knows. The fact that you have to make it so obvious is blatant,” Demirci then alluded via X to goals conceded that would have made many others teach their controller to fly. For the self-proclaimed lion, it is now a matter of concentrating on the tasks ahead. The VBL Club Championship starts next weekend, for which ‘BerkayLion’ has big plans: “It’s time to get Werder to one. “
Donovan ‘Tekkz’ Hunt has already arrived. The Man City newcomer was the outstanding player in London, showing gala form and becoming one of only two professionals to win all seven games at the weekend. These included preliminary round duels with his teammate Matias ‘matiasbonanno’ Bonanno and Team Gullit ace de Weerd as well as a 6:4 upper bracket decider against Naseem ‘NEissaT14’ Eissat. “This year I’m as good as I was in FIFA 20,” Hunt said in the livestream, noting: “I feel like I’m the best in the world right now. “
Free agents before the void
Once again, London also showed the unforgiving side of the controversial new eSports system implemented with the current season. Eissat, who started as a free agent, expressed his emotions on social media after another defeat in the Lower Bracket. He had shown his best game, “but it wasn’t my day”, said the Israeli, after the season had already ended for him in mid-November. “Nobody knows how I feel right now. As a free agent, my season is over. I don’t know if I’ll keep playing, but I want to say thank you for all the memories and the support. “
VBL representatives with tough lots
The 16 professionals who are still in the tournament will now compete in four groups with the four seeded players Mark ‘Mark11’ Zakhary, Manuel ‘ManuBachoore’ Bachoore, Paulo ‘PHzin’ Chaves and Francesco ‘Obrun2022’ Pio Tagliafierro. From a VBL perspective, the draw was quite exciting. ‘RBLZ_Umut’ and Rostock’s Wolff, for example, will face reigning eChampions League winner Emre ‘EmreYilmaz’ Yilmaz and runner-up Zakhary in Group 1. Vejrgang and ‘seanldw’ will face the latter’s nemesis Bachoore in Group 3, who took the World Cup crown in Riyadh under controversial circumstances.
Group 2, meanwhile, is set to be a Latin American-South American showdown. ‘PHzin’ and compatriot Gabriel ‘Young’ Freitas will face two Argentinians, including Bonanno, while Aaron ‘HappYMeaL664’ Rivera, a Mexican, rounds off the field. Group 4 is home to Hunt, who is now one of the favorites, but will have strong competition in the form of de Weerd and ‘Obrun2002’. The group stage begins on November 27th
