The final decisions in the group stage of the FIFAe World Cup have been made. While Dylan ‘DullenMIKE’ Neuhausen advanced to the next round, Benedikt ‘BeneCR7’ Bauer was eliminated.
In Group D, Neuhausen had already established a good starting position yesterday. Nevertheless, he had to tremble briefly today. With two wins, two draws and one defeat, he slipped to fourth place.
Particularly annoying: he was leading 3:0 against Christopher ‘Didychrislito’ Holly, but showed nerves and gave away the victory he thought was safe. Holly still managed to get the point. “The game against Chris was very questionable, that should not happen to a FIFA professional, especially not at the World Cup,” Neuhausen told us. Nevertheless, he was “satisfied with the group stage”. He still believes he can win the title: “I know I have the ability, but it depends on my form on the day and the luck of the game.
FIFAe Rookie of the Year Edson ‘Edson28’ Pedro was already lurking, but in the direct duel ‘DullenMIKE’ made everything clear. The German singles champion won clearly with 4:1 and advanced to the next round. There he will meet Emre “EmreYilmazz” Yilmaz tomorrow from 1.15 p.m.
Also qualified for the knockout round are Manuel ‘Bachoore’ Bachoore, Matias ‘Matiasbonanno9’ Bonanno and Christopher ‘Didychrislito’ Holly. They are all among the favourites.
‘BeneCR7’ seals ‘Tekkz’ exit
The situation in the standings was much more challenging for Benedikt ‘BeneCR7’ Bauer. With six points, he was ranked sixth, but only four points behind fourth place. This would have been enough to qualify.
However, his start into the evening session did not go as planned. With a win in the third game against ‘DullenMIKE’ opponent Yilmaz, he rekindled hopes. What followed was a rollercoaster of emotions. A victory was followed by a defeat. The one against Stefano ‘Pinna97’ Pinna was one too many. In the end, one point was missing to make the race to catch up perfect.
At least he had a great performance in the last game. For superstar Donovan ‘Tekkz’ Hunt, it was all about advancing against Bauer. The calculation was clear: he had to win this match, but Bauer nipped any resistance in the bud. After taking two leads, Hunt kept equalising, but a 3:2 shortly before the end was decisive. Although he ran again, ‘BeneCR7’ countered and closed the bag with the 4:2.
The lucky third? Javier ‘JRA’ Romero! The German participant’s shooting help saw him move past and qualify by finishing fourth in the rankings. “I had an honourable bye and beat ‘Tekkz’. To send ‘JRA’ on and make the hall shake with it was at least a very small satisfaction,” Bauer summed up. Nevertheless, he said, it hurt him “because I started this almost impossible chase.”
In the next round are Francesco ‘Obrun2002’ Pio Tagliafierro, Emre “EmreYilmazz” Yilmaz, Stefano ‘Pinna97’ Pinna and Javier ‘JRA’ Romero.