Nation’s top Playstation 4 players take part in tournament to reach grand final in Munich.
Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge has seen its fair share of drama. League titles won, relegations in embryonic play-offs suffered, and most recently, a Champions League exit at the hands of a team that paid £50m for David Luiz. But little can compete with the excitement generated by the UK qualifier for the Fifa Interactive World Cup, a competition to find the best FIFA15 player in the world.
Competitors came to the John Hollins suite in Stamford Bridge’s West Stand from all over the UK as they attempted to seal a place at the competition’s grand final, which will be held in Munich this July. Thom Gibbs travelled to West London to witness the event, and spoke to some of the country’s top FIFA players, including beaten finalist Dave Bytheway and Jack Daniels.
The winner of the qualifier was presented with a ticket to the final by Chelsea’s Cesar Azpilicueta, who gave some advice on coping with pressure. “I’ve had the chance to play for one of the biggest club in the world, Chelsea and for Spain, a World Cup winner and two-time European champion,” he said, “and the pressure is there to win every single game. It’s always the same.”
“If you are nervous you cannot play your game and you are not going to be 100 per cent. The most important thing is to try to be as relaxed as possible and to enjoy it. That’s what I do in big games. “Sometimes I am more nervous than others, but always, I try to be as relaxed as I can.”