There are several changes this year in the way how players are qualified to the FIFA Interactive World Cup 2017. Find out the new format of the biggest FIFA tournament in the world..
New Format of the FIFA Interactive World Cup 2017r
The qualification for the 13th edition of the world’s biggest gaming tournament, the FIFA Interactive World Cup (FIWC), kicks off in November 2016. The FIWC17 Grand Final in London will see virtual football players from around the world compete for the title of best FIFA 17 player as well as $200,000 USD and a trip to the Best FIFA Football Awards. The FIWC17 runner up will receive $100,000 USD.
The Road to London is powered by EA SPORTS™’ brand-new competition mode FUT Champions. The start marks the beginning of an entire year of competitive FIFA 17 gaming, for which the prize pool totals $1.3M USD. Initial qualifications will take place online and once a player has earned enough points, they will receive an invitation to various live qualification events, such as the EA SPORTS™ Ultimate Team Championship Series and the FIWC Regionals. This is where the players will obtain their ticket to the FIWC17 Grand Final. At the Grand Final in London, the 32 finalists will be required to play with their National Teams, with all players rated 85.
Speaking about the Road to London, FIFA’s Head of Digital Marketing Christian Volk said: “We’ve listened to our community and tried to adapt the new tournament format to their meet their needs. Getting through to the live qualification stages will put players under the spotlight and let them show off their skills. In addition FUT Champions is really popular with our players and this will definitely bring more excitement to the competition.”
Reigning FIWC16 Champion Mohamad Al-Bacha from Denmark has already put the new FIFA 17 game to the test. He beat VfL Wolfsburg’s esport signing Benedikt Saltzer 1-0 in an exhibition event at the FIFA World Football Museum in Zürich, Switzerland on the 26th of September. This was followed by a thrilling rematch between the FIWC Champion and runner up in last year’s FIWC Final, West Ham United’s Sean Allen, who narrowly secured a 2:3 victory over Al-Bacha in a private capsule of the London Eye in England’s capital city.
Moreover, the popularity of the FIFA Interactive World Cup continues to grow, and more and more professional football clubs are expanding their signings to include interactive footballers. In recognition of this FIFA has introduced the first ever FIFA Interactive Club World Cup, (FICWC) which will see each participating football club choose an Xbox and a PlayStation interactive football player who will fight for the FICWC title. The winners on each console will be awarded a seat in this year’s FIWC Grand Final in London.