FIFA Interactive World Cup
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| Sport | FIFA (video game) eSports |
|---|---|
| Sponsor(s) | FIFA |
The FIFA Interactive World Cup (FIWC) is an annual international competition of football video games held under the auspices of FIFA with partnership[1] from EA Sports and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. The first edition was held in 2004 in Switzerland. In 2014, over 1.9 million players competed. More than 5 million players have taken part since 2009 giving FIWC the recognition of the world's largest online gaming tournament by Guinness World Records.[2] The 2015 Grand final was held in Munich, Germany, from 17 to 19 May 2015.
Format
The tournament spans for three months. There are three seasons, each lasting one month. Each online season kicks off at 9:00 (GMT) on the first day of the respective month and finishes at 8:59 (GMT) on the first day of the next month. Points are automatically reset when a new online season kicks off (9 am GMT).[3]
Qualification
To qualify for the Grand Final, players need to participate in the online mode of the EA Sports FIFA video game only available on Sony's PlayStation consoles. The two best players in the league table, and the player with the best win loss ratio for each online season[4] are rewarded a place in the Grand Final. The defending champion and the champion from the host nation also compete in the Grand Final.
Starting from online season 2, in a single online season, players are allowed to play a maximum of 90 games. After 90 games, any additional points scored are not counted towards qualification for that online season.
Grand Final
The players are divided into four groups consisting of five players each. The top eight players of the Group Stage proceed to the Quarter Finals. The winners of the Quarter Finals reach the Semi Finals, and the winners of the Semis proceed to the Final.
Gameplay settings
The following Gameplay settings are used:[5]
- Difficulty Level: World Class
- Half Length: 5 minutes, 6 minutes for quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals
- Injuries: On
- Offsides: On
- Time/Score display: On
- Camera: Tele
- Radar: 2D or 3D
- Home Auto Switching: User Settings
- Away Auto Switching: User Settings
- Volume Settings: Default
- Extra Time: extra time of two one (1) minute halves will be played in the event of a draw after regulation. Penalties will decide the winner if after extra time, the scores are level.
- Custom formations, tactics and set pieces are available.
- All teams are set equal with every player having an 85 rating.
Results
| Year[6] | Host[7] | Winner | Finalist | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 |  Switzerland |
 Thiago Carrico de Azevedo |
 Matija Biljeskovic |
2-1 |
| 2005 |  England |
Chris Bullard |
 Gabor Mokos |
5-2 |
| 2006 |  Netherlands |
Andries Smit |
 Wolfgang Meier |
6-4 |
| 2008 |  Germany |
 Alfonso Ramos |
 Michael Ribeiro |
3-1 |
| 2009 | Spain |
 Bruce Grannec |
 Ruben Morales Zerecero |
3-1 |
| 2010 | Spain |
Nenad Stojkovic |
Ayhan Altundag |
2-1 |
| 2011 | Los Angeles |
 Francisco Cruz |
 Javier Munoz |
4-1 |
| 2012 |  Dubai |
Alfonso Ramos |
Bruce Grannec |
1-0 |
| 2013 | Madrid |
Bruce Grannec |
Andrei Torres Vivero |
1-0 |
| 2014 | Rio de Janeiro |
 August Rosenmeier |
David Bytheway |
3-1 |
| 2015 | Munich |
 Abdulaziz Alshehri |
Julien Dassonville |
3-0 |
| 2016 | New York City |
Mohamad Al-Bacha |
Sean Allen |
5-5 agg. (Al-Bacha wins on most away goals) |
Broadcast
The FIWC Grand Final is streamed live on YouTube[8] and Twitch.[9]
Prize
For the 2015 season, the winner was awarded $20,000 and two tickets to the FIFA Ballon d'Or Gala. The silver medalist received a $5,000 cash prize and the third-place finisher received $1,000.[10]
References
- ↑ "FIFA Interactive World Cup 2015 - Marketing Affiliates - FIFA.com". FIFA.com. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- ↑ Guinness World Records. "Watch live: Gamers battle out to win at record-breaking FIFA Interactive World Cup". Guinnessworldrecords.com. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- ↑ "FIFA Interactive World Cup 2015 - Tournament Format - FIFA.com". FIFA.com. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- ↑ "FIFA Interactive World Cup - FIFA.com". FIFA.com. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- ↑ "TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR THE FIFA INTERACTIVE WORLD CUP 2014 (“FIWC14”) & SEASONAL CHALLENGE" (PDF). Fifa.com. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- ↑ "FIFA Interactive World Cup". FIFA.com. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- ↑ "FIFA Interactive World Cup 2015 - Destination - FIFA.com". FIFA.com. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- ↑ "FIFA Interactive World Cup 2014". Youtube.com. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- ↑ "Twitch". Twitch.tv. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- ↑ "FIFA Interactive World Cup 2015 - Prizes - FIFA.com". FIFA.com. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to FIWC. |
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