SINGAPORE - The dream has ended for eSports players Joseph "Zarate" Yeo and Amraan Gani, after both Singaporeans were eliminated from the Fifa eWorld Cup Global Series Playoffs in Amsterdam, which concluded on Sunday (June 3).
Neither was able to progress to the tournament's knockout rounds, compiling 1-4 and 2-4 records in the Swiss rounds respectively. Both were representing local eSports organisation Team Flash.
The Swiss format is similar to the round-robin except each player does not play every other opponent. It is used for competitions like the Global Series Playoffs where the number of entrants (64) is considered too large for a full round-robin to be practicable.
Yeo had been out of the reckoning from Friday after the first five Swiss rounds, while Amraan progressed to the second day of competition needing to win a tie-breaker to make the top 32.
But the 23-year-old lost 4-8 to Mexican opponent Reinhard "rein10" Krause in the decisive Fifa 18 duel.
The tournament was won by Argentinian Gonzalo "nicolas99fc" Nicolas, with the top 16 making it to August's Grand Finals in London.
Said Amraan: "Migrating from a Fifa Online 3 platform to Fifa 18 was a huge challenge. But I think I gave my opponents a good fight. I performed a lot better than expected and I believe that with more practice, I will get there."
The second-year Nanyang Technological University (NTU) student had qualified for the eWorld Cup playing Fifa Online 3, which is a free-to-play massive multi-player variant of games publisher EA Sports' flagship Fifa series.
Amraan won the East Asian Champions Cup Spring as a trio with Yeo and Chinese player Li Si Jun in April. The pair are the first Singaporeans to compete at the eWorld Cup.
Yeo expressed disappointment at his early exit but added that he had done his best.
"Playing against some of the biggest names from around the world was an invaluable experience. I'll go back, watch the replays, practise and l hope I'll be back again," said the 24-year-old.
The full-time professional gamer signalled his long-term commitment to eSports last month when he signed a two-year contract with Team Flash.
