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Spencer Owen: Hashtag United Founder Talks FIFA Esports and The Upcoming Wembley Cup
Spencer Owen: Hashtag United Founder Talks FIFA Esports and The Upcoming Wembley Cup
SPENCER OWEN
Hashtag United founder talks FIFA esports
and the upcoming Wembley Cup
LETTER
FROM THE
Editor
Chris Lafferty
The Gfinity Elite Series kicked off last week and in this issue chrislafferty@blackknightmedialtd.com
we speak with a number of the teams about the upcoming Tel: +44 (0)203 750 6024
season. and the new format that includes 2 v 2. We also
spoke with them about the added excitment of the auction
Twitter: @esportsWorldFC1
where teams bid for players meaning that no two teams would
have the same player.. Designer
Steven Lafferty
Our cover star Spencer Owen tells us about what it’s like
design@blackknightmedialtd.com
to go from YouTuber to owning his own football team,
developments within the esports team and the upcoming
Tel: +44 (0)7843 811 240
Wembley Cup. Twitter: @esportsWorldFC2
www.esportsworldfootball.com 3
12 Shellzz
Recently departed from Unilad, ‘Shellzz’
is looking to make FIFA 19 his year
COVER STORY
8 Spencer Owen
Esports World Football chats to Hashtag founder, Spencer Owen about
FIFA, esports and the upcoming Wembley Cup
NEWS
6 News round-up
Get all the latest news from the world of FIFA
INTERVIEWS
14 Gfinity Elite Series
Esports World Football spoke to a number of the teams about the new rules
to see what they thought.
28 London Esports
We talk to Daniel Smith and Ife Aromona from London Esports
30 FIFA19
Get your chance to win a copy
32 VFL Espanyol
Bosley442 tells us his plans for the La Liga.
36 Villagers
Villagers FC talk about FIFA 19 and their plans for the season
Simply the best
There is no doubting who the form player is right now. Tekkz smashes out his WL games in one sitting on a Friday, no
messing around. Other pro’s would do well to steer clear of a
Either he knows when to log on and avoid other top players or he is Friday night.
simply the best out there on the scene at present. With a months
Weekend League record showing only one loss in 120 games he is Elsewhere we have seen Damie hit his first 30-0 of the season,
outrageously good at the moment. Yannick Reiners and Niklas Raseck both hit back-to-back 30’s and it
is only Saturday night.
That player is F2Tekkz and commenting on his performance he said
“LETS GO! Played all 30 games yesterday and finished 30-0 That’s
119/120 wins on month and my loss was on pens 1st in world
weekly and 1st in the world monthly”.
Against all odds, Joksan Redona representing Epsilon eSports through a group which included FUTWIZTom and TimoX08 as well
wins the PlayStation Continental Cup 2018 in Paris. as one of the most inform players in the game Agge Rosenmeier.
A semi-final survey entered by nearly 1,800 people had Redona as Redona commenting after the win added “WTF have I just done???
the least likely to win on the final day of the tournament. Over 50% Paris Continental Cup Champion!! Honestly an insane feeling still
had MoAuba as the potential winner with 20% opting for TimoX. shaking. Top 1 never felt so good”
However, on the final day and with no easy opposition we saw Speaking about his win, FIFA esports industry legend Chu Boi
Redona dispatch MoAuba in the semi-final and go on to win the final (Pictured above with Redona) stated “Don’t think this guy knows
against Tim ‘TheStrxngeR’ Katnawatos who represents FC Basel. what he just did for NA. HUGE confidence boost for the pros from
the region. BIG congrats to @JoksanRedona for winning the 2018
No one would have had an easy route to the final and having got Continental Cup!!!! The Defence of Dreams! #NAallDay”
Özil signs who? It’s clear to see that the main man Özil rates this player highly as he
joins a stacked squad with some of the worlds biggest talents such
Siddh “jenasid“ Chandarana one of India’s best FIFA players is the as M10Usten and Squirrel. They also have a Brazilian Presende who
latest addition to team Özil M10 eSports. was in the top 16 players in the world last year.
Özil took to Twitter and wrote “May I introduce to you: Siddh We don’t know much about the new arrival yet but we know that he was
“jenasid“ Chandarana is the next member of the @M10Esports the Winner of The Studs FIFA championship. This shows that he clearly
family! @jenasidfc is one of India’s very best FIFA Athletes. has a big potential and to be on the books of Özil and the agency eSports
Welcome to the squad!!! Team mein apka hardik swagat hai Reputation it’s clear to see he is a top talent and must be doing something
#M1Ö #TeamOzil” right we are looking forward to seeing how he develops this season.
60 Back-to- Gotzery goes
back anyone? to Epsilon
These past two weekends MegaBit has taken it to another level European powerhouses Epsilon Esports have announced their new
to the point where people are questioning if he is human or not. signing who will compete for them and represent Manchester City at
He is on an incredible 120 game unbeaten streak across both the Gfinity Elite Series. Yannick “Gotzery” de Groot is the new signing,
consoles after playing 60 games per weekend. The level of focus a German FIFA player managed by one of the biggest agencies in the
and concentration required to do this is unobtainable for most game, Stark eSports who have players on their books such as Mo
pros, how he overcomes games where nothing seems to be Auba, Megabit and Eisvogel.
working and finds a way out every single time without fail is
truly unique. Gotzery had a decent year last year finishing top 8 at FUT Champs Cup
season 2. He will be looking to build on these performances and do his
It is apparent from MegaBit’s interviews that he will always respect best for Man City in the elite series.
the opposition but on the other hand is extremely confident and really
does believe in himself to beat anyone in the World when he plays his The move was made possible by Stark eSports who took to Twitter
A-game and why wouldn’t you? If you are literally unbeatable in FUT and said “Gotzery joins @Epsilon_eSports! We are very happy to
Champions and already qualified for the first FUT Champions Cup he announce that our talent Yannick “@GotzeryYT” de Groot joins
is having the best possible start. Epsilon eSports & represents @ManCity at the Gfinity Elite Series.”
He took to Twitter and said “30-0 also on PlayStation and Xbox!! Gotzery also took to Twitter and said “Glad that I can finally announce
This makes the perfect FIFA weekend a perfect finish for the FUT I‘ll be playing for @Epsilon_eSports from now on!
Champions Cup, 2x 30-0 and also my spectator record on Twitch It’s also a big pleasure to represent @ManCity in the
pulverised it does not get any better!” @Gfinity Elite Series starting this Friday!
Big thanks to my agency @STARKeSports”
Then the following week stated “BACK TO BACK 60-0! Also this
weekend no man could beat me, only by I was unfortunately We are looking forward to seeing
stopped once ( @EASPORTSFIFA defeat by Disconnect) I am how the German performs at his new
super satisfied how I am currently playing-so it can be organisation especially in the Gfinity
done! #FUTChampions”. Elite Series.
Spencer O we n
n der o f H as h t ag U n it e d ,
fou
talks his love of football
A couple of years ago, along with my brother Seb and girlfriend Alex, We have added different elements each year, Hashtag United
I wanted to do something off the back of the first Wembley cup, but football team played in it last year and this year we have
we couldn’t do the Wembley cup every week because it requires a lot another one on 25th November which we have already sold
of money and getting the YouTubers together so often is difficult. thousands of tickets for.
So we decided to do something with more of a grass roots approach. In June this year, Hashtag United was
We took the lads I have been playing football with for many years and selected to compete in the tenth tier of
combined with some of my brothers friends and started to film our English football, how does that feel?
football games. We started Hashtag United, whose name was a nod
to the social media world many of us were working in. It has been an amazing journey for us to get into non-league, when
we started Hashtag United we discussed and dreamed about how
At the time I was getting involved in esports and I had started far we could take the club. We grew a team and a fan base and we
commentating on FIFA events, like at Gfinity, which produced a saw the potential with our ability but knew we would only be able to
www.esportsworldfootball.com 9
play for so long ourselves. What would happen once we hang up our Steven Gerrard, William Gallas, Robbie Savage, Robbie Fowler—
boots, will the team evolve past us which it has now. unbelievable players on the pitch.
As it stands now we are top of our league and have won ten games Scott Pollock had trials for Crystal Palace before signing for
in a row. We could not ask for more. Northampton. We also found several other great players, more than
ten players came through the series and played for Hashtag. The
It is amazing to have my own football team in the traditional F.A mini-series was a great success and we plan to organise another at
pyramid system. some stage.
The aim is to create a sustainable football club and do the best When did you set up the esports team? How
that we can as a team. We would love to get promoted and keep did you select your first players?
on growing, climb the divisions but we certainly do not have any
requirement to be in a certain division. The esports team was launched in conjunction with a YouTube series
called ‘The Spencer FC Game Academy’: our quest to find our first
Tell us about the Hashtag United Academy esports player. This was won by Harry Hesketh. Two and a half years
mini-series and was this a success? And ago there were more than 12,000 applicants, we got them down to the
any plans to do this again? Gfinity Series HQ, created eight episodes and Harry won it and he got a
contract with the Hashtag United. He was our first esports professional.
This was a huge success. The winner, Scott Pollock, has been signed
by Northampton Town and is now in the game FIFA. I made a video No content like that had really been made for FIFA esports at the
about this for my YouTube channel. time and people were questioning why. There was no pro FIFA
scene. Within a few weeks the first Weekend League started for FIFA
He won our mini-series, played for us for a year and a half and got Ultimate Team (FUT) Champs and Harry qualified number one in the
our Wembley Cup ‘Man of the Match’ in a game against players like world. Fast forward two years and Harry has qualified for nearly every
major event since and proved a few people wrong silencing some on their terms. This time it was a team FUTWIZ player we were looking
critics. He is right up there with the best in the game. to sign.
The next two players we signed were Boras Legend and Tass Tell us about the Gfinity Draft and what can
(now FaZe Tass). I knew them both from the scene where they we expect from the Elite Series?
had been playing Legends events and I had been commentating.
Tass won his first FUT Regional Champions Cup and our first On FIFA, we drafted Shawrey on Xbox and Ethan (Ethan Higgins
trophy in Paris in 2017. @HashtagEthxnH) on PlayStation, both really nice lads and
doing good stuff.
Then we later went on to sign the likes of Agge, Hashtag Ryan and
most recently Honey Badger. The draft concept is new and really different. As well as the players draft,
there is the auction so no two teams will look the same. The format is also
Tell us about the journey to becoming one of new for the Gfinity Elite Series, which means 2v2 is subject to yet another
the most successful teams around? change. It’s all set up for an exciting series in a brand new format.
For us personally, we tried to pick the players that represent us best. Do you still play and how would you fare on
We are a content driven world, we need people to be confident, to the pro scene?
behave properly and represent us in the right way.
I have been playing Weekend League so far this season and am
There are a lot of great players out there but not necessarily ones currently on the border of elite getting 23 wins out of 30 last weekend.
that we would consider to be a Hashtag player. We have to be
selective to make sure the Hashtag name is looked after and so too I used to be decent, I once beat the former World Champion Alfonso
are our fans. Ramos back in 2013 at West Ham, but that is my claim to fame.
Currently, we are the most successful team out there in FIFA esports. I am probably better than most amateurs but the pro scene is all about
We had the most players representing us at the FIFA eWorld Cup and consistency so although I could nick a win here or there against these
in the run up to the event last august, we were very successful in both guys overall they are so consistent, they are on a different level.
qualifiers and regional tournaments.
You have done some great work for charity,
It is difficult this year, what with a much more challenging format. how important is this for you?
However, we want to make sure that we give our players the best
chances of doing well. We decided to prioritise the boys abilities to This is very important to me. I am actually starting a new series
play FIFA in the right conditions. Last year, we set them up with a HQ which I will be recording, I am going to watch or play 30 matches
and were one of the first FIFA teams to do so. in 30 days on the build up to the Wembley Cup. I am going to some
really cool games, gonna play some pick-up games with viewers, it’s
This season, we have a brand new HQ and we continue to try to give going to be really cool and hopefully will raise awareness and some
them the best resources properly and we continue to take it seriously. good money for men’s health.
The former organisation of Honey Badger Would it be a dream to line up a fixture for
took to Twitter and thanked you for the way West Ham to play Hashtag?
you conducted the approach. Are other
esports teams as honourable? If we ever meet in the league it will be a really sad day for West Ham,
the quickest we could get to the Premier League would be nine years
As with any new and unregulated industries, some teams / but that would take a lot more money!
companies do things the right way and some don’t.
However, it is not that unbelievable that it could not happen, the team
I certainly want to try and set an example as I am quite involved we are ground sharing with, Haringey Borough, are only a couple of
in the industry to do things the right way. As in this instance leagues above us has been drawn against AFC Wimbledon in the FA
you are talking about team FUTWIZ who handled it brilliantly so Cup and this will be televised on BBC 2.
kudos to them. At the end of the day it depends how long you
want to be involved in the industry, if you want to be around for a If Hashtag keep improving and we get to maybe the first round of the
long time or not. FA Cup we could get a decent league team and maybe get a prem
team if we got through.
To have success in the industry you need to treat everyone as you would
want to be treated. You meet everyone twice, once on your terms once To one day play a team like West Ham would be a dream, maybe a friendly. EWF
When did you know you were good enough I think EA have just got to show Pro Clubs some love. It’s
to turn pro? been about 3-4 FIFA’s now where they haven’t added anything
new, simple things as; customizing boots, new hairstyles,
I always thought I was very good at fifa from around FIFA 13, but I accessories such as headbands etc... Simple things like that
didn’t really believe I could ever become a pro. After I saw Bacha win will make the game mode a lot better.
the FIWC Final in 2016, that kind of motivated me into trying it as I
knew Bacha from Pro Clubs. So, in FIFA 17 when they introduced the How big could Pro Clubs get?
new mode FUT Champions, the route to becoming a pro was much
clearer and my journey began there. For me, Pro Clubs could be a huge thing in esports but that’s just my
opinion. I would love to play a 11v11 at a LAN event, I think it would
How did you get signed as pro? be so exciting to watch and participate in.
I guess my finish at the Ultimate Team Championship got me signed What are your goals for this year?
to Unilad, that performance put my name out there on the scene.
My goal for every year is to win a tournament, but I guess we’ll have
What do you make of FIFA 19? to wait and see. EWF
It’s still the early stages of FIFA 19, everyone is still learning and
adapting to the new game but its okay so far, but there are still a lot
of things that needs to be changed.
The last tournament I participated in was the Club eWorld Cup, which
was in Paris, where I was teaming up with Gorilla. We went out in the
groups but as a personal performance it was some of the best FIFA I
played all year.
Another exciting new rule added for this Esports World Football spoke to a number of
season was that no team could use the same the teams about the new rules to see what
players in their Ultimate Team. Before the they thought.
Venny: Personally I actually like the idea. I Have you already worked out Who would you see as your
think it gives us a different element of FIFA who will play offence and who main rivals in this Gfinity elite
to think about. It has been the 1 v 1 system will play defence? series?
for so long, having a 2 v 2 system gives you
somebody to play with. It gives the fans a lot Robert ‘Pughy’ Pugh: Nothing is set just yet. Pughy: Reason have one of our players from
more interaction. With 1 v 1 there’s a lot less We are still kind of adjusting to it; you kind of last season so there is a bit of rivalry there. We
celebrations, but now you have a teammate have to get your groove. I feel that once you want to beat them, but we also want him to do
that you can engage in a celebration with. are up there on stage, I think that will affect well as well.
Contact
@boarvpg or @DanTV24_
for more information and get set up ready for Season 11!
#WheretheChampionsPlayr
Robert ‘Pughy’ Pugh
Method’s Robert ‘Pughy’ Pugh talks about being the manager of Method, what he looks for
when scouting players and who he would like to poach
What’s your job as team manager? series and then the SFV guys travelled to a lot of events. I think
more tournaments and events are always a benefit so would love
My job as team manager is essentially making sure everything’s to see more of these types of events although I think replicating
running smoothly and players are happy. This means making sure all Gfinity’s system would be incredible hard. I feel like Gfinity being
content is shared on social media, organising events/who goes to located in the UK creates a great hub that makes it easier for all the
what and anything the players need. As Gfinity manager I’m involed in international teams to group up and play, while that’d be far harder to
doing the draft, picking dates, making sure players know what’s going pull of in the US.
on, being at the live events and so you can imagine quite a lot.
Which club is your biggest rival?
How does the Draft work?
For now all rivalries are just those who beat us last season, which is
The draft system is pretty straight forward and worked well, all 10 Vitality in Rocket League, UniLad in FIFA and last season we didn’t
managers were logged into OnlineDraft where all the players are make it out of groups in Street Fighter so all the teams there.
listed with their information. Depending on the order each manager
picks a player, if you’re lucky you’ll get the one you want and if not If you could poach a player who would it be?
you have 3 minutes to decide. After the first pick the order is reversed
and the second draft for Xbox started. I could probably spend a lot of time considering which player
would be the best to poach and why, if we’re strictly speaking
What do you look for when signing a player? about players who have competed in Gfinity I’d pick Gorilla as
he’s a great player and seems to have real passion you won’t
For this season of Gfinity we had a few things we were looking for, get in everyone.
Method’s mainly a UK based team and we were hoping to get more
British players, with the right attitude plus knowing that our current How good are you at FIFA, can you give your
players are happy with the picks is important for team spirit. team a run for their money?
As a manger do you choose which players Ah this is a shaming question, I sadly haven’t played FIFA in many
play during the elite series? years. I used to play it all the time with my friends and was okay
(being the best one out of your mates doesn’t mean much). I’m
I guess in one sense I could technically change which players we put hyper competitive and can pick up games quickly so while I’d still
up, for the most part though it’ll be agreed our signed pros are up get destroyed by my players, I’d make it frustrating for them to play
first unless they’re unable to play. against if I had some good practice time.
What other competitions does the team take What’s your proudest moment in FIFA
part in other than the Gfinity series? so far?
All the pro’s we have compete in their respective games, on FIFA the I’ve been with Method for 6 months with a big part of that being
pro season has started back up which is exciting as the off period the off season so right now I’d say my proudest moment was when
can be slow. The current Rocket League team did well in the Venny and Riptorek qualified for FeCWC in Paris by topping their
Rocket League Rival Series, which is the challenger version of pro group as they were pretty much brand new to the team. EWF
www.esportsworldfootball.com 23
Ask the pros
Where we talk to the experts
“ Is 27 too easy...
“
Simon ‘Zimme’ Nystedt
27 wins in my opinion is too easy because
it feels like the matchmaking in Weekend
League has been easier this FIFA compared
to last FIFA. There’s usually about 28 games
that you should win and 2 that are really tough
to play, which means that 27 wins out of 30
games is too easy if
Daniel ’Dingo’
To be honest I think 27 wins is a bit too
easy, due to the huge skillgap we see in
FUT champions. Plenty of “bad” players
who just play the game for fun are not a
hard task to beat for players who takes the
game serious.
“
be changed a bit, so that you play against
an opponent who maybe has the same
rank as you. This would make it way more
competitive.
Ovidiu ‘Ovvy’ Patrascu
I think it is ok. It doesn’t mean you are
qualified for any big events, you can just take
part into the online qualifiers.
“
Klutch
The target of 27 is ok, however, it should
not cover you for the whole year. It should
need to be reached once a month so you
maintain a high standard of play and not
just get lucky once.
“
Adam Ryan
I feel 27 is too low for verification...Considering
you only have to get it once the whole year
and it’s only 4 extra wins from Elite 3. A bang
average player who gets Elite 3 could have a
lucky weekend and then be competing in big
tournaments all year taking up spaces in them
and making qualifiers longer. There is already
loads of players in these qualifiers so I can’t
imagine what it’s gonna be like in a couple
“
months.
“
Aerox Buzzer
I think 27 is about right for Xbox
because there is a lot more high level
competitors in general and the matchmaking
is therefore harder making it easier to drop
games. Also, 27 wins is just to make it to
the qualifiers, there you are competing and
will have to beat some of the best players in
the world to actually go to the live events, so
“
I think 27 is fine because they then have to
prove themself against the best to be able to
fully qualify for a FUT Champions Cup.
HazardHeathFifa
Tough to say. I don’t think 27 is too low, but
permanent verification and online tourneys
using friendly seasons with every single
verified player seems aggressive and too
ambitious from EA.
www.esportsworldfootball.com 27
London Esports
New for FIFA 19. London Esports gamers
Daniel Smith and Ife Aronoma talk FIFA 19,
season goals and who they see as the best
out there
How long have you both been playing FIFA? Smith: When you get to the sort of 25-26 everyone is matching
each other, you’re always getting matched against a lot of pro
Ife Aromona: I started with FIFA 11 and ever since then I’ve just players. I’ve seen some pros that have hardly matched any, but the
been playing it constantly. I just felt this passion about FIFA and I’ve majority are playing pros which I think is a good thing, but when
always been good at it. I mean at the beginning I wasn’t great, but it’s coming to who gets verified, or someone getting verified, and
as I practised I improved massively. someone playing a pro and someone else is playing a gold 3 player
it’s not exactly fair.
Smith: I’ve been playing FUT since FIFA 12, but it wasn’t till around
FIFA 17 that I really stepped it up and actually started playing Late Sunday or early Monday morning is a good time to play to
competitively, playing pros and winning against them and just avoid pros. We call them ‘Monday-morning-merchants’ but then a
trying my best at FUT Champs. To be honest I was losing a lot of lot of pros also do play at that time just to finish their games so you
games, but playing pros always helps and it’s just about practice. can match pros at that time.
What are your aims for the season? Some pros play all their games on a Friday just so they can
enjoy their weekend like Tekkz. He will play all his games on a
Aromona: I’d like to win a tournament. There’s a tournament coming Friday, but you know it doesn’t really make a difference when
up soon, maybe even reach the semi-final and hopefully qualify for you play your games.
the FUT Champions LAN events.
Me personally I generally play until I lose. If I don’t lose for the first
Smith: Yeah I’m looking to go FUT Champions verified and as soon 10 games, I’ll stop at 10. If you’ve taken a loss the best thing to do
as that happens I will try and make it to a LAN event and go from is stop just have a 10-15 minute break go have a drink watch a bit
there. I’m hoping by next year that I will be at a LAN event. of TV.
Who are the best players out there at the moment? Aromona: Also if you feel like your last win was a very tight game
and you can feel yourself getting tilted at the next game do not play
Smith: At the moment from what I’ve seen Tekkz looks really good. because I did it in the first weekend and lost two games in a row it
I mean he showed what he could do last year, personally I don’t was so annoying.
think he was the best last year, but he did what he did at Barcelona
and now he is taking it to another level only losing one game in If you could change one thing about FIFA 19
Weekend League. what would it be?
Another player that looks really good and is going under the radar is Aromona: I’d have to say there’s so many. I’d probably say
Aerox buzzer he looks on fire right now. sometimes the touch is a bit weird. There are a lot of things to
change, but you can adapt to those changes. I like FIFA 19. I don’t
Aromona: I’ve got to agree with that statement, I’ve been watching mind it, but I just need to adjust to it. Once I can adjust to it I’ll
Tekkz’ streams and he’s actually unbelievable. Like how he plays be fine.
is unbelievable the skills he does and the way he dribbles and stuff
like that is unbelievable. Smith: The thing is FIFA 19 is completely different to any other FIFA
we’ve played and they’ve tried to increase the skill gap, but at the
Smith: His style is very composed, he has possession and pace, but same time with the AI defending and with the corner goals you can
he is very skilful. He puts in a lot of things that a lot of pros wouldn’t literally sit back and let AI defend. Anyone can beat anyone literally
expect you to do which is quite a similar way to how I play. anyone can beat anyone.
Is 27 too easy on Weekend League You can pass it around the whole game and counter-attack and
qualification and is there a best time to play? score a corner goal, that’s what is going to happen and I think
they need to find something that’s going to increase the skill gap
Aromona: No. I wouldn’t say it was too easy because last year when genuinely rather than keep having AI defending so OP, but I think
you won your first 10 games, or you go 9 and 1 you’re happy, or that this FIFA has the potential to be one of the best we’ve played,
you go 8 and 2 you’re happy, you go 7 and 3 your still happy, but but there are a few things that need to change. EWF
www.esportsworldfootball.com
www.esportsworldfootball.com Esports World Football 31
VFL ESPANYOL
So how did you come to be running the team? with a fellow player from Barnet, DuncanHD (la). Pairing this with
Runny who bagged 21 league goals we found ourselves in the
We have always had an interest in Spain and after our endeavours playoffs, unlikely as it seemed. We narrowly lost out in the Final
in Italian football we decided to make the change. We feel that the against VFL Sassoulo, a lot of time-wasting (still salty).
the quick flowing passing play that is shown in real life is mirrored
in VFL’s Spanish leagues and we wanted a new challenge. This left us eager to get us promoted in the next season, again just
falling sort again after reaching the playoffs for the second time
Tell us about your VFL career history to date? now. In the third season we signed I Wardy 7 I , who’d eventually
become the clubs renowned ‘tap-in merchant’, we bolstered the
If I was to tell you everything about my history then this interview defence with MorganDeacy and this seemed to be a top class
would be far too long. addition as 3 from 4 defenders got TOTS, including myself.
I started off on FIFA 17, with my friend JestingTerror playing for Once again made it to the playoffs and as you could probably have
Swindon Town FC, which did not go as planned. Moving on swiftly guessed we bottled it once again. Now into the fourth season and the
we arrived at Barnet playing under Liam Lopez x. We enjoyed our new FIFA 18, we still had no silverware to show for it. Unfortunately
time here and unfortunately lost the Capital One Cup Final against we had to sell MorganDeacy and with the friendlies glitch that seemed
Bournemouth that season. to last centuries we failed to make the playoffs for the first time. After
spending four seasons at Hellas it was time for a new challenge so we
We then moved to Italy playing for Hellas Verona under I Leadus did a loyalty switch to Barnsley FC in league one.
21 I, This wasn’t a great season for us and management changed
hands during it. JestingTerror took over the management and I Moving to Barnsley FC we brought the core bunch of lads with us,
became his Co-Manager, this was our first season in management Snake, Twisted, Eggy, Wardy. This was a difficult season for us
and turned out to be quite successful. and we actually managed to get ourselves relegated.
We signed Snakeeye1994 and II TWISTED X II along with reuniting Following this management changed hands to Snakeeye1994
but for the most part the team stayed unchanged and with that the diamond in the rough, we find them anywhere really, the trialling
followed two mediocre seasons in League Two and that brings us page (standard), twitter,(somewhere out there), even Xbox groups
to where we are today (good luck finding people who know what VFL is!!).
Which of the VFL leagues is RCD Espanyol competing in? What makes a player stand out?
This season we will be competing in La Liga. The hope for Someone who stands out would have to be capable of playing
this season is a strong league campaign with a good run their position with a strong knowledge of the game mechanics. We
in the cup also like people who we are able to get along with and have some
laughs with, as we believe strongly in a solid team game with a
Is it a highly competitive league? good bond on and off the pitch too.
I don’t think its ‘highly’ competitive per se but definitely everyone What formation do you prefer and why?
goes out with the win as the main objective but it is also a lot of fun
at the same time. Personally I am liking 4-2-3-1(1) so far in FIFA 19. I feel it gives the
team a good mix of defensiveness with the two CDM’s while still
VFL over VPG why is that? giving us the width of the two LAM and RAM’s, which suits our play
style with big target man/tap-in merchant Wardy(Wardinho)
I don’t think there is much of a difference, when I got into the
game VFL had its game on the weekend and that just always Can you get a spot in Europe?
suited me better.
Well we are not looking that far into the future, we take every day
How do you select players when it comes to trials? as it comes and try to tackle that, we are definitely looking to get
promoted but I don’t think many of us are thinking about Europe at
We like to give everyone we can trials as sometimes you can find the minute. EWF
How did the formation of the esports team They too are really excited in seeing how their esports team can develop.
come about?
Who is managing the team?
Many of us have played together for a while under different team
names and when Scunthorpe United FC expressed an interest in Danny Pierce is the Manager and Jamie Cooper is the Co-Manager.
entering an esports team in VPG, we were chosen to represent them. We both have experience in managing Pro Clubs teams in VPG and
feel we can do a great job representing Scunthorpe United FC.
How close will the links with the real
footballing side will be? How have you selected players for the team?
We are in contact with a representative of Scunthorpe United FC We have held a few trials over recent weekends and
and we contact each other a few times a week. They have kindly picked the best players that we have seen play. We have
offered to help with certain things (social media coverage, team also chosen some players who are well known in the VPG
advice, giveaways) as and when they are needed which is support community and have a lot of experience to make sure we
we’re extremely grateful for. have a solid spine to the team.
Will you be looking to have a big squad? Would you like to see some of the real football
teams rivals setting up esports teams?
We are looking to have a consistent starting 11 and around 7 squad
players, who will play a more rotational role in our team. Getting We would love to see more teams getting involved and bringing
the balance right is important - we want to build good chemistry rivalries from the real world into the esports world.
in the squad with regular players, without the same players feeling
pressured to play all the time. Will the backing of the football club give you
an unfair advantage over other teams?
Tell us about some of the squad?
Not at all, we feel that just because we have the name it doesn’t
Some of the squad are players we have played with over the past mean we will get the best players available. VPG has some very
few seasons; they’re a great bunch with great personalities. The strong and dominant teams who are not partnered with a club. But
players we’ve just brought in are gelling nicely with the rest of the we are extremely happy to represent Scunthorpe and try to become
team, and we are excited to see them excel. one of the best teams in VPG.
What league have you been entered in? Can you get to the VPG Premier League?
We have been entered into League 1 North, two divisions We feel that we can get to the Premier League within a few
behind the Premier League. We think it’s great to start in seasons, we are just going to take every season as it comes and
League 1, mainly due to Scunthorpe United also competing in see where we are at the end of every season, this way we can re-
League 1 in the English divisions. evaluate the team’s potential as we go. EWF.
www.esportsworldfootball.com 35
VILLAGERS FC
As a team you were launched in 2009, esports organizations and real life clubs to join.
share with us a little about your history?
VFLe offers clubs to use a name of their choice. They organize
We started as a group of friends playing a bit of FIFA besides both tournaments and leagues. It’s interesting to see what they
Killzone 2. I used to be in a clan and after joining a FIFA Pro Club will bring in the future.
as a player, I decided to step up and be a manager.
You have had some interesting developments
The first few years we only had Dutch players and only played recently, tell us about the merger with Dutch
Seasons. But since 2015 we became competitive and competed United 09?
in FVPA, OGC, FCC, VFL and VPG. With VFL Real Betis we finished
2nd in S31. In the European Premier League S8 we finished 2nd This brings us back to 2015 again. We played in the FVPA with
as well. them and always had a good bond together. We liked playing
against each other and there was a healthy rivalry between us. I
As Dutch United 09 we were the champions of FVPA UK League liked the way they ran their social media and they became very
Cup and Community Shield 2015, and OGC Division 1 and 2 in 2017. popular in a short period of time.
Now as Villagers FC, we won the VPG Europa Cup S9 in 2018. They became even bigger when they merged into Villagers FC as
part of Sinai Village. After quite a while, Bette Jalle decided to
What league are you currently competing in? leave Sinai Village. I had some conversations with organizations
as well. Both Dutch as international organizations. For example
VFL eSports and VPG Championship South. VFLe was previously Flash Point eSports, ECV eSports, Team Gullit and more. All
VFL Competitive. I spoke a lot to Jack Maddox (now PS4 Head amazing organizations who were open to Pro Clubs, but not in the
Admin of VFL) about VFLe and how it could be interesting for near future.
clubs to join.
Sinai were interested from the start and we didn’t need much time
In my opinion, the regular VFL in weekends isn’t interesting for to merge Dutch United 09 into Villagers FC
So how big is the squad right not and are Another thing, we all hate pay-to-win in games. I don’t think paying
you looking for more additions? should lead to certain advantages for clubs.
At the moment we are trialling again. We joined the VPG a bit late, How do you aim to develop the team?
so most clubs are completed. But we are always looking to become
better. We were 2nd last season in the VPG eSports Prem. But I By playing together a lot and staying positive and respectful
had to step down because of the lack of time due to my wife being towards each other. When people have fun while playing, they will
pregnant and an escalated disagreement with the VPG owner. play better. That is my motto.
Luckily, everything is taken care of and we are looking forward Can Pro clubs become commercial? Can you grow your fan base?
playing both VFLe and VPG once again.
Yes, it can. When I take Epsilon eSports as the example.
How do you recruit players and what do Everybody wants to beat them, it is the team to beat. We all know
you look for in trials? they are the best nowadays and most of the Pro Clubs community
have massive respect for them. And they deserve it as they put in
Mainly by using Twitter and mentioning VFL/VPG. When they so much effort.
retweet, I receive many DM’s. And of course, I ask my players if
they know people who want to trial for us. And yes, we can grow our fan base. Villagers FC/Sinai has a really
good name in the Pro Clubs community as well. I receive many
How does the team practise and what DM’s from people who played for Villagers FC before or want to
drills do you do? join. The cool designs I get from Sinai really help.
We play Seasons or arrange some friendlies. I try to actively coach What can the various leagues like VPG and
in game. VFL do to develop the game further?
Whats the aim for this season? It’s dificult. VFL and VPG do what they can. They have a huge
fanbase on twitter and try to contact the people at EA. But EA in
We started rebuilding Villagers FC obviously, but hope to be the end are the ones who need to develop the game. And I don’t
promoted into the VPG eSports Prem again. feel like they are listening to their community at all. Nothing
changed in FIFA 19, not even the layout.
I’m also looking forward to the development of VFL eSports.
That’s really something very interesting for many clubs. What would you like to see from FIFA?
What are the biggest problems with Being able to create set pieces. New hairstyles, beards, tattoos.
running a team on the Pro Club scene? Being able to create own kits and upload your own logo.
Loyalty. I think everybody in the Pro Clubs scene agrees. There was a feature years ago called GameFace. Which works
good in UFC. How cool would it be if you could play with your own
Within your league what are some of the face on your pro?
frustrations you face?
Do not put CB in the wall when a free kick is taken.
Admins do their best obviously. It’s not a paid function, so I have
much respect for them. For me, it’s the rules. They should be Add the Arena to Pro Clubs so you can practice with your team.
clear for everyone. Like reschedules, every manager knows the
playing days and times when joining a league. If you can’t make Still being able to see player stats for your club after they leave to
it, don’t join. play somewhere else.
The waiting is also horrible. 15-20 minutes of delay is too long. I And I can go on like this forever... If EA would listen to their
feel like 5-10 minutes would be long enough. But that it up to the paying community for once, we could make it the best game
owners to decide. mode on FIFA. Guaranteed. EWF