FUT Champions Cup Barcelona: path to the 2018 FIFA eWorld Cup

The FUT Champions Cup in Barcelona kicks off on Friday - the first live event of the EA SPORTS FIFA 18 Global Series and also the first step towards the 2018 FIFA eWorld Cup. Tim “Tim Latka” Schwartmann and Lukas “Idealz” Schmandt represent Schalke in the tournament.

After performing well enough in the FUT Weekend League throughout November 2017, Tim “Tim Latka” Schwartmann and Lukas “Idealz” Schmandt managed to qualify for the FUT Champions Cup in Barcelona. Held from 26th to 28th January, the tournament sees the best FIFA players in the world face off against each other with a place in the playoffs for the FIFA eWorld Cup at stake.

Aside from Schwartmann and Schmandt, a total of 126 further professional FIFA players qualified for the event in Barcelona through their stellar online play. Schwartmann ended the qualification round ranked second in the world, while Schmandt finished in 11th. Both players managed to win 157 of 160 online games. They’re both hoping to come away from the three-day tournament having secured themselves one of the 16 places – eight for PlayStation and eight for Xbox – in the EA SPORTS FIFA 18 Global Series playoffs. The playoffs will take place in June 2018 and are the last step on the path to the FIFA eWorld Cup 2018.

EA Sports, the company which produces the FIFA video game series, has introduced a brand new tournament format which increases not only the amount but also the quality of the games that are played. It also ensures that only the best players in the world progress to the Grand Final.

The games

Every tie has a first and a second leg and the winner is decided by the combined result of the two games. If a tie ends in a draw after the second leg then the game will go into extra time. This goes for the grand final as well. If no winner is determined after extra time has been played, then it will come down to a penalty shootout.

The group stage

The group stage begins with 128 players in total – 64 on PlayStation and 64 on Xbox – decided by how well they did in the FUT Weekend League throughout the month of November. From there, 32 players qualify for the knockout rounds. The group stage format is based on the Swiss system.

I think the new format will work very well and I’m certain that the best players will progress.

Tim Schwartmann

The tournament format

The Swiss system is a special tournament format. The first round is fixed, but thereafter a new opponent is decided for each round. It’s impossible for two players to play each other twice.

  • 64 players per group
  • Each player plays seven games
  • Players cannot play the same player twice
  • Players who win four games qualify for the knockout stages
  • Players who lose four games are eliminated

The knockout stages

The best 32 participants on each console qualify for the knockout stages. The matchups in the knockout stages are decided by the results of the group stage. At the end of the knockout stages, there is one player remaining from each platform. The last phase of the FUT Champions Cup in Barcelona is the Grand Final. That’s where the two winners from each console play each other over two legs – one game on PlayStation and one game on Xbox. The player who wins on aggregate takes home the Barcelona FUT Champions Cup. The 8 best participants from each platform also secure themselves a spot in the FIFA 18 Global Series playoffs, which take place in June 2018.

The schedule

Friday, 26th January 2018

12:00 CET | Round 1

13:15 CET | Round 2

14:30 CET | Round 3

15:45 CET | Round 4

17:00 CET | Round 5

18:15 CET | Round 6

19:30 CET | Round 7

21:00 CET | Round 8

 

Saturday, 27th January 2018

12:00 CET | Round of 16 (PlayStation games 1 & 2; Xbox games 1 & 2)

13:15 CET | Round of 16 (PlayStation games 3 & 4; Xbox games 3 & 4)

14:30 CET | Round of 16 (PlayStation games 5 & 6; Xbox games 5 & 6)

15:45 CET | Round of 16 (PlayStation games 7 & 8; Xbox games 7 & 8)

17:00 CET | Quarterfinals (PlayStation game 1; Xbox game 1)

18:15 CET | Quarterfinals (PlayStation game 2; Xbox game 2)

19:30 CET | Quarterfinals (PlayStation game 3; Xbox game 3)

21:00 CET | Quarterfinals (PlayStation game 4; Xbox game 4)

 

Sunday, 28th January 2018

12:00 CET | PlayStation Semi-final 1

13:15 CET | Xbox Semi-final 1

14:30 CET | PlayStation Semi-final 2

15:45 CET | Xbox Semi-final 2

17:00 CET | PlayStation Final

18:00 CET | Xbox Final

19:00 CET | Break

20:00 CET | Grand Final

S04 subscribers can follow Schwartmann and Schmandt’s games live on Twitch from Friday 26th. Further info can be found on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.