The eFootball.Open 2021 World Finals streamed on Sunday, July 18th. Four players each competed on six platforms for the title. Ebipool, ZEUS_ELUL, komario14, MelianTheKing, rafafiel10, and NÓBREGA are the World Champions of PS4 Japan, PS4 Asia, PS4 Europe, PS4 Americas, Xbox One, and STEAM respectively.
PS4 Japan
Tess and Takaki kicked off the competition with their Semifinal. Takaki took an early lead with two goals in quick succession, the first in minute 14’ and the second in minute 18’. Tess put himself on the scoreboard in minute 49’, however Takaki’s final goal in minute 63’ guaranteed his path to the Final. Leva and Ebipool went head-to-head in the second Semifinal. Ebipool created a generous lead with three goals in a row in minutes 15’, 21’, and 25’. Although Leva avoided a shutout loss with his shot in minute 53’, Ebipool left their fixture victorious.
Ebipool and Takaki faced off in the Final, which was a low scoring game that ended in 0-1, in favor of Ebipool. His successful shot earned him the title of PS4 Japan World Champion.
PS4 Asia
The first Semifinal was between aji_battle208 and ZEUS_ELGA. aji_battle208 achieved two goals by the 25th minute, however they were equalized by the following two scored by ZEUS_ELGA in minutes 62’ and 86’. The scoreboard remained tied until the penalty shootout that resulted in aji_battle208’s favor with 3-1, sending him to the Final. ZEUS_ELUL and ZEUS_Faidan played in the following Semifinal, which commenced with an early lead for ZEUS_ELUL in minute 10’. It wasn’t equalized until ZEUS_Faidan’s penalty kick in minute 89’. ZEUS_ELUL secured his victory with a final shot in minute 90+3’.
The Final began with ZEUS_ELUL taking the lead in minute 14’, only to be equalized less than ten minutes later by aji_battle208. ZEUS_ELUL brought the score back into his favor in minute 29’, although it was equalized once again by his opponent in minute 45+2’. ZEUS_ELUL went on to score three more goals, and aij_battle208 only one in minute 57’, ultimately granting the title to ZEUS_ELUL.
PS4 Europe
bestia091119933 was the first to score in his Semifinal by minute 14’, however his opponent, komario14, quickly equalized the scoreboard in minute 21’. The two each achieved another goal, returning the score to a draw. komario14’s following two shots in minutes 71’ and 74’ solidified his lead and earned him a spot in the Final. In a lower scoring second Semifinal, oreld123 put himself on the scoreboard first in minute 54’. Although uae1-thebest created a draw in minute 60’, his opponent's following shot in minute 75’ guaranteed his chance to battle for the title.
The Final of the PS4 Europe platform was a quiet game that remained scoreless through the first half of the competition. It was in minute 77’ that komario14 scored the one goal he needed to defeat oreld123 and be crowned World Champion.
PS4 Americas
MelianTheKing and HenrykinhO faced off in the Semifinal for the chance to compete in the Final and earn the title. MelianTheKing put himself on the scoreboard by the second minute of the game, which ended up being the only goal of the entire match and advanced him to the Final round. In the second Semifinal, it was Rey Molina who gained the early lead with his goal in minute 5’, which was then doubled in minute 29’. Although LeoM1T0 managed one successful shot in minute 39, Rey Molina claimed the Semifinal victory with his final goal of the game in minute 45+2’.
MelianTheKing displayed his skills by creating an impressive four goal lead for himself by the 36th minute of the Final. Rey Molina then cut this advantage in half with two shots of his own in minutes 43’ and 58’. With each player scoring one more goal, they created the 5-3 result in MelianTheKing’s favor, making him the World Champion of PS4 Americas.
XB1
The first Semifinal was in rafafiel10’s favor by minute 37’, and doubled in minute 67’. His opponent, Saturn868643, avoided a shutout loss with a goal in minute 90+2’ however it wasn’t enough to prevent rafafiel10 from advancing to the Final. Éder and NOVATO faced off in the following Semifinal, with Éder taking the lead in minute 17’. The scoreboard was then equalized two times in a row, bringing the score to 2-2 before there was a disconnection in the game in the second half. An extra 45 minutes were played, per competition rules, leading to the final 4-3 result in Éder’s favor.
The Final didn’t feature a single goal throughout the entire first half, with rafafiel10 being the first and only player to appear on the scoreboard in minute 61’. He then doubled his lead in minute 77’, and the 2-0 score remained unchanging for the rest of the game, making rafafiel10 the XB1 champion.
STEAM
EV_SEBACAB96 dominated the first Semifinal by creating the most impressive lead of the entire tournament, scoring five consecutive goals between minute 49’ and minute 80’, while not conceding a single goal. It was in minute 88’ that his opponent, Npk_02 was able to achieve one successful shot, however the score remained at 5-1 and EV_SEBACAB96 advanced to the Final. In the Semifinal to determine who would go up against him, NÓBREGA scored within the first five minutes. Although momojuve was able to create a tie in minute 42’, his opponent regained the lead and secured his spot in the Final.
The first goal of the Final was achieved by NÓBREGA by minute 14’, which was then equalized late in the game at minute 80’ by EV_SEBACAB96. The 1-1 draw lasted through extra time and forced a penalty shootout between the two finalists. In the closest competition of the day, NÓBREGA came out on top and was crowned World Champion of the STEAM platform.