Universal CityWalk in Los Angeles, California hosted the North American FIFA Interactive World Cup Finals. At stake was a trip to Berlin, Germany to compete in the Grand Finals, where elite gamers will battle for a $20,000 prize, and an all expenses paid trip to attend the FIFA World Player Gala 2008, where the winner will meet with the world's best football stars of the year. I was lucky enough to be at the event, and even got in on the action.
 |
| The event saw 128 gamers line up to compete |
The first thing to note was that this event was first class all the way. EA, PlayStation, and GameSpot (the location of the event) did a great job to ensure that everyone in attendance had a great experience. Often times, when it comes to video game tournaments, casual gamers are intimidated by the more experienced gamers and decide not to attend. That would be a mistake for the FIWC. True, there are some very good gamers that attend these events, but the majority of gamers are there to experience the excitement surrounding the video game they love to play. Friendships were made, rivalries began, and tips were shared. The fact is that 128 people attended, and only one person won. The other 127 did not go home unhappy though. Everyone was treated to free entry to the tournament, a free t-shirt, a free PlayStation bag, and a free ball. Chivas USA players were also on hand to sign autographs and play gamers in FIFA 08. In addition to all the swag, gamers crowded the screens and cheered on their favorites. Chants from the crowd, celebrations from the gamers after goals, and even some penalty shootout drama had everyone there entertained by the action.
Let's get to the action. The tournament structure was setup to be a single-elimination event. That means 7 straight games needed to be won in order to win the event. Competition was fierce, as gamers from across North America were in attendance. The most well known gamer at the event was Ruben Morales. He's a 19-year old professional gamer who flew in from Mexico City for this event. He won the North American regional in 2005, and placed 3rd in the FIWC finals that year. In addition to his FIWC success, he also is a member of the Mexico City Furia, a professional team of video gamers in the CGS.
Ruben and his crew, the FIFASticos, were ready to do some damage at this event. But he wasn't the only person who had an eye on winning this event. Dallas Venom, another team from the CGS, saw their FIFA gamer, Isidro Sifuetes arrive from Texas to take his shot at the title. However, these professional gamers would see their opportunity to compete in the FIWC finals slip away at the hands of a high school senior.
 |  |
| Chivas USA team members were there giving interviews, signing autographs, and playing crowd members in games of FIFA 08. | Games were displayed on the BIG screen! |
Eighteen year old Michael LaBelle, from Houston, TX dominated this event to win the crown. He won the required seven games to take this event, but not without a couple close calls. I'm proud to report that I gave Michael LaBelle quite a run for his money. We met in the Round of 16, and he beat me 4-3 in overtime. The game was very close, and I even had an opportunity in the second overtime to take the lead, but missed a shot from near the penalty spot. Promptly, Michael took the ball from that miss and created a goal of his own to take the lead for good. However, the game of the tournament came in the semi-final when Michael LaBelle took on Ruben Morales.
Michael LaBelle played the role of villain to the pro-Mexican crowd. Morales heard chants of "Mexico, Mexico", during the game as the crowd cheered at every Morales possession. LaBelle heard jeers from the crowd, and enjoyed antagonizing them with every goal he scored. The game started with LaBelle scoring to lead 1-0. Morales tied the game just before halftime. In the second half, LaBelle again took the lead with a well orchestrated series of passes that led to a goal. However, Morales immediately countered by scoring directly from the kicoff with slicing passes through LaBelle's defense. This goal seemed to give Morales the momentum, and many observers thought that the crowd was getting to LaBelle. However, Michael stayed poised and scored the game winning just before time expired to win the game, 3-2. This was a great game, and proved to basically be the real championship game. In the final, LaBelle dominated his opponent to capture a 4-1 victory to secure his spot in the finals.
After the tournament, I had the opportunity to interview Michael LaBelle.
 |  |
| Ruben Morales speaks to the crowd. | The final four are announced to the audience. |
What FIFA events have you competed in previously?
Well in the past couple years I have been taking "FIFA" more seriously leading to alot of different competitions. I placed 3rd place at the World Cyber Games National last year as well as going to Amsterdam for FIWC where i placed top 16. I will be going to the CGS combine this weekend coming up, March 6th - 9th where if I perform well I will get drafted and be involved in the league.
Do you play any other video game?
I play alot of games for fun other than "FIFA". I have played madden before competitively, a couple years ago I made like the top 200 for the madden challenge, but I really didn't think that was the game for me even as its popularity grew.
 |
| Michael LaBelle, from Houston, won the North America FIWC |
You're a senior in high school. Did you play soccer in HS? What got you hooked on FIFA? How long have you been playing?
I play soccer in high school, and for club( which is like an outside school league with divisions. It's taken much more serious and has a lot better competition than high school). I have been playing FIFA since 2004, and naturally I liked it because of all my soccer knowledge and experience in real life.
What consoles do you play FIFA on?
I play "FIFA" on 360, ps3, and pc, I like the challenge of learning 2 different gms with the pc and console being nothing alike.
Did you find it intimidating at all when many of the spectators where chanting "Mexico, Mexico" when you were playing Rubin Morales?
Actually not really, Ruben and I are good friends and every time you play someone like Ruben you can expect celebration and noise. Before the tourney started I knew I would face him eventually and I was pretty sure I had the upper hand even with his crowd advantage.
What hints / tips would you recommend to someone who is trying to get better at FIFA?
In all "FIFA" games 1st off you need to have good defense, good defense can be great offense, and in "FIFA" you need to be creative, if your predictable you will not be able to put together multiple passes in a row. There are alot of things that can make you a great player but to be the best you must master multiple techniques while having creativity.
If the Finals in Germany use updated rosters, will you still use Barcelona?
At the moment I'm not sure but I have tried plenty of teams with the update and Barcelona if used correctly is still the best in my opinion.
You like the 4-2-2-2 formation - what formation would you use in the finals if the roster update takes away the Barcelona default formation?
You know this as does many but when playing offline you can manipulate your formation around until you get every guy in the right spot. So in Germany you can expect some surprises from me I'm sure.
Good Luck in Germany!
