Zarate withdraws from the FIFA Champions League

 

It’s been a long time coming. Many questioned his desire and ability to compete at the highest level this season, and Joseph ‘Zarate’ Yeo has finally announced his decision to withdraw from the RGN FIFA Champions’ League. Defeat against si_jali last week proved to be the final straw in what was a frustrating campaign for the 2-time WCG Singapore silver medalist.

 

 

At the time of his withdrawal, Zarate had managed just 8 points from 11 games, recording wins over only his relegation rivals si_jali and KirosZ. It’s fair to say that the former Flash eSports player severely underperformed at the highest level, vindicating Terence Ting’s decision to cut him from the Singaporean gaming outfit earlier this year.

 

The 20 year old’s poor results can be traced directly to his lack of practice. Instead of working on FIFA 14, Zarate spends his time on the FIFA Online 3 servers. A quick look at his online stats for FIFA 14 shows that he has completed just 10 ranked games since the game’s release in late-September, well below the number required to be competitive in a regional champions’ league.

 

Implications

Zarate’s withdrawal significantly affects the complexion of the RGN FIFA Champions’ League table. Hakumenfox and hibidi were held to draws against Zarate early on, and because all games involving him are now void, these two players see their relative positions improve against players like El Rey and leOmeS.

 

 

2 players are relegated at the end of each Champions’ League season, and Zarate’s withdrawal means that number will now be reduced to 1. At this point in time, KirosZ looks to be the odds on favourite to go down, but a couple of wins will serve to bring players like Nonii9 and si_jali into the picture.

 

The RGN FIFA Champions’ League is live on stream from 3pm-5.30pm (GMT+8) every Sunday. For more information on Southeast Asia’s biggest FIFA pro league, visit the league site at https://rapturegaming.net/league/fifa_elite/