WCG 2012: FIFA 12 Review

The dust has settled on WCG Singapore 2012, and what an amazing event it turned out to be. 2012 will be remembered for competitive FIFA in Singapore, a vintage year for one of the most popular eSports titles under WCG.

 

The pre-tournament buzz was all about whether Kickers.Kim07 would rush back from Malaysia to mount a title defense. He had earlier given up his 3rd place seed in order to take part in the Asian Championship, resulting in his teammate Kickers.Amos being seeded instead. Unfortunately for Kim, his attempts to negotiate an exchange for his seeded spot was met with an impasse.

 

Kim07 was eventually allowed to enter the tournament as a group stage registrant because of an absent Group A player. He probably hopes now that he had given the tournament a miss altogether, as he was unceremoniously dumped out of WCG by the end of the group stage. Kelvin ‘BigBreastDog’ Ng and Yazid ‘zids’ Ramli took turns to destroy the defending champion in emphatic wins.

 

The rest of the Kickers squad then came unstuck after the group games were completed. Kickers.WanCristiano, Kickers.Amos and Kickers.Dinesh were eliminated well before the latter stages of the tournament. It was a hugely disappointing day for them.

 

Joseph ‘Flash.Zara’ Yeo in action against Nasilem
(Picture by RobotsGoneBad)

 

In stark contrast, the team from Flash eSports sliced through the competition. Flash.El Rey, Flash.Zara and myself made short work of our opponents and all advanced to the semi-finals. The only ‘outsider’ among the top 4 was Ahmad ‘musibots’ Baihaqhi, a relative newcomer to the WCG scene.

 

I was paired against musibots in the first semi-final and took the series in straight sets (3-1, 3-2). The other semi-final was far from straightforward. Both Flash youngsters traded blows in an incredibly close matchup. El Rey took set 1 with a 2-1 score line, before Zara bounced back to win the series by taking the next two sets 4-1 and 3-2. Although visibly distraught at missing out on the final in his WCG debut, El Rey managed to sufficiently compose himself to win the 3rd place playoff against musibots, ensuring an all-Flash top 3.

 

Flash.hibidi scored the winner against musibots in set 2 of the semi-final
(Picture by Flash eSports)

 

Erwyn ‘Flash.El Rey’ Shah after his elimination at the hands of Flash.Zara
(Picture by RobotsGoneBad)

 

Flash.Zara (Left) vs Flash.hibidi (Right)
(Picture by Flash eSports)

 

The final was one to savor. Set 1 was a tense tight affair, and the winner came in the 79th virtual minute courtesy of a Cristiano Ronaldo header from a Karim Benzema cross. 1-0 to hibidi.

 

Set 2 was equally close, but the turning point came midway through the first half with the score tied at 1-1, when Zara’s Kaka felled Ronaldo in the box. The expected outcome (a red card for a professional foul) strangely did not materialize. Zara saved the resulting penalty and went on to score two well-worked corners to eventually take the set 3-2.

 

And so the deciding set understandably was a scrappy affair, with the prestigious WCG gold medal hanging in the balance. Zara and I spent long periods probing in midfield, until the breakthrough finally arrived for me late in the second half. A quick counterattack down the right flank left Mesut Ozil wide open in the box, and his goal-bound shot hit Zara’s Pepe and trickled into the back of the net past the despairing dive of Iker Casillas. Zara threw the kitchen sink at me after going behind but time eventually ran out and the rubber set finished 2-1 in my favor.

 

The final between Flash.hibidi and Flash.Zara, played in the tournament area
instead of on stage due to delays
(Picture by RobotsGoneBad)

 

This talented Flash team has proven itself to be the best FIFA team in the country. Our attention now shifts to the world championship in China in December. Another all-Flash final perhaps? Don’t bet against it!