This week 32 of the best FIFA players from across the globe will be at London's O2 arena for the FIFA eWorld Cup 2018 Grand Final.
As well as being named the best FIFA player in the world, the winner will take home $250,000 in prize money.
Ahead of three days of competitive FIFA, the current champion, Spencer “Gorilla” Ealing spoke to Goal about his chances, tactics and which footballers could one day make it big in FIFA.
Since you last spoke to Goal you’ve moved from Unilad eSports to Faze Clan. What sparked the move?
My contract had expired with UniLad and the chance to move over there at this time in my career was too good to miss. I don’t think it would have happened in FIFA 19 or FIFA 20. I never had anything bad with UniLad, I enjoyed the year I had with them, but I felt like I needed an established eSports organisation and they’ve been going forever. I think a lot of stuff will kick in with FIFA 19.
You’re in a tough group with MSDossary, Rafsou and Goal Machine. What're your chances of topping the group?
My group is the hardest. I think it’s the hardest I’ve seen for a while. The likes of Rafsou, Sakul, MSDossary... a lot of top players, but the top four go through so I have some leeway. There’s a lot of top players and they’re going to take points off each other so I’m going to look to capitalise and win my games against them. I’m confident.
Who would you like to meet in the final?
The easiest game possible would be nice. For a fans perspective, I’d say Nicholas. He’s been one of the better players this year, especially on the Playstation side.
With all the new FUT cards coming out in the past couple of months, are you looking to play with any new players?
I’ve tried a lot of the players, I think I’ll try a couple of new ones. I think I’ll go with the 92 [Antonio] Valencia instead of Kyle Walker. I think maybe the 99 Luis Suarez instead of R9 Ronaldo, which is going to be a big decision to make. We will wait and see. We’ve not practiced at the event yet. I think a lot of players will end up using the new players a lot more, like Pogba.
Being at the O2, do you feel like you have home advantage?
For me, it does. The only tournaments I’ve won have been in London. I feel like I play much better at home. I don’t know why. I think it plays a massive part.
You’ve played against professional footballers, not just FIFA pros. Who’s been the best?
I’d probably say David Myler. He plays a hell of a lot at home. I played 2 vs 2 with Wilfred Zaha on my team against David Myler and my old Unilad teammate Shellz. He was surprisingly good. When you go into playing with footballers you never know if they’re going to be any good.
Could we see David Meyler competing in the future?
I’m not sure. He has his commitments with his team. I think he’s definitely up there and puts a lot of time into the game. I’ve played him a number of times and he’s pretty decent.