With champions from two regions already crowned, one Regional Finals trophy remains to be lifted at the 2017 FIFA Ultimate Team Championship Series. This time, the top players of the Americas region are battling it out in sunny Miami, Florida for a chance to win $20,000 USD and to get their hands on a ticket to the Ultimate Team Championship in Berlin. You can be sure that all competitors in both divisions are going to give their all on the big stage. But here are five specific players in the Xbox One division who you should keep an eye on, both for their championship potential and because they provide a great chance for viewing top-level play.
Janoz CFI enters the Miami Regional Final with a nice list of past competitions: nine Colombian National Tournaments, runner-up at the 2011 FIWC in Los Angeles, and making the quarterfinals at the 2010 FIWC in Barcelona. A professional player for eight years, he’s used to the heightened emotions that accompany a major event. But is he ready for the increased expectations of being a frontrunner, when every other competitor is giving him their best shot? It’ll be fun to watch and see.
While competing in online Gfinity tournaments in the past from his home in Kansas City, Missouri, Alekzandur is taking part in his live event debut at the Regional Finals. He absolutely dominated the November 2016 FUT Champions leaderboards, finishing first. That performance demonstrated that Alekzandur has the skills, but the bright lights in Miami will provide a completely different level of pressure. Miami’s a long way from Missouri!
A two-time Brazilian FIFA champion and competitive gaming veteran of five years, endyloco13 has played in his share of tough matches against high level competition, and is beginning to establish himself as a competitor other Brazilian players look up to. But he hasn’t had that defining moment yet; that win that puts his name alongside the true greats worldwide. He’s looking forward to making that mark at the Regional Finals and moving on to Berlin.
Rodrigo “D1g0” Araujo Miranda
Talk to D1g0, a professional gamer with the INTZ eSports club, and he’ll tell you that playing at the 2016 FIWC in New York, where he made it to the Grand Finals, was to date the seminal moment in his FIFA competitive career. Once you taste success, though, you want even more, which means that stakes are now higher for the Brazilian as he takes to the pitch in Miami for the Regional Finals.
Giuseppe “xGUASTELLAx” Guastella
San Pedro, California native xGUASTELLAx has been taking part in FIFA competitive gaming since 2009, and is now a professional playing for Versus eSports. He picked up a fourth-place finish at the 2012 FIWC in Dubai, and finished seventh on the 2016 November leaderboards. He’s looking to utilize his experience to finish a little higher than that in Miami – anything less than going home with the trophy will be a disappointment.
Catch all the action of the Miami Regional Final of the 2017 FIFA Ultimate Team Championship Series live on Sunday, February 19 at 10 a.m. EST right here on FUTChampions.com/live.
