About
Fifa 19 is the latest version of the famous football game series by developer and publisher EA Sports in Canada. The game does a good impression of imitating players, teams and competitions. This is largely due to the accumulation of licenses to use the official names of all major (and increasingly minor) competitions throughout the world. FIFA 18 was sold 260 million times, making it one of the best selling retail games. The addition of ‘player packs’ and the FUT mode have led to increasing popularity and revenue. The highest podium you can reach is the eWorld Cup, that you have to qualify for using the Global Series.
History
Fifa started its series with Fifa 93, being the first football simulator to get direct licenses from FIFA. Until Fifa 95, the game didn’t innovate much except for the addition of new teams and competitions. Fifa 96 revolutionised the game with a graphic overhaul and for the first time, the stadium was playable in full 3D. Fifa 99 was considered to be one of the best editions, but after that Fifa was losing the competition with Konami’s Pro Evolution Soccer for quite some time. Fifa was critized for not innovating enough. The lack of licenses to carry the names of players and clubs eventually tipped the battle between publishers in the favour of Fifa. The healthy competition contributed a lot to what is Fifa is now.
FIFA 19 esports
Within the world of esports, Fifa is kind of an ugly duckling. Compared to the likes of League of Legends, the esports scene of Fifa is hardly worth mentioning. While it is one of the biggest games in term of sales. Or is it? There isn’t a ‘traditional’ Fifa esports scene, worldwide broadcasted and a sub-culture on it’s own. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t an esports culture at all! The culture is just developing as a part of football culture in total. The players are contracted by football clubs, their Instagram have large followings and they inspire football and Fifa enthousiasts alike to interact with their favourite club even more. To become competitive with the MOBA’s and Battle Royale’s of this world, the price money has to increase and the organisation of tournaments really need to step up their game. At the moment, the so called Global Series are a qualifying event that lasts throughout the year that leads to/ends with the eWorld Cup.
Famous players
There are many players competing for the top spot, especially since most football clubs around Europe have pro-players working for them. Though last year, it were the following players that made it to the finals for the FUT-Championship:
A8drAfwz
BenediktSaltzer
CarbajalSFM
didychrislito
DiviApache
fifantomCR
FR QuintenX
Gorilla Unilad
Hashtag Tass
iTimoX
NRasec 7 (finalist)
Janoz CFI
JoGa Cesc
Kid M3mito
KlNGEP
LucasRep98
manbir2472
Falcon Msdosary (finalist)
Be sure to follow these players on their social media to learn from their plays!
FIFA 19 Betting
At the time of writing, late 2018, betting on FIFA matches is weirdly enough almost non existent. Reasons behind this are the lack of a pure esports focussed competition. Sure, there is the FIFA eWorld Cup, but there isn’t enough traction that bookmakers want to support betting. Most professional games of FIFA are played as part of regular football competitions. Another reason is that the economy of FIFA cirkels around the ‘packs’ and tradable cards. If a bookmaker wants to be successful in offering FIFA, they have to work with the concept of these FUT cards mechanic. Last but not least, many bookmakers already offer ‘virtual football matches’ that are quite popular. Read more about FIFA betting here!
Top highlights
eWorld Cup Final 2018 (Falcon Msdosary vs NRaseck 7)
FIFA 19 Early Highlights Compilation