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Like Winston Churchill in the face of endless hordes of German bombers, Gorilla is England’s great hope against three German competitors in semifinals of the FIFA Interactive World Cup, which was apparently trying to reenact the Battle of Britain on Thursday in London.
Despite a disconnection in the first leg of the Xbox One division final, Gorilla took a stunning 6-0 lead into Friday’s second leg against CodyDerFinisher of Germany. In the PlayStation 4 final, Deto leads TimoX 1-0 after the first leg in an all-German affair.
They just got a DC at the @FIWC LAN event lmao, this game is esports ready!
https://t.co/hkQvGbSL3x— Naeem (@ThisIsNaeem) August 17, 2017
Gorilla, the lone Englishman out of five to reach the knockout stages, took out USA’s Epsilon Joey in the quarterfinals 6-4 and Janoz 6-2 in the semifinals. The highest-scoring player in the group stage then put six past CodyDerFinisher, the top defensive player in the group stage, in the first leg of their Xbox final.
The division final second legs will be Friday, with the two winners advancing to face off in a cross-console two-legged affair immediately after. Thursday’s action included the division quarterfinals and semifinals as well as the aforementioned first legs of the divisional finals.
The two Americans to reach the knockout round, Aman and Joey, were dispatched early on Thursday. Aman was edged 2-1 by Canadian FilthyP94 in the only all-Western Hemisphere matchup of the day.
The biggest surprise Thursday came from Janoz as the Colombian crushed FIFA Ultimate Team Championship winner Rockyy 6-1 in the quarterfinals. Janoz followed that up with his four-goal loss to Gorilla after missing a woefully taken penalty kick early in a scoreless match.
Before the final match of the day, here's the XBox Divisional journey so far!
— #FIWC17 (@FIWC) August 17, 2017
Gorilla dominated in the Xbox bracket and can sleep easy heading into the second leg against CodyDerFinisher. He went up 3-0 inside 25 minutes and led 5-0 in the 71st minute when the game froze from a disconnection. Referees decided to set up another game and let them play for 19 in-game minutes (about 2.5 minutes IRL), giving CDF a chance to rebuild some momentum. Instead, Ousmane Dembele scored his second goal of the match to put the Brit up 6-0 and demoralize the German.
It's been a fascinating day so far in London...#FIWC17 pic.twitter.com/4b3bgBWrwx
— #FIWC17 (@FIWC) August 17, 2017
The PS4 final was a bit more straightforward. Deto, an experienced player who is among the best at keeping possession, used a slow buildup to hammer home the only goal in the first leg, a 76th-minute strike from Cristiano Ronaldo.
Deto only qualified for the knockout rounds by edging Rein10 on goal differential for fourth place in Group 1 but began to peak on Thursday. He beat Group 2 winner ManiiKa 5-3 and fellow German Mo-Aubameyang 4-2 in the semifinals.
His secret has been using the Team of the Season version of Alexandre Lacazette. The new Arsenal striker had a hat trick in the first leg of the semifinals but is not widely used in a mode that lets competitors choose teams from just about every available player, including some all-time greats like Ruud Gullit.
“I just love his style, his killer instinct,” Deto told FIFA.com of Lacazette. “He was in the team of the season so it boosts his stats in the game.”
Like Deto, TimoX barely made it through the group stages but knocked off two favorites to reach the PS4 final, first edging LucasRep98 of Brazil 2-0 then defeating Group 1 winner IcePrinsipe of Italy 6-5 on a golden goal.
How did that win feel, @TimoX08? #FIWC17 pic.twitter.com/PwkI9GnerY
— #FIWC17 (@FIWC) August 17, 2017
TimoX, unlike CodyDerFinisher, is still in it ahead of Friday’s second leg.
The grand final on Friday will feature one match on each console. Unlike in the knockout rounds, road goals will count as FIFA crowns its world champion.
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