This article is part of our Soccer series.
Season 2 of the FIFA Ultimate Team Championship Series began in Vancouver, Canada on Friday, with players from all around the globe competing for a chance to qualify for the Ultimate Team Championship in Berlin. With two different regionals taking place, the Rest of the World on Friday, and the Americas Regional on Saturday, competition was fierce across the two day event. In the end, Aldossary "MSdossary7" Mossad destroyed the competition en route to lifting the Rest of the World trophy, while Giuseppe "xGuastellax" Guastella would march through the Americas region to earn his spot.
MSdossary didn't just win the Rest of the World Regional, he dominated it. The Saudi Arabian player never lost a game throughout the group stage or the knockout bracket, winning by a combined score of 23-3 throughout the seven games leading up to the Grand Final. In a combination of finesse and expert pacing, MSdossary wouldn't be denied, relying on a bounty of Legends to pressure his opponent into critical mistakes.
MSdossary wasn't the only one to dominate the scene Friday, as the PS4 division winner, Shun "fifantomCR" Okabe, managed to win six games and tie another early on in the group stage. Clincal in his approach, fifantomCR relied on a swarming defense to overwhelm his opponents, not allowing a single goal throughout the knockout bracket. MSdossary's offense proved too much, however, when the two squared off in the Grand Finals as the Saudi Arabian native won on aggregate goals 3-1.
In contrast to the dominating performances that took place on Friday, Saturday saw a handful on intense games litter the knockout stages. Between the Xbox One and PS4 divisions, 15 of the 28 games in the Americas Regional knockout stage were determined either by penalty kicks or a one goal advantage. xGuastellax was the main beneficiary of the nail-biting action, winning three consecutive games by either penalty kicks or one goal before making it to the finals.
There though, xGuastellax put together one of the most dominant games of the weekend, taking care of the up-and-coming Joga Cesc 5-0 to win the Xbox One division. It was a fantastic turnaround for the veteran xGuastellax, who struggled to make much of an impact in the Season 1 Miami Regional, failing to make it out of the group stage. Now thanks to the Season 2 victory, xGuastellax will get a chance to prove himself once more, this time on the biggest stage in Berlin.
One of the biggest beneficiaries of the Season 1 regional in Miami was Christopher "NYC_Chris" Holly, then known as didychrislito. Despite having not played in a live event prior, NYC_Chris nearly qualified for FUT Championship in Berlin, just narrowly losing in the semifinals of the lower bracket. The surprising run drew the attention of New York City FC, who eventually signed NYC_Chris to become the first ever esports player to sign with a MLS team. Now represented by a major organization, NYC_Chris appeared to use the extra pressure as motivation, advancing to the semifinals of the upper bracket before losing in penalty kicks to Reinhard "rein10" Krause.
Undeterred, NYC_Chris would win his next game to set up a rematch to determine who would be crowned the PS4 champion of the Season 2 Americas Regional. Needing to win two games by virtue of coming through the lower bracket, NYC_Chris would do just that, becoming the first player in a FUT Regional to win a final by going through the lower bracket. While he would eventually lose a close Grand Final to xGuastellax, NYC_Chris's trip to Canada certainly had to be considered a success. It appears as if the New York native may be on the fast track towards success and could be a name to watch when he takes the pitch in Germany.
