He has done it again. EAFC player Rudi Ekmen is making history again. He survives the group stage of the eChampions League and has a ticket to the last 32. An overview of the weekend in London!
With the Belgian national title in his pocket, Rudi Ekmen got to prove it at the European level this weekend. The Malinois went to London for the group stage of the eChampions League where he found himself in a pool with JP_Sleator (UCD Dublin), Montaxer (FC Lorient), Neat (Real Valladolid) and world number one Tekkz (Manchester City).
In his first virtual soccer spot of two nine-minute matches against the later group winner Montaxer, he found himself trailing 0-2. In the end, Ekmen showed his mental resilience and pulled out a draw in the closing minutes. And that draw gave confidence for the match against Tekkz. Last year Ekmen was still eliminated by the ePremier League winner, but now the roles were reversed. Our esporter struck out scorching and played the Briton from side to side. 5-2!
And after that, Ekmen simply continued. The Irish champion JP_sleator, defending the colors of UCD Dublin, got a solid 7-1 thrashing, giving our national champion a chance to win the group. First place earns a direct ticket to the last 16, while places two and three in the group must survive another knockout round at the last 32.
To do so, Ekmen did have to get past Neat after a long break. The latter was just coming off his previous pot so he was already well adjusted. Ekmen fell behind early on and eventually could not make a fist anymore. 7-3 and an eventual handsome third place in the previously announced 'group of death'.
Rudi Ekmen thus continues to make history and is already among the best 32 EAFC players in Europe. The knockout round will be finished at Flippers London on Saturday. A possible continuation in the round of 16 is scheduled the following day. If the fairy tale continues there will be a final stop on May 29 where the best eight players will fight for the eChampions League trophy in the finals.