Manchester United Esports clinch 2023 eFootball Championship Pro title

2 July 2023

Manchester City may have won the treble last season, but there was at least one pitch that did not turn skyblue and that was eFootball’s virtual pitch. That’s because the 2023 eFootball Championship Pro was won by none other than the United Arab Emirates-owned club’s arch-rival, Manchester United. After several months of competition between the best players in Europe, the Red Devils managed to beat German giants Bayern Munich in the final that took place on Saturday, June 24th. It all came down to a thrilling best-of-three clash that was eventually decided by a penalty shoot-out.

Dominant display from Red Devils

Manchester United have not been at their very best in the Premier League over the past few years, but the same cannot be said of their performances in terms of esports in the UK. The Red Devils passed the 2023 eFootball group stage with relative ease, finishing in second place behind FC Barcelona and automatically qualifying for 2023 eFootball Championship Pro knock-out stage. Together with the Spanish powerhouse, they were allowed to enter the event at the semi-final stage, with two quarterfinals to decide who would face them.
The first quarterfinal was between fourth-placed FC Bayern Munich and fifth-placed AS Roma, while the second quarterfinal was played by Premier League side Arsenal and sixth-placed AC Milan. These resulted in victories for Bayern and Milan, respectively, which created semi-final clashes between Barcelona and Bayern Munich, and between Man United and AC Milan. Both Barcelona and Bayern managed 2-1 victories over their respective rivals, meaning the 2023 eFootball Championship Pro final was going to be a repeat of the 2011 UEFA Champions League final.

No mistakes in the final

Contrary to the matches that were played during the knock-out stages of the tournament, the final of the 2023 eFootball Championship Pro was played in a best-of-three format, meaning that the first team to win two games would be crowned champion. Manchester United Esports made no mistake as they started with a 0-2 victory in the first game, before guiding the second game to a goalless draw and therefore, a penalty shoot-out. During the spot kicks, it was United’s Kilyan “Kilzyou” Faucheux who kept the coolest head as he defeated Barcelona’s José “FCB_Jose” Sánchez Guillén and brought the title to Manchester. On top of that, both of Manchester United’s players (“Kilzyou” and “Nekza”) plus eight more players from the tournament qualified for the eFootball Championship Open 2023 World Finals that will be taking place in Tokyo (Japan) on Saturday, July 22nd, and Sunday, July 23rd, 2023.
“Obviously I am absolutely delighted for the boys”, said Scott Martin, Man United’s manager, after their impressive victory, “They worked so hard all year and have been fantastic ambassadors for our club. They performed at an incredible standard. Despite facing setbacks midway through the season, they regrouped, showed fantastic mentality, and especially in the past few matchdays, they refused to be beaten. Myself and the club are extremely proud of them”.