The inaugural FC Pro Open came to a close on Saturday night, and it could hardly have concluded in a more dramatic fashion.
On an evening that was full of drama and intrigue throughout, the Grand Final delivered a true match for the ages that saw Brazilian superstar PHzin win the first-ever edition of the competition. Here then, is how the night unfolded.
Quarter-Finals
The night began with four star-studded Quarter-finals, which were:
On paper, both Vejrgang and PHzin were heavy favourites to advance from their respective Quarter-final matches.
In the case of Vejrgang, he became the only player to remain unbeaten in the Group Stages, while PHzin had scored more goals than anybody else in the competition up to that point.
Against the odds, both AbuMakkah and Young took the lead at various stages of their Quarter-finals, leaving their decorated opponents scrambling to stay in the competition.
Deadlocked at 3-3 heading into added-time, PHzin needed a 93rd-minute Kylian Mbappe winner to see off AbuMakkah, while Anders had to win a penalty shootout against Brazilian Young, having previously scored a 119th-minute equaliser.
Elsewhere in the Quarters, Levi de Weerd also needed penalties to defeat Umut, while Emre Yilmaz just about hung on to a 4-3 lead against Obrun to set up a mouthwatering Semi-final against PHzin.
Semi-Finals
With all four Semi-finalists having booked their places at the FC Pro World Championships, all focus from this stage onwards shifted to trying to win the FC Pro Open trophy.
Reigning eCL champion Emre Yilmaz got off to the perfect start in his Semi-final against PHzin, scoring inside the first few minutes.
Unfortunately for the Dutchman, that lead was soon wiped out by his free-scoring opponent, who overturned the deficit in the 26th-minute and never looked back.
At his clinical best, PHzin sealed a stunning 8-2 win against the Group A winner. Any lingering questions over the Brazilian's form following a lacklustre Match Week 6 had thoroughly been answered.
The second Semi-final between Levi de Weerd and Vejrgang was a much tighter affair, although when the RBLZ Gaming standout raced into a 4-1 lead on the hour mark, it seemed like another rout was on the cards.
While Levi was unable to score an equaliser, he did recover well late on to score twice, and set up a nervy last 15 minutes for Vejrgang who narrowly won 4-3.
Grand Final
Given their performances throughout the FC Pro Open, it seemed somehow fitting that PHzin and Vejrgang contested the first-ever Grand Final.
Both players scored early in the Final, with neither of them ever leading by more than a single goal throughout the entire 90 minutes of play.
With 20 in-game minutes to go, Vejrgang made it 5-5 thanks to his TOTY Caroline Graham Hansen item. The Dane then proceeded to shout down the camera: "He [PHzin] is so bad, he's so bad". The torch paper had well and truly been lit.
Extra-time was looking like a certainly heading into the final 10 minutes, with nothing to separate the two legendary players.
That was until the dying seconds of added-time, when PHzin's TOTY Erling Haaland item perfectly teed-up Alexis Putellas in the box, who duly hammered the ball into Vejrgang's net.
PHzin took the lead with what turned out to be the final kick of the match, and in a final act of defiance, the South American stood and recreated Vejrgang's iconic celebration right in front of him. It was, quite simply, box office.
PHzin: I want to win a lot more
In the aftermath of his win, and following an emotional trophy lift, PHzin explained what the title win means for him and his family - who flew to London to watch the Finals.
"I always do too much for my family [emotionally]," he joked.
"I know I'm one of the best [players in the world], top three, top one maybe."
The 2023 eNations Cup winner also outlined his desire to collect even more silverware this year, stating: "I want a lot more, I want a World [Championship] as well. I want the Eredivisie, I want the eChampions League."
Having added the FC Pro Open trophy to his cabinet, the sky is the limit for PHzin, who makes his Eredivisie debut in March, and will be competing alongside Vejrgang, Levi de Weerd and Emre Yilmaz once again at this summer's World Championships.
Thank you for joining us for this year's FC Pro Open, and don't forget, there's a lot more action to come this season - with FC Pro Leagues events kicking off around the world in the coming weeks and months.
In the meantime, be sure to follow us on X to keep up to date with all the latest FC Pro news, interviews and reactions.
