PHzin’s victory in the FC Pro Open was certainly one to remember, and he enjoyed plenty of special moments along the way. Here, we relive his journey to lifting the trophy.
World Cup 2023
The Brazilian didn’t have to go through the FC Pro Open Global Qualifier to reach the Group Stage, as he was one of the four players that automatically qualified due to his placing in the World Cup.
He had been placed in a tough group alongside Vejrgang, Emre Yilmaz, ManuBachoore, nicolas99fc and Damian. Even so, he finished third to progress - only coming behind Emre on goal difference.
Tekkz was first up in the knockout stages. PHzin won the first leg of that tie 3-0, before holding onto the aggregate lead despite losing 4-2 in the second leg. He then faced Stingrayjnr, drawing 1-1 before going on to win the second leg 3-2.
That victory booked the Ajax player’s place in the Semi Final, and earned him a place at the Open, although he was on the wrong end of another tight scoreline against Mark11 in the next round.
Group Stage Match Week 2
There had been questions about whether automatic qualifiers could adapt to FC 24 following Mark11’s struggles in Match Week 1, but PHzin quickly dispelled those by earning dominant wins over Bonanno and Young.
He did draw against FacuCowen in Round 3 but finished the Match Week with his biggest scoreline of the day, beating Happy 7-1 to ensure he would be top of Group B going into January.
Group Stage Match Week 6
It had been presumed that PHzin would sail through to the Finals following his previous performances, but things didn’t look quite so comfortable by the end of Round 8. Having sat out the first round of Match Week 6, the Brazilian drew against dear friend Young and then lost 4-0 to FacuCowen.
Nevertheless, he refound his form to edge out goal fests against Bonanno and Happy 6-5 and 7-6 respectively, not only going through but also finishing three points ahead of second-placed Young, who he helped to progress with the latter of those results.
"It's funny that like, two years ago, I hated this guy [PHzin] and now he's one of my best friends for life,” Young said after earning his place in the Finals.
He added that they “hope to go to the World Cup now", but there was still more to come in the FC Pro Open.
Finals
February 3rd is a day that will live long in the memory of PHzin and his family, who flew all the way to London to be at the Troubadour and support him.
The Brazilian took just 10 minutes to open his account against AbuMakkah in the Quarter Final, as a move that started with cutting out a cross in his own box culminated in a cool Alexia Putellas finish.
AbuMakkah then went 2-1 up before PHzin struck back through a Kylian Mbappe trivela and was back in front by the 67th minute. The match looked destined for extra time when the Team Falcons player equalised again, but PHzin had one more big moment left in him.
The Ajax player worked some space with Mbappe and fired in at the near post, then jumped up screaming vamos and celebrated emphatically with international teammate Young.
Emre Yilmaz actually scored first in the Semi Final, but PHzin was ruthless and went 4-1 up by half time, going on to comfortably win 8-2 to set up a Final against Vejrgang.
Things were never going to be as simple against the RBLZ Gaming player, with PHzin going ahead twice in the first half and Vejrgang scoring a swift equaliser on both occasions, then taking the lead before half time.
PHzin carved out his own quick equaliser inside four minutes of the second half, with both players scoring again by the 56th minute in a sign of how difficult it would be to separate them. Undeterred, the Brazilian struck with Mia Hamm and brought out a sensational piece of goalkeeper movement to deny Mbappe before conceding another equaliser in the 74th minute.
PHzin then conjured the most outrageous of winners with one of the match’s final kicks. He did a McGeady spin and crossed for Erling Haaland to nod the ball down and finished with Putellas.
There were tears for PHzin and his family when the whistle blew seconds later, as he was crowned FC Pro Open champion to cap off a whole host of superb performances throughout the competition.
