FIFA Ultimate Team Asia Allstars Tournament

' Are you a FIFA fan? We seached for the ultimate FIFA 13 player in the Asia Pacific region! GameSpot teamed up with Electronic Arts to create the FIFA Ultimate Team Asia Allstars tournament to determine the ultimate FIFA 13 player in Asia Pacific. The grand final took place on Saturday March 23 at Avalon Nightclub in Singapore. First place was taken by Japanese competitor Kei "Kuranyi" Umezu, who scored AU$10,000 for his victory. Australian player Adam "HumptyDumpy" Kharman placed second. Be sure to check out the photo gallery of the event. Over 150 spectators attended the event which was live streamed from the location. GameSpot hosted multiple 32-player preliminary tournaments in Australia, Singapore, and Japan to determine which players would represent their country, with the successful GameSpot entrants battling it out at separate qualifier events across the three countries. To keep it on an even playing field, entrants in the preliminary tournaments were set up with a pre-made FIFA 13 team to use. Each preliminary tournament was conducted with players allocated a console and FIFA Ultimate Team profile to play on the night, with all 32 players playing until only one winner was left. Watch the live stream of the finals here. The qualifiers have run and the champions from each region have been decided. To check out the results, interviews with the winners and more, follow the appropriate region link below. Australia Qualifiers Brisbane qualifier results, Thursday 28 February. Sydney qualifier results, Tuesday 5 March. Melbourne qualifier results, Thursday 7 March. Singapore Qualifiers Singapore qualifier results, Sunday 3 March. Watch the replay. Japan Qualifiers Tokyo qualifier results, Saturday 16 March. View the photo gallery. Check out the twitch replay here. All trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. Brisbane Qualifier The Brisbane Qualifiers took place at Mana Bar. Check out all the action that took place in the live stream replay! Watch live video from gamespot&#x27;s channel on TwitchTV GameSpot AU sat down with the winner, Kieran "Muzza255" Murray, and asked what he thought about the competition. How long have you been playing FIFA 13, and how did you get into playing competitively? I've been playing FIFA since FIFA 97. I first got into competitive play in FIFA 09 when after beating a friend he suggested I sign up to an online competition. I won that and have been playing competitively ever since. What is it about FIFA 13 in particular that drew you to the game? FIFA is a very strategic game: it's all about reading your opponent and being one step ahead. I really enjoy the little mind games that go on in a game of FIFA. What players do you like using, and why do you like using them? My favourite players to use in the game are Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso. As a Liverpool fan I'm already strongly biased towards them and they can make passes that other players simply can't. Tell us about your eSports career highlights. I've competed in my fair share of tournaments but the three moments that stand out to me the most are: - My first live tournament win. It was at ACL Sydney in 2011 in an unbelievably close final against Mark 'Skip1' Azzi. - Competing in the World Cyber Games in South Korea in 2011. - Traveling to New York to compete in the Virgin Gaming Challenge Series last year. It's easily the biggest tournament in the world for FIFA these days and it was a great opportunity to play against some of the best players in the world and watch them play. What do you think the Australian eSports scene needs to take it to the next level? More opportunities for gamers to compete on the international stage. There are lots of great gamers in Australia and the more they get to play internationally the more attention it will bring to our scene. For more photos of the night, be sure to check out the FIFA Ultimate Team Asia Allstars Brisbane qualifier photo gallery. Sydney Qualifier The Sydney Qualifiers took place at the GameSpot AU offices. Check out all the action that took place in the live stream replay! Watch live video from gamespot&#x27;s channel on TwitchTV GameSpot AU sat down with the winner, Adam "HumptyDumpy" Kharman, and asked what he thought about the competition. How long have you been playing FIFA 13, and how did you get into playing competitively? I've been playing FIFA since 2003 but only started playing at a competitive level in 2010&#47;2011. What is it about FIFA 13 in particular that drew you to the game? I guess what drew me into FIFA was the ability to emulate real life soccer and try to mimic the "Arsenal" style of play. What players do you like using, and why do you like using them? My favourite FIFA player in the game has to be Neymar simply because of his precise dribbling and five star skill rating. I love using him up front to cause many problems for the opposition's defence. Tell us about your eSports career highlights. I think my biggest eSports highlight was the opportunity to travel to Las Vegas to represent Australia in the Virgin Gaming Challenge Series. That was a very rewarding experience and I learnt a lot from it as the top 256 FIFA 13 players in the world competed. What do you think the Australian eSports scene needs to take it to the next level? I've always thought that the Australian eSports scene could be improved with better promotion and advertising. There are so many quality gamers in Australia but many of them don't hear about big tournaments and events. For more photos of the night, be sure to check out the FIFA Ultimate Team Asia Allstars Sydney qualifier photo gallery. Melbourne Qualifier The Melbourne Qualifiers took place at Mana Bar Melbourne. GameSpot AU sat down with the winner, Liam "Gurka" Bednarski, and asked what he thought about the competition. How long have you been playing FIFA 13, and how did you get into playing competitively? The first football game I ever played was on the SEGA (Italia 90). The Ffrst time I ever saw FIFA was the World Cup game in 1998 (on a PC at school), and to be honest I thought it was pretty silly then! I got into competitive gaming when I was looking for ways to continually improve my FIFA. This was through unrecognised websites however, where I played in a World Cup-themed tournament and an UEFA Champions League-themed tournament. My first official live event was at the FIWC in March 2012 in Melbourne. I managed to make it through a few rounds before facing Muzza. I lost the match but just picked up a little tip to look for more events to play. Then I played in an ESGN online event in May 2012, and from that event I got invited to a website called sixaxis gaming (AdM-Unit) which I took part in from June 2012 to this day. Meeting strong gamers such as ICYRX8 and HumptyDumpty1 online helped improve my game further. What is it about FIFA 13 in particular that drew you to the game? It really is a lifelong appreciation of football, having played the game from a young age. During FIFA 09 it went to another level when I started playing online and had a bad sports injury. The game has improved dramatically since FIFA 09 with 360 degree control, pro passing, and a defensive overhaul. All these year-on-year improvements strongly drew me to the potential of FIFA 13. Personally the very first time I played FIFA 13 I thought it was catered more to my game style. The strengths and balance of the yearly game can change suiting different players almost instantly. What players do you like using, and why do you like using them? Arsenal is my club side but they are quite average on FIFA 13. Most of my losses and draws in the "Seasons" game mode would be down to my commitment to the Arsenal cause. Southampton is another side that I strongly enjoy playing. Gaston Ramirez and Rickie Lambert makes for a lethal partnership. More recently I have really started to enjoy playing with Borussia Dortmund. As far as individual players go on the game Cesc Fabregas is one of my favorites, and Scott Parker is another. Of course you have your favorites but emotional attachment to players tends to ruin team balance in FIFA as you try to score and create with the same players. Tell us about your eSports career highlights. Fusion gaming forum – 2010 World Cup themed - Runner up (FIFA 10) FIWC - 2012 Melbourne Heat LIVE - Quarter finalist (FIFA 12) ESGN Online - May 2012 – Quarter Finalist (FIFA 12) SIXAXIS Gaming – Winter Season 2012 – Semi Finalist (FIFA 12) SIXAXIS Gaming – Summer Season 2012 – Semi Finalist (FIFA 13) GameSpot’s - FIFA 13 Ultimate Team Melbourne LIVE – Winner (FIFA 13) This event is my first win. Live events are the pinnacle of the game in my mind with much more on the line in terms of prizes and pride. Additionally the feelings are very similar to physical sports with nerves, mind games and composure there for everyone to see. There's nowhere to hide at a live event! What do you think the Australian eSports scene needs to take it to the next level? This is quite a complex question and can be viewed from a number of different angles. Gaming has been revolutionised by the constant change of technology in the last 20 years but competitively it is a relatively new industry. In Australia the population density is quite low with a wide geographical spread. This creates a number of issues in terms of creating cost effective events when you consider start-up costs (marketing, venue, consoles, event management team etc.). Online gaming is suggested as a way to by-pass this issue but the lack of stability in internet connections makes this option all the more suited to the super committed gamers rather then the wider market. Another viewpoint is the general standing of gaming in the Australian population. Generation Z is being born into a world that has very strong technological connections making the potential for mainstream gaming growth rather high. Previous generations did not have this structure. For many years serious gaming was seen as 'nerdy' and treated as such in the social structures. Therefore to take it to the next level eSports needs time and strong financial backing (corporate and public) to reach its potential. It needs to find a way to engage with the wider community. It is about breaking down barriers and building a relationship with the community to create a general understanding of what gaming is about. It's having fun, meeting new people, finding out who really is the best in the nation and rewarding them for it. For more photos of the night, be sure to check out the FIFA Ultimate Team Asia Allstars Melbourne qualifier photo gallery. Singapore Qualifier The Singapore Qualifiers took place at Funan Digital Life Mall. Check out all the action that took place in the live stream replay! Watch live video from gamespot&#x27;s channel on TwitchTV GameSpot sat down with the winners, Edgar “Ed” Chia, Joseph “Zarate” Yeo and Kamil “Kamil” Kamisan to ask what they thought about the competition. How long have you been playing FIFA 13, and how did you get into playing competitively? Ed: I started playing FIFA 07 on PC. This tournament was my first major competition. The main reason I joined is because the teams are randomized, and the game mode "Ultimate Team" is what I have spent most of the time playing. I find it somewhat rather special as compared to normal competition whereby most of the players will play very strong teams like Real Madrid or Brazil. I did not expect to get chosen to play in this tournament since I didn't play in any competition prior to this. Zarate: I have been playing FIFA 13 since the launch. I started competitively since FIFA 10 and transition to the new series every year. Kamil: I have been playing since the release of FIFA 13. I started participating in tournaments and became addicted to the rush. Nothing beats the feeling of coming back from behind! What is it about FIFA 13 in particular that drew you to the game? Ed: Definitely "Ultimate Team" mode. The feeling of getting an awesome player when opening packs is so great. Sadly, luck is not on my side as the best player I have received after opening so many packs is Marcelo. As the name suggests, you get to create your own Ultimate Team and use players you love from different clubs all around the world. Zarate: The realistic gameplay and the graphics. Kamil: The fact that it is a fairly accurate representation of the sport within a videogame. What players do you like using, and why do you like using them? Ed: My favourite players are Hazard, Mata, Oscar and Torres from Chelsea. I feel that this is the best combination in BPL right now. Hazard has the pace. Mata is a playmaker who create chances everytime he gets the ball. Oscar is still young and he is highly rated in FIFA 13. Lastly, although Torres is a very good striker in FIFA 13. He has clinical finishing and is calm and composed. His stamina is also very good. Zarate: Maicon. Because he is a beast. Kamil: C. Ronaldo - All rounded player. You can do anything with him. Donal McDermott - Deadly left foot and comfortable to dribble with. Good buy for bronze Ultimate Team. Michael Hector - Strong and reliable central defender. Able to score the odd goal during corners. Tell us about your eSports career highlights. Zarate: Highlight of my eSports career has to be placing 2nd in my WCG debut. I didn't really train and was pleased with the finish. Kamil: FIFA FIFA 13 Ultimate Team Asia All-Stars Singapore Qualifiers - 2nd Place FIFA 11 WCG Singapore 2011 - Silver Medalist FIFA 08 WCG Singapore 2008 - Silver Medalist Pro Evolution Soccer Hardwarezone The New Paper Challenge (Winning Eleven 8 - 2005) - Champion WCG Singapore 2005 Preliminaries (Winning Eleven (2005) - 2nd Place Focusplay PES League (Pro Evolution Soccer 6 - 2006) - Champion Sponsored to represent Singapore for #1 Indonesia Pro Gamer All Star 2007 For more of the night, be sure to check out the FIFA Ultimate Team Asia Allstars Singapore qualifier video recap. Japan Qualifier The Japan Qualifier took place at the M Event Bar &amp; Space in Shibuya, Tokyo. Check out all the action that took place in the live stream replay! Watch live video from gamespot&#x27;s channel on TwitchTV GameSpot AU sat down with the winners, Taiga “StanSmith” Kishi, Kei “Kuranyi” Umezu and Jumpei “JUN” Matumoto to ask what they thought about the competition. How long have you been playing FIFA 13, and how did you get into playing competitively? StanSmith: I play several FPS games competitively and have been trying to move my skills across to this new genre. Kuranyi: I have been playing FIFA since 2007. I transferred from Winning Eleven because Winning Eleven 2008 had many bugs and generally the game system sucked! I saw a small Japanese FIFA tournament last year and have been playing competitively since then. JUN: I can’t remember exactly but a few years ago I was played another football game, and there I found out about a FIFA tournament where the winner can go to Ballon d’Or! From then I started playing competitively. What is it about FIFA 13 in particular that drew you to the game? StanSmith: There are plenty of good updates. Kuranyi: I was playing FIFA since 2007. I transferred from Winning Eleven because Winning Eleven 2008 had many bugs and generally the game system sucked! I saw a small Japanese FIFA tournament last year and started playing competitively since then. JUN: It is like real football and find it very fun. FIFA has plenty of modes that I like. Tell us about your eSports career highlights. StanSmith: FIFA Interactive World Cup 2012 Japan! Kuranyi: This is my first time competing. JUN: RedBull 5G East qualifier, where I placed third. I also won the Japanese qualifier! For more photos of the night, be sure to check out the FIFA Ultimate Team Asia Allstars Japan qualifier photo gallery. '