Bayern’s Spanish esports trio of Miguel Mestre, Alex Alguacil and José Sánchez all represented their country in the virtual football European championship over the weekend. After comfortably progressing through the group stage, the tournament – which is played on eFootball PES 2020 – ended in a dramatic quarter-final exit for the FCB trio against Serbia. “When it was all over, there was a brief vacuum. You switch off the PlayStation and sit in your house as if nothing had happened,” explained Alguacil after the elimination. “It was one of the most exciting and also one of the harshest tournaments I’ve ever played in,” summarised the 22-year-old from Andalusia. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the tournament was played online and not as a big live event as it normally is.
Got the better of league rivals
Almost the entire Spain team came from Bayern.
The Spaniards made a good start to the competition, topping their group with wins over Romania and Germany to set up a quarter-final against Serbia. Germany, whose team comprised players from Schalke 04, exited at the group stage. In the first match of the ‘best-of-three’ quarter-finals, José Sánchez won on penalties. Mestre then stepped up for the remaining two matches. “The four of us as a team always decide who’s most suitable,” explained Sánchez. He put up a good fight, but the 21-year-old suffered two narrow defeats, first on Golden Goal and then on penalties, which ended their title hopes.
Full focus on training
“We fancied our chances but in the end you need a bit of luck, too,” summarised Alguacil. “Our focus is immediately back on the eFootball.pro League, which will hopefully resume soon. The elimination at UEFA eEURO makes the three of us even more motivated to show what we’re really capable of with FC Bayern!”
What does a day in the life of an esports pro look like? Miguel Mestre gave us an insight shortly before the eEURO: