Vamos FC Bayern! The record champions’ Esports team will contest the eFootball Championship Pro final! Coach Matthias Luttenberger's team, comprising Spanish trio José Carlos Sánchez, Miguel Mestre and Alex Alguacil, first beat Barcelona 2-0 in the quarter-finals and then Glasgow giants Celtic in the 2-1 in the semis.
Best of three
The knockout round was contested as a ‘Best of Three’. As before, the three players from each team compete against each other in singles. The first team to win two matches advances to the next round.
And against Barcelona, who were actually the favourites, FCB only needed these first two quarter-final matches. FC Bayern's Sánchez won the first match on penalties after a 0-0 draw in normal and extra time. In the second match of the encounter, Mestre narrowly but deservedly defeated his Catalan challenger 1-0 in an equally gripping clash. The decisive goal was scored by Kingsley Coman in the 29th minute after a superb pass from Robert Lewandowski.
Watch the Barcelona match again:
Tense until the end
The semi-final was against another Esports heavyweight: Celtic were seeded by virtue of their group stagevictory. Again, Sánchez started for FC Bayern and beat his Scottish rivals 2-1. In the second match, Mestre suffered FC Bayern's first defeat in the knockout rounds, a 2-1 reverse, so a third game was needed to decide the outcome.
And Alguacil, who had lost all three of his games in the group stage, emerged as the match-winner for FC Bayern. Kingsley Coman (13) scored the opening goal, which was cancelled out by Daizen Maeda in the 32nd minute after a goalkeeping error. Robert Lewandowski (48) restored the lead at the start of the second half to put FCB 2-1 up, and the 23-year-old Alguacil then held his nerve and paved the way for FC Bayern Esports to reach the eFootball Championship Pro 2022 final.
Watch the Celtic match again:
Final vs. AS Monaco
FC Bayern Esports coach Matthias Luttenberger was visibly relieved after reaching the final: "The fact that two teams from our group are in the final shows how the size of the challenge from the group phase onwards. We had a tough battle against Barcelona, and we’d lost to Celtic in the group stage, so it was no surprise it went to three games. Now we're in the final against our old friends, Monaco. They have a top-class squad with a three-time and a two-time world champion, complemented by a young talent having a very strong season so far. We drew against Monaco in the group stage. The final will be a 50-50 game - form on the day will definitely decide it."
Munich face AS Monaco in the final of the eFootball Championship Pro 2022 on Sunday at 14:30 CEST. For their part, Monaco had previously knocked out Galatasaray and AS Roma in the knockout rounds. Bayern fans can follow the final live, free of charge and with German commentary on the FC Bayern Esports Twitch channel.
This way to the FC Bayern Esports Twitch channel.
The group stage report:
