Picture the scene: you’re playing a competitive game of FIFA 18. It’s not only streaming not online, but also on one of the world’s premiere sports networks and it’s the semi final of the eSports World Cup. You’re losing. Hard luck, right? You can either A) Shake it off and come back stronger next year or B) Throw a hissy fit mid-game and walk off. Guess which one Kurt 0411 chose…
The FIFA 18 eSports World Cup was televised on Sky Sports in the UK this year and, during the event’s semi final, Kurt was 7-5 down on aggregate to his opponent Ustan with only 20 minutes remaining in the second leg. From there, it got ugly.
Ustan sprang off from kick off after conceding and almost immediately scored his eighth goal of the tie. This led Kurt to storm off and be consoled by referees. You can watch the precise moment where his heart breaks below:
While, at first glance, it may seem like petulance has taken over a FIFA 18 player who is notorious for his arrogant outspokenness on Twitter, the manner of the goal has raised some questions about EA’s soccer sim being a little too unbalanced for professional eSports play.
For those not in the know, Ustan utilized a ‘kick off glitch’ which is, in essence, an exploit that randomly crops up in games instantly after you kick off where an opponent’s defence can be ran through with ease. It’s not something you’d actively want to encourage but, for players on the very top of their game, it’s a corner they’re willing to cut with thousands of dollars on the line.
Kurt, ever the sportsman, returned to his seat and proceeded to waste time until the end of the game. The whole affair made a mockery of what should have been EA’s crowning moment, and has yet again opened the debate as to whether a game that encourages opening packs with real-world currency to create bigger and better teams and relies on exploits at the top level can ever be taken seriously on a competitive basis. By this evidence, FIFA 18 has got a long way to go to match up to its peers.
