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Bruce Grannec from France won the FIFA Interactive World Cup 2009 Grand Final in Barcelona and thus became the FIFA Interactive World Champion 2009. The world's 32 best virtual footballers came face to face at Port Olympic in Barcelona, Spain to compete in the Grand Final as another incredibly exciting virtual football season came to an end.

Following a day of extreme skill and tactics on EA SPORTS^TM FIFA09 on PLAYSTATION®3, Bruce Grannec beat the charismatic Mexican Ruben Zerecero 3:1 in a typically enthralling final in front of a packed crowd next to the beach at Port Olympic. In addition to being crowned FIWC09 Champion, the 22 year old Frenchman also received USD 20,000 and an al l new KIA Soul car. He will also receive his FIFA Diploma at the next FIFA World Player Gala, where he will rub shoulders with the best real-life footballers in the world. "I am very proud of this victory", said a delighted Bruce Grannec after the final he deservedly won. "It pays back hours and hours of practice which prepared me to compete on such a big stage. It proves that, if you work hard, you will have success."

"FIFA recognises the best in football, today we are recognising the best virtual football players", said FIFA Executive Committee member Chuck Blazer. "I was pleased to see the passion and the outstanding technical skills shown by the 32 competitors, who made their way to the final out of an incredible number of more than 500.000 online participants. The sun, the side events and the beautiful location made this Grand Final a fantastic FIFA football event."

The Grand Final provided players with the opportunity to perform on the biggest stage of their lives in front of 8,000 spectators, who enjoyed the entertainment that the world's largest football gaming tournament provides.
"Congratulations to Bruce who managed to become the FIWC 09 World Champion out of over 500,000 qualifiers which is an amazing ," said Matt Bilbey, Vice President International Marketing, EA SPORTS. "With the fantastic increase in the number of participants, the FIWC 09 was a great success for everybody involved. We're looking forward to expanding the tournament in the upcoming years, especially with the FIFA World Cup 2010 happening next year in South Africa."

"The finals in Barcelona have been a fitting finale, for what has been a truly remarkable competition", said Darren Carter, Vice President Consumer Marketing, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. "We offer our warmest congratulations to this year's winner Bruce Grannec, who by coming out on top over half a million competitors, showed great skill and an unbreakable determination along the way. These are the characteristics that make the FIFA Interactive World Cup so special and we look forward to continuing our association with this wonderful competition next year."

Other entertainment on display included an exclusive performance by football trickster John Farnworth and a demonstration of komball (a freestyle football show), while spectators were also able to take part in the mini beach soccer tournament that was being run by Spain's beach soccer star and FIFA Beach Soccer World Player 2008 Ramiro Amarelle. The gaming and entertainment lounges remained busy throughout the day as the public enjoyed experiencing EA SPORTS's latest gaming titles and PlayStation's latest next-generation entertainment products.

 File Photograph Copyright: Mauro Monti

 

22nd April 2009

On 2 May, the world's best 32 virtual football players will line up at Port Olympic, Barcelona, Spain in an attempt to be crowned the FIFA Interactive World Champion 2009. In addition to this, the winner will also receive USD 20,000, an all new KIA "Soul" and an invitation to the FIFA World Player Gala in 2010. For the first time the event's history, the runner up will receive USD 5,000 whilst third place will receive USD 1,000. After seven months of qualification, FIFA today announced the 32 grand finalists from 24 countries.

The FIFA Interactive World Cup 2009 Grand Final will complete the fifth edition of the world's largest football gaming tournament after a season that has witnessed players from around the world take to the EA SPORTS^TM FIFA09 virtual pitch on PLAYSTATION®3 at 19 live qualifier events in countries such as Brazil, South Africa, Australia, Italy and Poland since October. More players than ever have competed in the online qualification for this year's tournament, with over 500,000 players vying to qualify for the Grand Final.

"With more than half a million online participants, the FIFA Interactive World Cup has set new records and I am really impressed with how fast this tournament is growing," says FIFA Executive Committee member Chuck Blazer, who will attend the Grand Final in Barcelona. "I am a passionate gamer myself and I am really looking forward to learning some new tricks from the world's best virtual football players! I know they practice very hard and, as for every other FIFA tournament, players will have to perform at their best in order to be crowned FIFA Interactive World Champion 2009."

The Grand Final, which will take place next to the beach in Barcelona and be accompanied by an entertainment show, will be a memorable football party for all those who attend. The public will be able to take part in mini beach soccer tournaments in the beach soccer area and learn tricks from FIFA Beach Soccer World Player 2008, Ramiro Amarelle, as well as being entertained throughout the day by exclusive freestyle performances from Komball, DJs and the beach soccer cheerleaders. The public will also be able to enjoy the latest EA SPORTS gaming titles in the Gaming Lounge while also experiencing PlayStation's latest next-generation entertainment products in the Entertainment Lounge. The interactive areas open at 11.00, while the gaming tournament kicks off at 13.15. The final is scheduled to begin at 18.45 (TBC). Admission to the Grand Final is free to the public.

"The FIWC 2009 Grand Final in Barcelona promises to provide a fitting finale to this year's record-breaking competition in one of the world's greatest footballing cities," said Matt Bilbey, Vice-President International Marketing, EA SPORTS. "We believe that FIFA 09 is our best ever football title and it is fantastic to see such an overwhelming number of gamers log on to the PlayStation Network and come to qualifying events all over the world in order to play the game and stake their claim to the trophy."

"This year's final in Barcelona promises to be a fantastic event, with great football, top-class entertainment and a perfect venue," said Darren Carter, Vice-President, Consumer Marketing, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. "This year has shown what can happen when you take a great game like EA SPORTS FIFA 09 and combine it with the most powerful and complete entertainment system available in the market, PLAYSTATION 3. This season's FIFA Interactive World Cup has most certainly been the best yet and we look forward to welcoming the finalists to Barcelona in May."

The finalists are Stephen Coorey, Jason Mac, Michael Pommer (all Australia), Markus Serkan Boyer (Austria), Andre Buffo and Samuel Lage Liberato (Brazil), Radim Kluka (Czech Republic), Frederik Nordmark Laursen (Denmark), Ryan Haywood, Chris Bullard, Danny Taylor and Adam Winster (all England), Hesham Khater (Egypt), Bruce Grannec (France), Patrick Straschek (Germany), Andries Smit (Netherlands), Péter Kovács (Hungary), Daniele D'Alterio (Italy), Omar Jaleel (India), Mergim Sadriji (Switzerland), Jose Alberto Reyes Loera and Ruben Morales Zerecero (Mexico), Daniel Sykes (New Zealand), Marcin Raptis (Poland), Francisco Cruz (Portugal), Mohammed Nasser Al Khathlan (Saudi Arabia), Gordon Butler (South Africa), Alfonso Ramos Cuevas (Spain), Marcus Lee (Singapore), Mustafa Agyuez (Turkey) & Giuseppe Guastella (USA).