Manuel Bachoore is the first eSports player ever to win two world titles in EA SPORTS FC and FIFA. Or is he? eSport clarifies.
When Dutch player Manuel Bachoore lifted the FC Pro World Championship trophy on Sunday evening, the story was quickly told: “The first player to become world champion twice,” wrote caster and analyst Rami Lueso on X. And eSport also headlined that Bachoore had secured a “historic second title.”
What the media and EA SPORTS presenters had largely agreed on was hotly debated online shortly after the final. “Bruce Grannec and Alfonso Ramos did it first,” replied user ‘UtopiaNotFound’ to Lueso’s post.
A valid point. After all, the Frenchman and Spaniard have two FIFA World Cup titles to their names. Grannec triumphed in 2009 and 2013, Ramos in 2008 and 2012 – with Grannec facing the Spaniard in the final on both occasions.
Why Bachoore has special status
But what does that mean for Bachoore? How did the general view arise that he is the first to achieve this feat?
This is due to the fact that a lot has changed in the competition since the heyday of Grannec and Ramos. When the two old masters achieved their greatest successes, the World Cup was still called the FIFA Interactive World Cup and, more importantly, was played in a different game mode. In addition, when Ramos won his first title in 2008, there were no online qualifiers. Players had to travel to special qualifying tournaments.
In its current form, with eSports taking place in Ultimate Team mode, the World Cup has only been around since FIFA 18. At that time, EA SPORTS introduced the FIFA Global Series as a pathway to the World Cup.
This was a real turning point, which is why, according to the current modern interpretation of the competition, only this period is considered. To be even more strict, one could argue that the count should only start in 2022. After all, between 2016 and 2019 (there were no World Cups in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic), the game was still played on two consoles.
Dutchman shapes “the new era”
Lueso puts it this way: “I thought it was clear without having to say it – obviously I’m talking about the new era in Ultimate Team.” An era in which only one player has been able to lift the World Cup trophy twice: Manuel Bachoore.
Nevertheless, Grannec and Ramos deserve the utmost respect. They were pioneers of the scene, decisively shaping eSports and steering it in the direction that led to its international success. Just in a different era.
