For the past few weeks, American fans of the Manchester City Football Club have been vigorously pressing buttons, moving joysticks and vying to defeat their opponents in FIFA 17.
Four gamers in the Man City FIFA 17 Cup—two each who played on Playstation 4 or Xbox One — will travel to Houston, where Manchester City kicks off its summer USA Tour against Manchester United on July 20. On July 19, the four players will compete face to face in a live final at NRG Stadium. They will also meet their favorite players and win autographed Manchester City merchandise.
The tournament began on June 16 on Battlefy, with 1,372 PS4 players and 1,347 Xbox One players. Participants had two weeks to play as many games as they could, and according to the tournament rules, all gamers had to play as Manchester City, using either the home or away kits. On June 30, the preliminary stage ended, leaving just 128 players across the two platforms in the running for the final.
Then, on July 2, that number dwindled to just four. Brackets for the playoff rounds were determined by the 64 best records for each platform. All playoff rounds, including the live final, are contested in best-of-three format.
Being one of the top four overall comes with some nice compensation: Aside from competing in the live final in Houston, finalists will fly and stay for free from July 18-21 and receive a signed Man City 2017-18 home kit. Of course, the finalists will also each receive one ticket to the “Manchester Derby” against Manchester United and meet the Man City players.
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Other perks include a Kevin de Bruyne card for eight semifinalists; a Man City US Tour scarf for 24 randomly chosen participants (12 on each system); and another signed 2017-18 home kit for a single randomly picked player who completes a post-tournament survey.
But of course, with any tournament, there is a single champion. After the two finalists on each platform play a best-of-three series, the winners will go head to head, playing one game on PS4 and one game on Xbox One. Whomever emerges as the victor will receive a trophy and a VIP meet-and-greet at the game on July 20.
After taking on its Manchester rivals, Man City will face Real Madrid on July 26 in Los Angeles, and then finish up its swing through the U.S. with a game against Tottenham Hotspur on July 29 in Nashville, Tenn. Man City begins its Premier League season Aug. 12 against Brighton and Hove Albion F.C.