Reigning eWorld Cup champion Mossad 'MSdossary' Aldossary added his first FIFA 19 trophy to his growing collection after thrashing Nicolas 'Nicolas99fc' Villalba 8-3 in the grand final of the FUT Champions Cup. It's the perfect end to a sensational year for the Saudi Arabian, giving him his third trophy this year. Every tournament MSdossary has won this year has been held in England with the FIFA 18 FUT Champions Cup in Manchester, the FIFA eWorld Cup in London and now the December FIFA 19 FUT Champions Cup which was held in the Gfinity Arena based in Fulham, London.
Even MSdossary admitted there must be something about England that helps him play better: 'I really don't know at the moment, but having won three tournaments in the UK now there's obviously something but I don't know what it is! I'll have to try and figure that one out."
While MSdossary was unquestionably the best FIFA 18 player in the world, young 17-year-old Donovan 'F2Tekkz' Hunt has been fighting for that crown this year by winning two events in a row, the FUT Champions Cup Bucharest and the PGL Cup. Tekkz was desperate to become the first player to ever win three events in a row and wanted to prove himself against MSDossary in the Xbox final. However, the Saudi Arabian came out on top in a tense series and the eventual winner admitted that beating Tekkz helped him regain his confidence.
"I went to Romania for the last tournament to get more training and focus more on this tournament in London," he told Goal. "So I'm glad that it paid off.
"I'm really happy to be back on top again, I'm even happier that I'm the first person to win a FIFA 17 major, FIFA 18 major and a FIFA 19 major."
The world champion has obviously adapted to the new game very quickly but revealed that he still prefers last year's edition of the game.
"I prefer FIFA 18 if I'm honest but maybe that's because I'm a world champion in that game," MSdossary said. "Honestly though I would prefer EA to stick to real football, no timed finishing or goalkeeper movement - that's my opinion. I'm a still a champion in FIFA 19 so I can deal with these features but I would still prefer to not have them.
"I think this isn't Counter-Strike or PUBG, it's not about who reacts faster - this is FIFA. People need to see a real game, what happens in FIFA needs to reflect what actually happens on the pitch. Maybe I'm wrong but at the moment, that's what I think."
The ability to move goalkeepers certainly lead to some entertaining moments as players began to play mind games with each other. Guess the right way and your keeper would pull off a sensational save but if you move too early or in the wrong direction, you look like a fool - as Nicolas99fc found out in the final as he clearly wasn't used to Xbox controllers.
MSdossary believes the secret to his success is his composure and ability to stay calm under pressure but for other budding FIFA players, he recommends to study the pros.
"Watch tournaments like this and try to pick up tips from watching pros play," he said. "And of course, learn how to use timed-finishing and moving the goalkeepers.
"Even if we don't like it, you still have to adapt to it because that is the reason for everyone's success in FIFA 19. So watch tournaments, play Weekend League and try to watch out for your own mistakes so you can learn from them."