Round 9 has now finished up, and with that we have completed the league stage of the FIFA 18 E-League! There were some wonderful contests throughout the night, yet a key draw meant Sydney FC were the first team to become E-League Premiers, keeping hold of first position by only goal difference. Here’s a wrap on everything that went down over the night!

Xbox One Division

Match 1: Wellington Phoenix’s Justin Joseveski (Justmanutd12) vs Melbourne City’s Josh Wood (joshingwood)
Result: 2-1

A cagey affair saw Wellington Phoenix’s Justmanutd12 nab a big win in the opening contest of the night. Melbourne City’s joshingwood — who had to fill in on the Xbox One as teammate Marcus Gomes jetted off to Manchester for the FUT Champions Cup — played well enough to have this match finish even, though it was not to be!

Match 2: Western Sydney Wanderers’ Joseph Nassar (OhNoAGoat) vs Adelaide United’s Jamie O’Doherty (FUTWIZ Jamie)
Result: 2-3

One of the more intriguing games of the night saw Western Sydney Wanderers’ OhNoAGoat narrowly lose to an improving FUTWIZ Jamie. The match was close throughout, and a solitary goal was enough to split the sides after all was said and done.

Match 3: Perth Glory’s David Cook (HighFly357) vs Brisbane Roar’s James Williams (iCripsy)
Result: 4-3

The most surprising result of the night saw Perth Glory’s HighFly357 beat Roar’s iCripsy, with the latter a firm favourite to win this one given HighFly’s form of late. Yet it was not to be, and while Cripsy managed to stage an incredible comeback — clawing his way back from 3-0 down — it just wasn’t enough in the end.

Match 4: Central Coast Mariners’ Matthew Camilleri (StrawHat Camels) vs Newcastle Jets’ Dane Crow (Bossierhickory8)
Result: 4-1

Central Coast’s StrawHat Camels continued a good run of results with a convincing 4-1 win over an underperforming Bossierhickory8. At the end of the day, the Central Coast man was just too clinical in the final third.

Match 5: Sydney FC’s Samer Elbadar (Samer96_) vs Melbourne Victory’s Mouad Zwed (MuadZwed)
Result: 3-2

Sydney FC’s Samer96_ — who’s also filling in for teammate xMarkoHD due to his participation in the FUT Champions Cup as well — started well against Victory’s MuadZwed and finished with a welcomed 3-2 result on his preferred console. Further, the result here puts the Sky Blues in an excellent position to become the E-League Premiers.

PlayStation 4 Division

Match 6: Wellington Phoenix’s Christian Bartolillo (Fweshest) vs Melbourne City’s Josh Wood (joshingwood)
Result: 1-3

Back on his preferred console, Melbourne City’s joshingwood was too good for Wellington’s Fweshest, outclassing him 3-1 in a fairly one-sided matchup. It also means City win 4-3 on aggregate, and are above Sydney FC on the ladder for the time being in first place. Sydney FC need to at least grab a draw to win the title, so the pressure’s now firmly on!

Aggregate result: Melbourne City win 4-3 on aggregate.

Match 7: Western Sydney Wanderers’ Rick Tran (RDOUBLETTT) vs Adelaide United’s Zachary May-Burgess (vDreamz-Shooter)
Result: 4-0

Western Sydney’s RDOUBLETTT is hitting some serious form, after a dominant display against Adelaide’s vDreamz-Shooter. Much like Central Coast’s StrawHat Camels, RDOUBLETTT was clinical when he needed to be and didn’t give much of a sniff to vDreamz in his defensive third. A big, big result, this one.

Aggregate result: Western Sydney Wanderers win 6-3 on aggregate.

Match 8: Perth Glory’s Peter Saisanas (Saisanas) vs Brisbane Roar’s Dino Flocco (Ol_Mate_)
Result: 3-2

A wonderful contest ended in a 3-2 win for Perth Glory’s Saisanas, who might have gone in thinking this match might have been a bit easier than the others he’d recently played, considering Ol_Mate_’s form. Yet that was not to be, and the latter put up some fight against the Perth man, only losing out to a single goal when the final whistle blew.

Aggregate result: Perth Glory win 7-5 on aggregate.

Match 9: Central Coast Mariners’ Kiran Gupta (KyrenFIFA) vs Newcastle Jets’ Bohdan Ling (BLFifa)
Result: 4-1

Another dominant Central Coast display saw King Gupta and his side claim a big win over the Newcastle Jets, ending the aggregate contest as 8-2 victors. KyrenFIFA dominated from kick off, and made good on the chances he was afforded.

Aggregate result: Central Coast Mariners win 8-2 on aggregate.

Match 10: Sydney FC’s Samer Elbadar (Samer96_) vs Melbourne Victory’s Mouad Zwed (MuadZwed)
Result: 2-3

Wow, what a match! It seems like Victory’s MuadZwed always gets results when he’s facing some sort of deficit, and there was a lot riding on this match. With Melbourne City winning their aggregate fixture, Sydney FC’s Samer96_ had to at least get a draw for the Sky Blues to come out as E-League Premiers, and he fought tooth and nail for just that. He ended up getting a draw in the end, and Sydney FC are E-League Premiers!

Aggregate result: Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory share the points, ending 5-5 on aggregate.

Final League Standings

Standing

Team

Played

Won

Drawn

Lost

Goal Difference

Points

1

Sydney FC

9

7

1

1

+16

22

2

Melbourne City

9

7

1

1

+14

22

3

Central Coast Mariners

9

7

0

2

+13

21

4

WS Wanderers

9

6

0

3

+13

18

5

Adelaide United

9

4

1

4

+5

13

6

Perth Glory

9

4

1

4

-3

13

7

Brisbane Roar

9

2

1

6

-17

7

8

Newcastle Jets

9

2

0

7

-22

6

9

Melbourne Victory

9

1

2

6

-9

5

10

Wellington Phoenix

9

1

1

7

-10

4

Goal of the Round: Perth Glory’s Peter Saisanas (Saisanas) – Cristiano Ronaldo
A second El Tornado in two weeks in the E-League competition! This one was even better than the last, with Perth Glory’s Saisanas turning on the edge of the box to whip in a cracking strike courtesy of Cristiano Ronaldo.

Player of the Round: Western Sydney Wanderers’ Rick Tran (RDOUBLETTT)
After another dominant display against a very good opponent tonight, this week’s player of the round has to go to Western Sydney’s RDOUBLETTT. He’s coming right into form for the finals series, and is looking a real threat. It’s also worth noting his reliability has been outstanding, especially when teammate OhNoAGoat has struggled in his leg of the competition.

Match of the Round: Sydney FC’s Samer Elbadar (Samer96_) vs Melbourne Victory’s Mouad Zwed (MuadZwed)
It couldn’t have been any other match, and while these boys played each other across both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles, the PlayStation 4 matchup between the two counted for so much. And it was a close contest throughout, with both players evenly matched. Victory’s MuadZwed came out with the win in the end, but Sydney FC’s Samer96_ managed to do enough to salvage an aggregate draw, in turn handing Sydney FC the E-League Premiership.

Final Thoughts
It couldn’t have been much more dramatic than what we saw in Round 9 of the E-League, with Sydney FC narrowly scraping by to claim the E-League Premiership. All eyes now turn to the Grand Final, which is set to kick off on April 26, where players will compete for a coveted FIFA 18 Global Series Playoff spot for the eWorld Cup.