New Zealand has become the latest nation to confirm their team for the FIFA eNations cup. Campbell “Breakaway Airbrn” Knowles from Tauranga and Harry “Honey Badger” Blackmore from Auckland have been named for the inaugural tournament being held in London on April 13 – 14.
They outfought hundreds of other players to earn the privilege to fight for their country in Britain. To do this they had to win the New Zealand FIFA 19 National Championships. They were hosted at LPL Studios in Auckland on March 16 – 17. Both players will now compete against 19 other nations in the first ever international FIFA tournament with $40,000 up for grabs for the winners.
Blackmore said: “It’s pretty cool; there’s never been an official award until now, but I’ve always seen myself as representing New Zealand and as our best player on the national stage.”
Meanwhile, Knowles described his feelings with this: “It feels amazing. I’ve been working for the last three years to do this well so to finally get over the line is amazing.”
Blackmore defeated Joshua Matthew King in his PS4 final while Knowles beat Sharhat Singh on the Xbox One.
The eNations Cup
The first ever FIFA eNations Cup begins on April 13, and the Kiwi pair will be up against the best FIFA 19 players from around the world. New Zealand has been drawn in group B of the eNations cup, meaning they will play Mexico, Spain, China, and the United States.
Knowles went on to say: “To be on the world stage representing New Zealand is not only an honor; it’s an amazing achievement. There’s so many amazing people in this country who play this game and to be the one representing your whole country is amazing.”
The more familiar name to most will be the Honey Badger though, as Blackmore already plays professionally for an esports club called “Hashtag United.”
“It was a long journey to come back for two games of FIFA, but I had to do it. This tournament is a massive event and it’s an honor to say I’m the New Zealand champion – it’s definitely something to add to the bio,” he said.
“Last year was my first of making a lot of events and traveling all over the world. It’s a crazy career but I absolutely love it, so hopefully I can do it for as long as I can.”
New Zealand do have some serious competition though if they want to be grand champions, with the United States having already determined their team consisting of Cormac “Doolsta” Dooley and Giuseppe “GGGodfather” Guastella. They will also have to compete against the British, who include on their team the best Xbox player in the world, Donovan “F2TekKz” Hunt.
Published: Apr 6, 2019 10:00 am