Ollelito of Team Gullit is FUT Champions Cup Stage III winner in Atlanta

Daniel Conlan

Published: Jan 20, 2020 11:17 pm

Sweden’s Olle “Ollelito” Arbin of Team Gullit overcame a stifling FIFA 20 defensive meta to beat Umut “Umut” Gültekin 4-3 in the cross-console final of the FUT Champions Cup held this weekend in Atlanta Georgia.

Team Gullit takes a FIFA win

Ollielito looked comfortable in the final, winning 3-1 in the first leg, on his “home” console of Xbox One. He took his narrow lead to the PlayStation 4, eventually winning the tie 4-3 on aggregate. This win takes him up to 4th on the Xbox Global Series Rankings, netting him $50,000 and 2,000 Global Series Points — crucial for securing a place at the end-of-season Global Series Playoffs.

The result was a surprise to many as the Swede had only one previous tournament appearance, last month’s FUT Champions Cup Stage II, where he was knocked out in the group stages. However, one month on he looked like a different player — his performances drew attention on day 2 when he defeated heavyweights Spencer “Gorilla” Ealing, Niklas “Nraseck” Raseck, and Diogo “Diogo” Mendes on the way to the grand finals.

Fellow grand finalist Umut Gültekin’s path to the final wasn’t quite as star-studded, but he did what he had to do. He showed real spirit and composure when he scored a last-minute goal in extra time to defeat Fnatic’s Tom Leese in the PlayStation final, who at that point was the only undefeated player left in the competition. He takes home $30,000 and 2,000 Global Series Points and has a solid foundation to build on for the rest of the season.

FUT Champions Cup Stage III is a tournament that won’t be looked back on fondly. Many of the game’s top players struggled, with Michael “MegaBit” Bittner, Stefano Pinna, and PlayStation no.1 Diego “CRAZY” Campagnani all leaving the tournament in the group stages, seemingly unable to come to grips with a meta that made it too difficult to break down opponents and score goals. For viewers it was a less-than-desirable experience; games were low scoring with many feeling the latest patch had made the meta far too defensive. Extra time and penalties were often needed to break the deadlock, and with penalties being as RNG-ridden as they are, it was a bitter pill for many players to swallow.

After Ollelito’s win, what next in competitive FIFA?

Competitive FIFA returns next month with not one but two majors. First up is the FIFA eClub World Cup on Feb. 7-9, before the world’s best head to Paris, France for FUT Champions Cup Stage IV on Feb. 21-23. Of course, Ollelito will be returning as a Global Series Master intent on showing the world that he isn’t a one-hit wonder.