The FC Pro World Championship 2026 delivered five days of elite EA SPORTS FC competition, bringing together 36 of the world's best players in Paris as part of the Esports World Cup. With a prize pool exceeding $1 million and the biggest title in FC Pro on the line, the tournament featured dramatic upsets, tactical masterclasses and the crowning of a new world champion.
League Phase
In a change to previous editions of the FC Pro World Championship a 36 player League Phase was introduced. Each player would face-off against six players within the competition and be ranked in a league table. After every player had played their six matches the top 8 would qualify for the Round of 16. Those ranked between 9-24 would move onto a playoff round, where the winner of a one off match would progress to the Round of 16. And those who occupy the bottom 12 spots would be eliminated.
Day One
Day One was all about settling nerves, but several of the tournament favourites wasted no time laying down a marker. Defending FC Pro World Champion ManuBachoore began confidently, beating Karimisbak 5-3 and then picking up a big 6-4 win against nicolas99fc.
While Vejrgang won his first match but then, he and Emre Yilmaz clashed again round two, with the eDivisie Champion Emre, beating Vejrgang for the first time this season by a score of 8-7.
levyfinn had a great start, picking up key wins against PHzin (8-7) and Karimisbak (7-5). As Chris De Boer, representing Ajax, was matched-up against his Team Liquid teammate Paulo Neto and showed a distinct cutting edge, winning 10-7. But in the second round, Paulo Neto bounced back with a 8-7 win over another Team Liquid teammate Levi de Weerd.
As Day One came to a close, There were seven players sitting on 6 points, with Samugamer topping the table thanks to a superior goal difference. While at the bottom of the table, eight players were yet to earn a point.
League Table after Day One:
Day Two
Argentina's Bonanno emerged as the player to beat, extending his perfect run with Day Two victories over Milkalove and Obrun (following on from his Day One victories over Caccia and jafonso), making him the player to beat as he established himself as a true title contender.
Another Argentine having a strong Day Two was nicolas99fc. Playing in his ninth World Championship, the player known as ‘The Iceman’ picked up two wins, beating SmalkXVII 5-1 and K1John 7-2. This put the Real Sociedad player on 7 points and in 9th place on the table.
The biggest victory of the day belonged to RvPLegend10. The Romainian dominated Neat in a 12-5 rout in Round 4. This big victory saw the HyperSpirit player sneak into the top 8 at the end of Day 2 on 7 points, but leading the way on goal difference.
Day Two concluded with Bonanno and levyfinn holding the top two spots, both on 12 points after going 4-0 in the first two days. HHezerS followed closely on 10 points in third. At the bottom of the table, a surprise name was languishing in the drop zone. Emre Yilmaz was in 25th place after picking up only four points in four matches. Questions were beginning to be asked if the two-time eChampions League winner was in danger of an early elimination.
League Table after Day Two:
Due to technical issues the third day of action was postponed, moving the end of the League Phase to Day 4, to be played before the start of the Knockout Phase.
Day Four: League Phase
The pressure was really on for every player in the tournament going into the final matches of the League Phase. Every point was essential in order to shape players' forward journey in the competition.
Bonanno continued his perfect run and won his final two matches to end the League Phase. First by beating Paulo Neto 8-5 and then putting 10 past Chris De Boer on the way to winning 10-8. With 18 points, the Manchester City star comfortably secured top spot and qualification to the Round of 16.
Vejrgang ended his League Phase matches with two crucial victories. First he beat the 2024 Esports World Cup FC Champion jafonso 6-4. And then went on to win against Danipitbull, in a match that saw 19 goals in total with the World No.1 narrowly beating Danipitbull 10-9. Despite these two wins, Vejrgang finished the League Phase in 10th with a record of four wins and two losses across his six matches. This set up an intriguing Round of 24 match-up versus Emre Yilmaz, who only just survived elimination by finishing in 23rd.
Qualification to the Round of 24 was secured by the lowest ranked player in the tournament. Milkalove was ranked 108th in the world in the FC Pro World Rankings when the competition began. And he defied the odds by ending the League Phase with three wins and three defeats, putting him in 21st, setting up a tie against eLigue1 Champion Karimisbak in the Round of 24.
After the six rounds of matches had been completed in the League Phase, for 12 players their FC Pro World Championship was over. jafonso, Virgil, Caccia, SmalkXVII, Ilian, MarwanMC9,Brice, K1John, RedLac, Obrun, Danipitbull and Adida were all eliminated.
League Table after Day Three:
Knockout Phase
The Knockout Phase began with the Round of 24, where the players who ended the League Phase in between 9th and 24th were paired off into 1v1 match-ups. (for example: 9th plays 24th, 10th plays 23rd, 11th plays 22nd, and so on). The winner of these matches would then progress to the Round of 16 to play a player who finished the League Phase in the top 8.
Round of 24 Results:
PHzin 1-6 Samugamer
AbuMakkah 5-2 Neat
Msdossary 11-2 Chris de Boer
Karimisbak 4-6 Milkalove
LuukWijdeveld 4-6 Paulo Neto
RvPLegend10 6-3 Umut
DFernandes 7-6 Levi de Weerd
Vejrgang 9-2 Emre Yilmaz
The winners of these eight matches successfully advanced to the Round of 16 and were set to play a player from the top 8.
Round of 16 Results
Bonanno 5-3 Samugamer
HHezerS 6-4 AbuMakkah
levyfinn 4-3 Msdossary
Nicolas99fc 9-6 Milkalove
Alihanlion 10-9 Paulo Neto
GugaFerraz 3-7 RvPLegend10
Nassada 9-1 DFernandes
ManuBachoore 5-7 Vejrgang
Some big results in the Round of 16, with the defending World Champion ManuBachoore being eliminated by the FC Pro World No.1 Vejrgang. The winners of this round moved on to the Quarter-Finals.
Day 5 - Finals Day
Eight players remained as we made it to Finals Day of the FC Pro World Championship, and each player was beginning to believe that they would become World Champion. The day’s action began with four quarter-finals.
Bonanno 12-5 HHezerS
It was a frantic start to Finals Day, as Bonanno and HHezerS took to the stage and played out a goalscoring extravaganza. Bonanno took an early lead and just did not stop scoring. The three-time ePremier League scored 12 goals while only conceding five.
levyfinn 5-3 nicolas99fc
In terms of the FC Pro World Rankings this Quarter-Final was a mismatch. levyfinn was ranked 3th, while nicolas99fc sat third in the rankings. But the rankings mattered little once the match began. levyfinn took the lead but his opponent levelled the game and the score was 1-1 at halftime. In the second half levyfinn again took the lead, followed quickly by nicolas99fc equalising. But then the RBLZ Gaming player took the lead for the third time, but then extended his advantage by scoring a fourth and fifth goal. With this advantage nicolas99fc was unable to respond effectively and scored a late consolation, making the final score 5-3.
Alihanlion 6-6 RvPLegend10 (RvPLegend10 wins 5-4 on penalties)
This was a match-up between two players who had been defying expectations. Alihanlion had been improving all season, getting to the latter stages of tournaments and even coming runner-up in the Virtual Bundesliga. RvPLegend10 came in as Romania’s eSuperliga Champion and earned his way to the World Championship after a successful Play-Ins run. Both players traded the lead during the match. But as the 90th minute approached, Alihanlion held a 4-3 lead and with the final attack RvPLegend10 scored to take the match to extra-time. During extra-time Alihanlion scored twice, but RvPLegend10 again levelled the game to take it to penalties. The Romanian scored to make it 6-6 in the 117th minute. The shootout was tense, with neither player making a mistake. That was until Alihanlion had his fourth penalty saved. This save proved to be the key to victory for RvPLegend as he slotted home his remaining penalties to win 5-4.
Nassada 11-5 Vejrgang
It was the Virtual Bundesliga Champion versus the eSerie A Champion in the last Quarter-Final, and the biggest shock of the tournament was incoming. Vejrgang, the world no.1, had only been beaten in competitive play four times this season, and was seen as the favourite to advance. But quickly Nassada showed why he is seen as one of the most exciting emerging talents in the FC Pro scene. The Moroccan was unstoppable in the first half, leading 9-2 at the break. In the second half, Vejrgang tried to mount a comeback, but the first half dominance was too much of an obstacle to overcome. As the final whistle blew, Nassada led 11-5 and Vejrgang was heading home.
Semi-Finals
With the final four of Bonanno, levyfinn, RvPLegend10 and Nassada we were guaranteed to see a brand new name become FC Pro World Champion.
Bonanno 2-6 levyfinn
The pressure was starting to build for both players, and this was evident when levyfinn scored a scrappy opener in the 4th minute. Almost immediately, Bonanno levelled the match and the two players battled to gain the lead. In the 36th minute, the lead was retaken by Manchester City’s Bonanno, but he only led for less than 10 in-game minutes. Germany’s levyfinn showcased top-tier composure on his way to netting his equaliser and the half ended 2-2. In the second half levyfinn kicked into a higher gear, taking the lead and scoring four more goals to take his tally to six. He did this while also shutting out Bonanno in the second half.
RvPLegend10 10-8 Nassada
Given the goalscorering records of the two players in this Semi-Final, it was no surprise that this was a high-scoring affair. Nassada started the goal-scoring in the 4th minute after executing a clinical counter-attack. RvPLegend responded quickly and then built up a 5-2 lead by the 43rd minute. But before halftime, Nassada reduced the deficit in added time. The relentless goalscoring continued in the second half, with the score read 6-6 by the 59th minute. Nassada took the lead in the 61st minute and did well to deny RvPLegend an equaliser, that was until the 84th minute, when the Romanian levelled things. With this goal the match went into extra-time at 7-7. In extra-time RvPLegend10 took the lead, but didn’t hold it for long, as Nassada pegged him back again. The lead again was taken by RvPLegend in the 101st minute and then the key moment of the match happened. With the score 8-9, RvPLegend10 was attacking and a defensive error from Nassada allowed him to score a 10th. This moment decided the match and ended Nassada’s World Championship run. RvPLegend10 was heading to the Final.
Grand Final: levyfinn 5-6 RvPLegend10
Two players who earned their way into the FC Pro World Championship through the Play-Ins, levyfinn or RvPLegend10 would follow in the footsteps of 2025’s FC Pro World Champion ManuBachoore, who himself won after qualifying through the Play-Ins.
The FC Pro World was ready to crown a new champion and the excitement was palpable. RvPLegend10 was the first to strike from the penalty spot and then doubled the lead. This all happened within the opening 14th minute. In the few minutes that followed levyfinn scored his first goal and looked to build back into the match. levyfinn failed to build further momentum thanks to RvPLegend10 scoring his third goal at the 27th minute mark. Both players then went on to score another goal each before halftime, making the score 4-2 at the break. RvPLegend10 extended his lead to three with the very first attack of the second half. His sixth goal came just before the 60th minute and from here RvPLegend10 began defending for the title. It was at this point where levyfinn piled on the pressure, and began chipping away at the 6-2 lead. The RBLZ Gaming player netted three unanswered goals making the score 6-5 in the 90th minute. At this point the prospect of a late equaliser was looming, but RvPLegend10 denied any further progress and held on to the final whistle.
At that moment RvPLegend10 had realised the most unlikely of dreams. Becoming the FC Pro World Champion in a tournament that contained some of the greatest FC Pro players to ever live.
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