E-Sports & FIFA 14 - 25/4/14 - Chris

E-Sports & FIFA 14 – Chris

FIFA 14. One of the best selling games in console history and the most profitable EA Sports title, but how is it related to E-Sports? Let’s take a look.

Traditionally, the FIFA Football franchise has been analysed as a multiplayer game both online and offline. It is a game anyone and everyone can play. Whether you enjoy football in real life or if you’ve never kicked a ball, FIFA has always been a game for the mass market. But how can it get from there to a professional gaming environment?

FIFA has been an official game of the World Cyber Games since 2001. It is also represented in large regional competitions such as CPL Europe, the Electronic Sports League and World League eSport Bundesliga.

The FIFA 14 final of the 2013 World Cyber Games was contested by gamers, Hulk and Dexter. The gameplay can be seen in the link below.

Now that we can see that FIFA is considered as an E-Sports, let’s move onto the main focus of this blog post. FORMATIONS. You may have observed that both finalists used the 4-2-3-1 wide formation, the most common in online gameplay. Let’s try and figure out why.

In game, the 4-2-3-1 formation provides a great deal of balance, in both defense and in attack and has a strong focus on keeping the centre of the pitch compact while having wingers as an attacking outlet during counter-attacks.

The primary advantages of this formation are:

(1) The two CDM’s provide plenty of cover for the back four.

(2) One ball-winning and one creative passer can be paired together in the two CDM roles to allow for defensive solidarity and the start for quick counter-attacking play.

(3) Suits a possession-based short passing game.

Despite these positives, there are also some negatives, including:

(1) Striker can remain isolated if careful attention is not given to the work-rates of wide midfielders.

(2) LM and RM may be pegged back if opposition fullbacks continue to attack.

The diagrams below gives a thorough guide as to the optimum work-rates for all players in the 4-2-3-1 wide system as well as a possible team to use.

I have enjoyed talking you through my first blog post on FIFA E-Sports and the 4-2-3-1 wide formation. In next week’s blog post, I hope to cover some of the team tactics that can be used to improve your playing style. Thanks for tuning in and I hope to see you then!

~~Chris