A top achievement: Both Gilles Bernard and Stefano Pinna join the 32 best FIFA players in the world and can compete for the title of world champion at the FIFA World Cup 2022 (July 14-17, Copenhagen). The two KRC Genk Esporters, who are also the only two Belgians in the World Cup, managed to earn their place during the Play-Offs in London last weekend.
Last weekend, the 128 best FIFA players in the world gathered in London. During the World Cup Play-Offs, there was a battle for the 32 places to participate in the FIFA World Cup, which will take place from 14 to 17 July in Copenhagen. In the preliminary round on Thursday, both men managed to push through thanks to blood-curdling decisive penalty shootouts. They then won their two games on Sunday to secure qualification. In Copenhagen, in addition to the world title, a prize pool of USD 500,000 is also at stake.
Stefano Pinna: “It’s great that we are able to qualify for the World Cup with two players. Being the only two Belgians and both from one team, that is a very bad story. It is the third time for me that I can compete on the highest platform. In 2018 I managed to decorate the world title (on Playstation), that is of course the aim again, but it will certainly not be easy with the current level of the qualified.”
Gilles Bernard: “It’s great to be able to enforce this qualification. It will soon be my first time at the World Cup, but I can certainly surf on the support and experience of teammate Stefano. In the decisive game I played as ePro League Champion against the champion of the Dutch eDivision, so winning that derby der Lage Landen with this at stake was of course a nice extra!”.
For KRC Genk Esports, the ambitious project that the club started two years ago, this is another milestone in a very short time. Having already won the Belgian FIFA title in the ePro League and the title of Benelux champion in League of Legends, the team is increasingly claiming the leading position in the Benelux with this new milestone. The foundation of the rapid advance in a very short time lies in the highly professional approach to the project. KRC Genk very consciously chose to copy the expertise and know-how in running a professional football club in the world of Esports. For example, the players enjoy the best facilities (KRC Genk Esports Arena), they train daily under the supervision of specialized coaches and even the Mental Coach of the A-team is responsible for mental support. And of course the partners who specifically joined the project also benefit from this steeply successful trajectory.
