FC Pro 25 World Championship ends as game's second-most popular event this year
The FC Pro 25 World Championship, the pinnacle event in the FC Pro calendar, concluded on August 10 by crowning the new video game franchise's second-ever world champion. The winner, Manuel "ManuBachoore" Bachoore, went on quite the journey before sealing perhaps the biggest win of his fledgling career.
The EA Sports FC tournament, offering a game-record $1 million prize pool, was contested among the world's top 80 players, including those from the Play-Ins. There was also the matter of the Esports World Cup 2025 Club Championship points at stake, with the competition intensifying as we approach the business end of this lucrative series.
After three days of high-quality 1v1 action, ManuBachoore claimed the trophy and a winner's purse of $250,000. This also made him a two-time world champion in the football simulation title, having clinched the FIFAe World Cup 2023. This competition was also held in Saudi Arabia as part of the EWC's predecessor, the Gamers8 series.
What made ManuBachoore's triumph special was that he entered the World Championship stage via the Play-Ins, where he topped his group by dropping only one match. The main event didn't prove easy, as multiple games were won by a single goal, demonstrating just how intense the highest level of competition in FC Pro could be.
Only two matches at the FC Pro 25 World Championship reached over 100,000 Peak Viewers (PV), and both featured the finalist Brice "Brice" Masson. While he defeated one Dutchman, Levi de Weerd, in the Semifinals, he could not hold off ManuBachoore in the summit clash.
One reason this world championship event for FC Pro only drew middling numbers was the early exit of Anders "Vejrgang" Vejrgang, the World No. 1. The Danish pro and defending champion suffered a shock exit in the Group Stage, losing both his Bracket A matches and heading home early.
Moreover, players from footballing hotbeds like Brazil, the UK, and Portugal could not make it deep. Only one name from these markets, Brazil's Guilherme "GuiBarros" Barros, made the Semifinals, and he lost the Third Place Match 1:4 to Levi de Weerd to finish outside the podium.
Nevertheless, the FC Pro 25 World Championship ended as EA Sports FC's second-most popular competition in 2025. Only the FC Pro 25 Open, which heralded the end of the second edition of the circuit under the EA Sports FC banner, did better as Vejrgang clinched the trophy to cement his status as the game's early G.O.A.T.
This FC Pro tournament also became just the second one in the title to pass the 1 million Hours Watched (HW) mark this year. Once again, the leader on this table is the FC Pro 25 Open, which remains among the two most-watched events in the football simulator's esports history.
In terms of the Esports World Cup 2025, the FC Pro 25 World Championship ranks as the 15th most popular championship. When filtering out mobile esports titles, it sits in the tenth spot, behind games like Chess, Apex Legends, Overwatch 2, and Rainbow 6.
Coming to the Club Championship table, ManuBachoore's victory and the third-place finish of his teammate Levi de Weerd were crucial to Team Liquid jumping to the top spot. It also made the Dutch esports organization the first club to notch three wins at the same Esports World Cup edition.
The final two weeks of the EWC 2025 promise lots of excitement and drama, as the race to clinch the Club Championship has become closer than ever. There are also events like Counter-Strike, Rocket League, PUBG, alongside fighting game titles, where glory could be life-changing for the winners.
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