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Marc Marleyyy (Bournemouth) v Tekkz (Liverpool) 5-3 (1-1 , 4-2)

Reigning champion Tekkz failed to do the double for himself and his team Liverpool, never leading in the final against Bournemouth’s Marc Marley, who showed poise under pressure and never let the favourite settle into a rhythm.

“It’s just amazing,” he said afterwards. “But I was always confident I could go far in this tournament. My turnover ratio has been good through the whole tournament and my press has been pretty good.”

He led the first leg with a goal just before half-time and was pegged back with 15 minutes left on the clock, with both players had chances to win after Tekkz equalised. The second leg was one of the best games of the tournament.

Marley’s lead on the break after half an hour was levelled after half-time with a second chance goal before Marley made the decisive break with goals in the 63rd and 73rd minutes. He stayed cool after Tekkz reduced the margin with 10 minutes later, adding the decider with six minutes left to deny Tekkz a second last-gasp escape on the night.

“Marley played very well – I thought I’d be more annoyed but I’m sound,” said the defeated champion. “It’s been a good year for me – if you’d offered me the chance to reach the final of the eChampions League and ePremier, I’d have taken it.”

Hashtag Tom (Watford ) v Hammond (Chelsea) 5-1 (2-0, 3-1)

Tom’s patience paid off against the surprise finalist from Chelsea in a final where the result was never really in doubt. Hammond played his ball-control game well in the first leg but failed to generate a shot on target as Tom patiently worked towards a 2-0 win with goals late in each half.

The second leg saw Hammond barely touch the ball conceding in the 21st minute and there was only a single late consolation for Chelsea after further goals put the result beyond doubt and Tom took his headset off.

“I’m happy in myself because a lot of things that I wanted to do I’ve got done,” said Tom. I don’t care who I get in the [cross-platform] final – half of me wants Tekkz because we’re really good friends by the other half doesn’t want to play him in a final.”

“As the games went on I felt more and more confident, but in the final Tom was just too strong,” said Hammond, whose journey to the final had started in December’s qualifiers. “It’s my first competitive season and even my friends didn’t think I’d beat some of the players I’ve beaten.”

Tekkz (Liverpool) v Jamboo (West Ham) 4-4 (3-0, 1-4* Tekkz won on golden goal)

After winning the first leg 3-0, the tournament favourite Tekkz seemed to coast in the second leg, having an early goal disallowed and then being hit by two strikes in the space of six minutes to put the tie back in the balance.

A goal after 56 minutes seemed to have decided the tie but West Ham’s Jamboo hit two in 10 minutes to secure a chance in golden goal. Tekkz dominated the extra period, hitting the woodwork twice before scoring the winner 20 minutes into the extra period.

“That was probably the best leg of Fifa anyone has ever played against me,” said Tekkz afterwards. “He just decided to turn up – I hardly got the ball at all.”

Marley (Bournemouth) v Shawrey (Watford) 5-2 (2-0, 3-2)

Shawrey had been predicted as a final opponent by Tekkz but Bournemouth’s Marley made sure that was not an option, taking a tight first leg 2-0 before surviving an early goal against to secure a final place with three further goals.

“I’m absolutely buzzing to get to the final,” said Marley. “My coach and I changed the plan after the first half of the first leg.”

Hashtag Tom (Watford) v Callum (Tottenham) 5-0 (5-0, 0-0)

Watford’s Tom jumped on Spurs’ Callum early in the first leg and all but decided the whole tie in the first 90 minutes. Spurs held out for the first half of the second leg but couldn’t force a way back into the tie.

"I started fast – something I’ve been working on - and being 3-0 up at half time meant Callum had to change the way he was playing," said Tom. "It’s good to be in the final but the main aim is to win the whole thing."

Hammond (Chelsea) v Faze Tass (Arsenal) 1-0 (0-0, 1-0)

It took 164 minutes on the clock to decide a closely-fought semi with the underdog, Hammond, grabbing it to cause a shock.

The first leg was tense, with good defending on both sides and Tass creating the better chances.

In the similarly nervy second leg, a Tass defensive lapse late in the second half got Hammond away down the right for an easy tap-in that may have given Chelsea just a little revenge for the FA Cup final defeat.

Donovan 'Tekkz' Hunt is aiming to retain his ePremier League XBox title for Liverpool this Friday - watch him try on ���˿��� Sport.

GB’s Donovan “Tekkz” Hunt warmed up for the ePL finals by taking last weekend's eChampions League Invitational, beating Germany’s Mohammed “MoAuba” Harkous 4-1 on aggregate over two games (3-0, 1-1) in the final.

“When he gets going it’s so hard to stop him. I can see why he won the world championship,” said Tekkz in tribute to MoAuba. “I’m totally out of breath.”

In effect, both players were "playing away" – operating the Playstation console that they generally ignore in favour of the Xbox.

The tournament was slightly weighted in favour of Germany, who provided three of the other six gamers in Michael “MegaBit” Bittner, Dylan “DullenMike” Neuhausen and Niklas “NRasek” Raseck.

Image source, Getty Images

Guild Esports, the gaming organisation co-owned by former England captain David Beckham, has started stacking the roster for its Fifa squad with the signing of German star Niklas 'NRaseck' Raseck.

NRasek, from Recklinghausen near Dortmund, has appeared in three Fifa World Cup tournaments and bagged a trophy at Fifa 20 Champions Cup Stage II. Guild has already completed its Rocket League roster.

"I've liked the idea behind Guild - they have a sophisticated strategy,” said NRasek. “David Beckham was also a factor in my joining Guild – he’s proof of what dedication in sport can achieve. I'm very ambitious myself – I want to win a World Cup."

Image source, Getty Images

Liverpool fan Donovan "Tekkz" Hunt, ranked world number one on Xbox One, is back to defend his title on behalf of the Premier League champions after winning the inaugural tournament last year.

There are plenty of other established FIFA 20 superstars taking part, including world number three on PS4,"Hashtag Tom", representing Watford.

Tottenham fan Callum Moore has only been playing FIFA competitively for just over a year, but he has already proved himself to be a highly accomplished player on PS4.

Bournemouth's Marc "MarcMarleyyy" Marley has played FIFA since the age of six and has already gone further than last year's tournament where he was defeated in the knockout round, he takes on Watford's Alex "Hashtag Shawrey" Shaw in the Xbox semi-final.

The ePremier League is a competitive gaming tournament involving the Premier League and Electronic Arts.

The 2019/20 ePremier League season reaches its conclusion when eight leading FIFA 20 players go head-to-head.

The Xbox One and PS4 semi-finals and then finals will take place, before the victors from the different consoles battle for the overall ePL title in a two-legged grand final. One leg of the match will be played on the PlayStation 4, and the other leg will be played on the Xbox One.

Matches:

Playstation 4 semi-finals: 18:00 BST

Thomas Leese (Watford) v Callum Moore (Spurs)

Tassal Rushan (Arsenal) v Kyle Hammond (Chelsea)

Xbox One semi-finals: 19:00 BST

Donovan Hunt (Liverpool) v Jamie Rigden (West Ham),

Alex Shaw (Watford) v Marc Marley (Bournemouth)

PS4 Final: 20:00 BST

Xbox Final: 21:00 BST

Cross-Platform Final: 22:00 BST

���˿��� Sport

The ���˿��� will have live coverage of the Fifa ePremier League finals across the ���˿��� iPlayer and the ���˿��� Sport website and app.

All the action will also be available to watch for 30-days on-demand after the event on ���˿��� iPlayer.

Full coverage details

Friday 28 August 18:00-22:30 BST