As the the road to the FIFA eWorld Cup began, we were treated to thrills, upsets and a youthful champion no one expected at the first FUT Champions Cup in Barcelona this weekend.

With 16 spots at the EA SPORTS FIFA 18 Global Series Playoffs on offer – where tickets for the main event - the FIFA eWorld Cup Grand Final itself will be up for grabs – competition was fierce, but it was 16-year-old Briton DhTekKz, taking part in his first major competitive event, who triumphed overall.

The teenager defied expectations on days one, two and three, upending serious talent throughout. With the Xbox One-native seeing off the likes of Vitality Rocky – one of favourites heading into last year’s FIFA Interactive World Cup Grand Final – the new kid on the block made light work of PlayStation 4 champion nicolas99fc, winning 9-3 on aggregate to earn his first FIFA crown.

“Honestly, I don’t know what to say,” he responded after being named champion in Barcelona. “I don’t know where to put [the trophy]!”

He is now assured of a place at the Global Series Playoffs, where he will be flanked by some of the game's biggest names as eight the quarter-finalists from both consoles all sealed their spots – including the finalists from 2017’s Grand Final, deto_official and Gorilla Unilad.

Playsation 4 qualifiers:
deto_official, didychrislito, FCB TheStrxngeR, mo_aubameyang, nicolas99FC, StefanoPinna_21, Testotier, YimmieHD

Xbox One qualifiers:
DhTekKz, DreamR UK, Gorilla Unilad, Hashtag Ryan, Janoz, NRaseck 7, Sakul970611, VfL MegaBit1848