FUT CHAMPIONS CUP INTERVIEW : PSG FIDDLE

PSG’s American FIFA player Gordon “Fiddle” Thornsberry talked to us about his opportunity with Paris Saint-Germain, the pressure of donning his region’s hopes at the first FIFA 18 offline event in January, how to improve as a player and more.

 

First up, can you tell us a little more about your opportunity with Paris Saint-Germain, how it happened and what it feels like to represent a global powerhouse in Football?

 

Well, I had been fairly new to the competitive scene in FIFA when PSG teamed up with Coca-Cola and did an event for anyone in America to enter which I fought my way through to the live final in Miami. Once I had won there, I got to a one year contract with PSG and so far, it has been really cool to represent PSG and proud to be apart of what is going on here.

 

How long have you been taking FIFA seriously? And why did you start to play competitive FIFA?

 

I’ve been casually playing FIFA for around 7-8 years now. I was always what I would like to believe above average but once I realized all the opportunities that were out there with FUT Champions, I really started to dig in and see what I can do.

 

You’ve recently qualified for the first offline event on FIFA 18, what are your expectations for the event?

 

My expectation of myself is to go there and prove that I, an American, can hang and beat some of the Europeans who are at the very top. I want to be able at the end of that event to say, “I’m proud of what I’ve done here”.

 

Alongside one other player, you are the only two Xbox players from the Americas region who qualified. Why do you think the Americas qualification numbers are so low?

 

Competitive FIFA has always been bigger in Europe so we have some catching up to do in that sense. That is one of the main reasons why I believe their region is more represented at the upcoming event.

 

How do you think the Americas and Rest of the World region could catch up to Europe in terms of competition?

 

It’s going to be a long process but I think it starts with someone like myself or Alekzandur going to this event in January and doing well to show other players that they can do the same.

 

Practice is fundamental to improvement and it’s no different in esports, do you have some sort of schedule to help you improve?

At the beginning of the release of FIFA, I would say I was playing around 10-15 games a day but now I will try and get 4-5 games in just to stay ready for the grind of 40 games of FUT Champions on the weekend.

 

If you could make two changes to FIFA 18 what would they be?

 

Making sure there is zero way to do a “no loss” glitch and also minimizing the number of disconnects that aren’t user fault.

 

What do your family and friends think about you being a professional FIFA player?

 

My family really supports and my friends do as well. Some don’t have a clue but they will ask how I’m doing and when is the next event so they at least make it seem like they care.

 

Is there any card you dislike facing?

 

Would say Rui Costa Prime SBC because I play against it almost every game.

 

What three tips would you give to a player trying to improve?

 

Play against other players trying to improve, keep your calm over the 40 games, have fun… it’s still just a video game.

 

What are your thoughts on ‘Pay to Win’ in FIFA Ultimate Team?

 

I think it kills the fairness of FUT Champions because someone could almost pay their way to an event but it will never change.

 

What are your expectations for the first FIFA 18 FUT Champions Cup?

 

I think it will be a super cool experience and I’m hoping I can do America and PSG proud.

 

Do you have any shoutouts or final words?

 

Thanks for your time, thanks to PSG and bring on January.

You can follow Fiddle on Twitter and Twitch

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You can find details of all of the world’s top FIFA players and esports teams in our FUT Champions section.

Our FUT Champions Cup Barcelona event coverage can be found here.