The Man City Esports FC 24 duo went unbeaten in the Group Stages of the competition, beating Cheslea, West Ham, Burnley and Everton to top Group A with a staggering 26 goal difference.
Like the Group Stages, Tekkz will play on Xbox with Mati on PlayStation, with their results combining to create an aggregate score. But this time, when they take the stage in London, there is no room for error with one defeat meaning our journey in the ePremier League will be over.
But the City Esports duo are in fact excited to showcase how much hard work they’ve put into practise over the past couple of months and in turn are looking to face the challenge of the knockout phase of the ePremier League Finals with confidence.
“I’m feeling excited and really happy to be playing in the Finals,” began Mati.
“The Group Stage was incredible, but Tekkz and I knew we needed to keep improving for the Finals because they’ll be more difficult, it’s knockouts so we need to continuously better ourselves ahead of Sunday.
“We’ve been preparing for around two months with lots of hard work and preparation. It started out as three to four hours a day of practise but now, with the competition almost here, it’s been five or six intense hours to be as prepared as possible.
“I think, through my preparation, I have more alternatives in defence and attack and I’ve worked on some set pieces too. I think I am a better player right now but the game is difficult and so will be the opposition.
“The biggest change from the Group Stages is that there was room to make errors and fix them, in the Finals, it’s all or nothing.”
Mati has been working extremely hard with Man City Esports coach Edu Castellano who is equally excited for the Finals and is hoping, like his pro player, to win back-to-back titles.
And with the improvements Mati has made, Castellano is feeling confident.
“I think Mati’s style is great, he likes to control the game,” said Castellano.
“In the Group Stages we were transitioning too much, playing too quick, so we’re going to try and have more control of the game. And if we cannot control the play, we’ll fight for it as much as possible.
“It would mean so much to us win to win the ePremier League and with Mati and I winning the eLaLiga last year, going back-to-back in two different leagues would be sick!”
Mati’s debut season in the English league has been phenomenal so far and part of what has made the transition to competing in London so easy is having an ePremier League champion alongside him.
Tekkz won the first ever ePremier League in 2019 and this season, he’s looking to make history to become the first pro to win the competition twice.
But the 21-year-old admitted that this year’s Finals feels different, with more on the line than ever before.
“For ePremier League, I don’t usually get nervous,” said Tekkz, “but for this one, it’s the biggest ePrem of all time with a World Cup spot on the line and it’s our only way into the competition now so it’s even more important Mati and I are crowned ePrem champions.
“Even though we went undefeated in the Group Stages, which felt great, I wouldn’t say it’s boosted my confidence ahead of Sunday because for me personally I didn’t play as well as I know I can so I’m hoping come knockouts I play well and give Mati some nice leads to hold on to.
“I’ve been working on everything really to be ready. Attacking, defending, set pieces. I’ve practised more set pieces this year so hopefully we can score from some corners this weekend.
“I’ve not been looking at who we could face, I’ve just been focusing on being ready because at the end of the day if I play well and Mati plays well, we will win.
“If we are crowned champions I think it will be one of my favourite tournament wins ever, it’s been too long! I think the last time I won a tournament was before COVID which is a very long time ago.
“It would be great to repay City for the trust they’ve put in Mati and I and with it being our only way into the World Cup it makes the Finals 20 times bigger. It adds a bit of pressure so we’ll see what happens!”
You can watch Mati and Tekkz compete live on Twitch from 16:00 (UK) on Sky Sports Premier League Youtube channel or on the EA SPORTS FC Twitch channel.
You can also follow us on X: @ManCityEsports for regular updates throughout the day.
