Digital Ronaldos stay strong in bid for eWorld Cup glory

Playing the Fifa video game was once regarded as a fun hobby but 32 players from around the world are battling this week in London for a $250,000 winner’s cheque

On the big screen at the O2 Nicolas99fc is nibbling at his top lip. Short, skinny and barely filling out his junior-sized football shirt, the Argentinian – real name Nicolás Villalba – does not look like an athlete feared the world over. But this is eSports, where the skills required for success are as much mental as physical, and the 18-year-old is favourite to win this weekend’s Fifa eWorld Cup and take home $250,000.

Related: Extreme eSports: the very male, billion-dollar gaming industry at a stadium near you

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