Lisa Manley Crowned Champion of the Shesports Cup FIFA Showcase at ICE 2023

Thursday marked the final of the Shesports Cup FIFA Showcase this week at ICE London.

Following victories during the round robin tournaments on days 1 and 2 of ICE, Lisa Manley faced off against FUTHeda in the best of 7 showcase final.

Both professional FIFA players began by setting a complicated (to the amateur eye!) series of tactics for their teams. Manley was playing as Manchester United with England favourites, Alessia Russo up front and Ella Toone just behind. Whereas FUTHeda started the series with Arsenal, her 4-2-3-1 formation showcasing England’s European Championship winner, Beth Mead on the right of midfield.

Russo opened the scoring in match 1 for Lisa Manley’s Man UTD and then two further goals, this time from Leah Galton, helped Manley take game 1, 3-1. 

Game 2 was much closer, ending in a 1-1 draw before Manley extended her series lead with a 3-0 drubbing, Ella Toone getting on the scoresheet. 

At 2-0 down in the series with 4 to play, FUTHeda made the surprising move of changing her team from Arsenal to Manchester City, possibly in the hope that the added drama of the Manchester derby could help motivate a comeback.

It proved fruitless as the reds of Manley thrashed the blues 4-0 in game 4. With the series at 3-0 to Manley, FUTHeda was left needing to win every game to force a tie and a sudden death final game.

A miraculous comeback seemed on the cards as FUTHeda came out of nowhere to smash 5 goals past England and UTD’s keeper, Mary Earps and pull one back to go into match 6 at 3-1 down in the series.

A twenty-minute break followed and this seemed to disrupt FUTHeda’s momentum slightly as within 10 minutes of match 6, she was 1-0 down. Manley could smell the victory and so could UTD’s Adreana Leon, on for the injured Williams, as 1 goal, then 2 and then her hat-trick finished off the final game with a 4-0 victory for Manley and a crowning as the Champion of the Shesports Cup Showcase at ICE 2023.

Throughout the tournament, attendees were able to make free bets when wagering on the outcomes of the games with winners able to ‘cash-in’ any remaining chips for a chance to win a Meta Quest 2 VR headset. Over the week, hundreds of individuals took up the opportunity through the sportsbook run by Esports Arena sponsor, Odds Group. 

An equivalent of well over £4000.00 was wagered across the week proving once more that the Esports Arena at ICE is a massive draw for attendees.