RIO DE JANEIRO: Denmark’s August Rosenmeier is the new FIFA Interactive World Cup (FIWC) World Champion after beating David Bytheway of England 3-1 in the Grand Final on the iconic Sugarloaf Mountain in Rio de Janeiro.

Rosenmeier, competing in his third consecutive FIWC Grand Final, also received a cheque for $20,000 and will travel to the Ballon d’Or to rub shoulders with the world’s best footballers.

“I’m absolutely delighted and I can’t describe how it feels to be champion,” said the 18-year-old. “Denmark isn’t here at the World Cup but we showed them we can play football on the virtual pitch. It was amazing to receive the trophy from Ronaldo.”

In a tense final, Bytheway went ahead playing with Germany before Rosenmeier stormed to victory playing as host country Brazil.

Ronaldo said: “I think it’s great to see this beautiful tournament here during the World Cup. I was really impressed by the level of skill on display at the Final Showdown. These guys are really talented and I thought Rosenmeier was a worthy winner.”

Now in its tenth year, this was the first time the FIWC Grand Final took place at the same time and in the same country as the FIFA World CupTM.

The 20 finalists travelled to Rio de Janeiro as part of a dream three-day trip, which will culminate in a visit to the Maracana on Friday to see France take on Germany in the first FIFA World CupTM quarter-final. Watching the action at the Final Showdown were footballing heroes Ronaldo and Dwight Yorke.

“It has been a great way to conclude the 2014 FIFA Interactive World Cup being here in Brazil,” said Ralph Straus, FIFA head of strategy and brand management.

“Congratulations to August Rosenmeier, who beat almost 2 million players from around the world to make it here and become World Champion. We thank all those who have participated in helping to make this a highly competitive tournament.”

The FIWC is organised by FIFA and its presenting partners EA SPORTS™ and Sony PlayStation® and is recognised by Guinness World Records as the world’s largest online gaming tournament and more than 5,000,000 players have taken part since 2009. It is an official FIFA tournament that gives football fans the chance to live out their passion for football and to interact with other fans around the world. Participants from every continent battle it out to qualify for the Grand Final, where the FIWC champion is crowned.

The online tournament takes place on the PlayStation Network and can be accessed through the latest version of EA SPORTS™ FIFA 14 on PS3.

For more information on the FIWC, go to:www.fifa.com/fiwcwww.twitter.com/fiwc, or www.facebook.com/fiwc

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