Last weekend, 19-year-old Frenchman Corentin Chevrey took the crown as the best FIFA Ultimate Team player in the world with a stunning last-gasp victory at EA Sports' grand finals in Berlin.
It's clear that the team behind the long-running annual gaming juggernaut that is FIFA really want to step-up the competitive scene and as a result they presented not only an incredibly production for the grand finals, but also for the regional tournaments that lead the players to the big show.
A LOT of games of FIFA were played, by the very best in the world, which gave those of us watching at home a view at how it's done when you truly know the game inside and out.
We've picked out five lessons taken from the elite that you may not have realised if you've been struggling.
The RB/R1 driven pass is way more effective than the triple-tap cross.
Many of us have grown mightily attached to the triple-tap cross in FIFA, which keeps the cross low and is great for a tap-in at the back post, but the driven pass is a far more effective way to do it.
We saw it in pretty much every game of the FUT Champions grand finals, as players would make their way to the by-line before drilling a ball to the feet of their striker for an easy finish.
It is also extremely effective from corner kicks, and many pros choose to go short, try to beat the first man, and drive a pass in low rather than swinging a corner in.
Long-range shots are a waste of time.
In the above screenshot you'll see our eventual champion Vitality Rocky choosing to pass it into the box instead of shooting despite a massive opening and the fact that it's Cristiano Ronaldo with the ball.
For the vast, VAST majority of us, our eye-would light up at such a gap at the edge of the box, even if it's Luke Shaw on his right peg, and yet this was too low a percentage shot for a pro.
Shot selection is so important for these guys, so much so that they refuse to shoot unless they are sure it's going to be a goal. While everybody loves a top-corner screamer, you'll very rarely see a pro take a shot from outside of 12 yards when it's an important game.
There really is no difference between PS4 and Xbox One for FIFA.
For all the talk about how it 'feels different' on one console compared to another, the FUT Champions grand finals in Berlin were designed to prove that to be false.
There were two separate tournaments, one for those who qualified on Xbox, and another for PS4 players, but the winners of each would meet to determine an overall champion.
Vitality Rocky won the tournament by drawing 3-3 in the last game, having won the first-leg on PS4 2-1 despite being an Xbox player. It really is marginal if a difference exists at all, so no excuses next time you lose at a mate's house.
The LT+RT/L2+R2 dribbling is the most important thing you can learn.
This is one that you've really been missing out on if you didn't know, but the close control dribbling that holding LT+RT/L2+R2 provides is absolutely massive this year.
FIFA can sometimes feel like it's nothing other than tackle after tackle after tackle as possession goes back and forth because there's no time on the ball, but the LT+RT dribbling buys you this time.
The above tutorial shows how to best ultise it, but at the edge of the area where defenders are desperately to tackle you is when it can really be of use.
Every pro player believes in 'Bronze Benching', so you should too.
See those guys rated 45 overall on the bench? They are there for a reason.
This has been a myth in the FIFA community for some time, but it's crazy to see that at a grand final with the best players in the world, who have their choice of every player in the game, they still pick the lowest rated players they can find to make up the bench. Pick three subs you want to use, and make the rest as poorly rated as possible.
The reason is that by having those low rated players, it brings the overall rating of the squad down, so if you come up against a team with a higher rating, you will be given an advantage. It sounds crazy, but a lot of people believe in this momentum/scripting lark, so much so that pro players are doing it at televised tournaments, so you may as well too.
