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FIFA 21 Ultimate Team is an ever-changing landscape and the moves that worked in October may not be enough to win games today.
Whether it’s meta-players, formations, or skill moves, FIFA’s competitive scene adapts a lot or perishes. If you don’t keep up with the latest changes, you won’t get very far in tournaments.
So as we come to the commercial end of the FIFA 21 eSports season, what are the best skills, tactics and formations to use?
We asked Josh Buchanan: You can find him at Twitch here – a FIFA Ultimate Team player who has twice achieved a top 200 in the FIFA 21 Weekend League, regularly hitting the Elite by recording 23 wins or more, to learn the truth and a little more about their experiences in the competitive scene.
Who is the most famous FIFA player you have defeated?
To be honest, I have played against some of the best players. I recently faced Neo Gorilla in the Weekend League, a well known player from the UK who is currently ranked 19th in Europe.
Spencer ‘Gorilla’ Ealing with the UK Esports Player of the Year award in 2017
He has been on the FIFA competitive scene for years and was the previous world champion in 2017. He was very aggressive with his tactics while using many skills that were very difficult to defend against. I managed to beat him 5-2 in a good game. But don’t get me wrong, another day I could have easily lost!
What are the draw skills and tactics that tell you that you are up against a top player?
Skills cancellations are the best for me this year at FIFA. I use them a lot. There are three that stand out and are very effective:
- False shot cancellation
- McGeady Spin Cancellation (5 * skills)
- La Croquet Cancellation (4 * skills)
To perform these abilities, you must press LT / L2 and RT / R2 to cancel it. They take a little getting used to. I practiced in the sand to teach myself how to do them. Knowing how to perform the skills is great, but you should also learn to time them against your opponent.
In my opinion, it creates a skills gap between other players. You don’t come across many who are doing them. If they are, a difficult game usually awaits you.
There are other skill combinations that are really effective too, like dragging back on the elastic / flip fin, which is one of my favorites, and the ball rolls in a scoop spin.
Normally your team can know at first if an opponent is good or understands the game, as they will be using the meta players. These will be the likes of Pele, Ruud Gullit, Patrick Vieira, R9 Ronaldo, Johan Cruyff, the best icons you want to go to (but expensive).
I would also say that the way a player is pushing and the player switch says a lot about their skill. Many casual players will only use the LB / L1 to switch a player, but this is slow and less effective.
The best players will use the controller’s right stick and the L1 / LB together. It allows you to switch faster and cut through passing lanes manually, or move a player into position to intercept the ball. For example, if you are going to pass the forward, he will quickly switch to his CB and intercept the ball before it reaches him.
It’s like being three or four steps ahead of your opponent. They read the pass before it happened, just like a professional central defender would.
The most fashionable formations right now?
Typically 4-4-2 and 4-2-3-1 are the safest option for a good solid and comprehensive lineup. They have a good balance, and I personally will always start 4-2-3-1. I use my four attackers, the LAM, RAM, CAM and ST to attack, and I have my CDM turned on. I will use the LB / L1 button to activate player races if I want my CDM to advance.
Right now, the current ‘goal’ is 5-3-2, which seems to be the one that goes with the majority.
It basically turns into a 3-5-2 when you’re attacking as LWB and RWB push up to become LM and RM. Sometimes I switch to 5-3-2 if my opponent is playing it to try and cancel it. Although I personally hate it. It’s very overwhelming, but if you can’t beat them join them I guess. It is literally like hitting a wall when attacking in the last third, as there are many players defending.
Another strong formation is the 4-3-1-2 with the wingers attacking. You can adjust your tactics to pressure after losing possession. This can get very OP, making it very easy to win the ball up high. I will use this if I have some goals down and I struggle to make chances. However, it leaves you open to a counterattack if your opponent can beat your press.
How was the FUT Champions Cup 4 last weekend?
The FUT Champions Cup 4 was a double elimination tournament, with 521 players on Xbox and 1,118 on PlayStation. If you lose twice, you are out. The Top Six is played live on March 20-21, 2021.
To get the Top Six and the live stream, you must win eight games in the winners category or 13 in the losers category. You go down to the group of losers once you lose.
It didn’t go very well for me at all, and it was my worst performance this year, as I left very early. But these things happen. I played with two very good players, I was too aggressive in my second game and finished 385th. I will learn from it and will return.
One of the best Xbox games that stands out is DullenMIKE beating Fnatic Tekkz in the 122nd minute. It went on to reach the Top Six for the second time this year. Joining him will be Slow x Flow, PredatorFIFA, KFC Pablo, xMusti19 and NEissaT14.
On PlayStation, Spanish pro Adriman beat eClub world champion Oliboli to secure his fourth FCC Top Six. The other five joining him are LevideWeerd, Gravesen_1, ImertAL, AndoniiPM and Cosimoguarnieri.
