Teedech Songsaisakul from Thailand secured the inaugural championship title in the esports football game EA Sports FC Online, previously known as FIFA Online 4, during the 19th Asian Games held in Hangzhou on Wednesday, September 27th. In achieving this, he also made history by becoming the first individual esports gold medalist in the Asian Games.
Songsaisakul clinched victory in a straight-set match against his fellow Thai competitor, Phatanasak Varanan, in the best-of-three final, etching his name in the record books. The competition followed a double-elimination format, requiring Varanan to battle through the loser’s bracket final earlier in the evening against Kwak Jun-hyouk. Meanwhile, Songsaisakul advanced to the overall final as the top seed and the favored contender after navigating the winners’ bracket.
Although Songsaisakul initially fell behind in the opening set of the final, with Varanan netting a clever finish (Ruud Gullit) from the edge of the box, the game came to life in the second half. Songsaisakul equalized with a close-range strike (Leon Goretzka) at the 53rd minute, but Varanan swiftly responded with a goal from inside the box (Ronaldo Nazário). Songsaisakul then netted twice (Kim Min-jae and Destiny Udogie) to take the lead. In the dying moments, Varanan’s long-range effort hit the crossbar, allowing Songsaisakul to claim a 1–0 advantage in the overall contest.
The second set proved to be a one-sided affair, with Songsaisakul taking a commanding lead on 32 minutes with a well-executed goal, courtesy of Pavel Nedved, into an empty net. He further extended his lead before half-time with a goal from the edge of the box by Gullit. Victory was sealed when Songsaisakul confidently placed a shot just inside the box (Lothar Matthäus) at the 60-minute mark. Despite Varanan’s consolation goal from Ronaldo Nazário, Songsaisakul secured an overall 2–0 triumph.
In the battle for the bronze medal, Republic of Korea’s Kwak claimed third place after a 1–2 defeat to Varanan in the losers’ bracket final. Varanan secured the opening set with a 2–1 victory, while Kwak leveled the overall score with a hard-fought penalty shootout win. However, Varanan’s effective game management in the deciding set led to a 1–0 victory, securing his place in the overall final.