Another Match Week brought more entertainment as Vejrgang, AbuMakkah, seanldw, AntoniniGabriel and ManuBachoore played the first half of Group C’s fixtures.

This was the first group to see all five of its players pick up points, but there will still be a massive contrast in emotions among the competitors. As always, there were also lessons to be learned and we’re here to run through them.

Relentless Vejrgang

It has been said that some pros fear the idea of facing Vejrgang. “I’m not surprised” was the RBLZ player’s response when that was put to him and he showed exactly why that is the case as he went top of Group C with 10 points.

Opening his tournament against ManuBachoore in what the Dane expected to be his toughest contest and closest competition for top spot, Vejrgang showed a glimpse of his character.

After scoring the equaliser to make the scoreline 2-2 – how it would stay – Vejrgang shouted “sit down” in a showing of defiance before running down the clock to settle for a draw.

The Dane openly stated that he expected to win the following three matches in the Game Week and did just that.

It took a mere 10 minutes for him to open the scoring against AbuMakkah but it was his incredible goalkeeper movement with Petr Cech that stood out as he secured a 2-1 victory. There were also more Vejrgang antics after a particularly impressive save.

Having shown how relentless he could be with his goalkeeper, Vejrgang then displayed that quality in front of goal to beat seanldw and AntoniniGabriel with the help of quickfire goals.

While the 5-3 win over seanldw was impressive, it’s his victory over AntoniniGabriel that will be remembered the most. The EKO player had brought about hope that he could cause an upset when he went 2-0 up, but one Vejrgang goal was swiftly followed by another before he scored again to complete a turnaround before the half had come to an end.

There was no stopping Vejrgang from there, as he went on to complete a 9-3 demolition of the Italian. The RBLZ player noted that people had questioned his mentality, and while there were moments where he seemed close to losing his head, Vejrgang definitely proved that he can come through varying situations to be a leading competitor in this tournament.

Not only did the Dane take top spot, but he was also named Sony PS5 Player of the Day.

The composed competitor

AbuMakkah is arguably the player we learned the most about from the variety of situations he was able to navigate his way through in Match Week Three.

The Team Falcons player was able to stay unbelievably calm throughout, whether that composure relates to his muted celebrations, being denied by Vejrgang’s goalkeeper control or conceding an early penalty against ManuBachoore.

He took complete control during his opening 2-0 win against seanldw, becoming the first player in the entire FC Pro Open to earn a clean sheet in the process.

Despite losing against Vejrgang, AbuMakkah showed a lot of positive characteristics during his match against the Dane. It would be easy for people to shrink after going 2-0 down against such a revered player, but the Saudi Arabian did the opposite and wrestled back control. If it hadn’t been for some sensational goalkeeping, he could have even come out with a result.

There was also an ability to bounce back from that disappointment, with a Juan Sebastian Veron trivela being the first goal on his way to going 4-0 up against AntoniniGabriel. Possibly the most disappointed AbuMakkah looked all night was when he conceded to lose the clean sheet, but he responded swiftly and went on to win 5-2.

His final match, against ManuBachoore, highlighted that the Team Falcons player can also come through more chaotic matches. It was a game that constantly went backwards and forwards, with it seeming as though the Dutchman would take a point when he came back from two goals down to make the score 5-5.

Refusing to settle for a point, AbuMakkah struck back with Gheorghe Hagi to secure the win and take his tally to nine points – five more than third-placed seanldw.

There have been inevitable comparisons to Team Falcons chairman and esports legend Msdossary, but AbuMakkah is showing signs that he can create a legacy of his own as a composed competitor and will aim to make it to the very top.

Stepping up

AntoniniGabriel and seanldw are both newcomers at this level but stepped up to put in a respectable display, finishing above world champion ManuBachoore with four and three points respectively.

They started against each other with seanldw coming out of the contest with a 6-3 victory. In a sign of how much it means, the Bayer Leverkusen looked emotional when he scored his fifth goal to establish some breathing space.

While the German went on to lose against AbuMakkah in the next round, AntoniniGabriel secured his only win of the Match Week against ManuBachoore. Both the Italian and Dutchman had their periods in front but it looked as though they would come out level until the EKO player capitalised on a late mistake to score the winner with Eusebio and make the score 4-3.

AntoniniGabriel sat out Round 3, when seanldw took his turn to face ManuBachoore. The Bayer Leverkusen player came out of it with a creditable 2-2 draw thanks to an equaliser from Cafu.

Both suffered defeats in Round 4, then seanldw sat out the last round of matches while AntoniniGabriel fell to a 9-3 defeat against Vejrgang despite initially going 2-0 up.

Each of the two players had moments they will look back on and use to improve, but that was always likely to be the case when stepping up to this level of competition. There are also slim hopes of progressing and plenty of encouragement to take into the January fixtures.

ManuBachoore fades

Bonanno and ManuBachoore's fellow automatic qualifier Mark11 have already struggled after having a lot expected of them. The title of world champion meant ManuBachoore had even more interest in him than most, but the Team Gullit player was the latest to put in underwhelming performances.

There had been warning signs as he was left disappointed by his recent displays in the KPN eDivisie, but the eventual outcome of Match Week Three still wouldn’t have been expected, especially after a draw against fellow favourite Vejrgang.

In that match, he went behind to the Dane but scored twice to take the lead – with one of those strikes being an eye-catching Veron trivela – but Vejrgang equalised through Jairzinho with 15 minutes remaining. In a sign of the respect ManuBachoore has commanded, the Dane was happy to take the draw as he ran down the clock.

Letting in late goals continued to be a problem, as the Dutchman then went on to concede after the 85th minute in each of his three remaining matches, while there were some questionable moments defensively at varying stages.

Those were telling goals, seeing ManuBachoore lose 4-3 against AntoniniGabriel and draw 2-2 against seanldw, with his frustrations coming out in the second of those games as he hit the table.

The match against AbuMakkah was vital in deciding how much hope the Dutchman could take into January regarding his qualification – especially with the Team Falcons player occupying the second spot. He had shown resilience to respond well to an equaliser and score one of his own, but the Team Gullit player eventually fell to a 6-5 defeat.

Suffering that loss left ManuBachoore on a mere two points, and while he stated that “as long as it’s possible I will keep fighting”, it is now incredibly unlikely that the Dutchman will progress.

For the third week in a row, everyone was reminded that they will struggle if they don't play their best FC.