Facundo Cowen – aka FacuCowen - is a 20-year-old eSports sensation from Argentina. His superb unbeaten streak during qualification for the inaugural FC Pro Open saw Cowen announce himself to the world, having enjoyed modest success beforehand.
The youngster first broke onto the elite circuit in 2022, competing in the eLiga professional, finishing inside the top 15. However, it wasn’t until FIFA 23 that he would find success on the world stage, managing to break into the FIFA 23 Global Series – Latin America South Rankings for the first time.
Earlier this year, he competed in the Argentinian eLPF league for Velez Sarsfield, finishing just outside the top 20. However, after some serious early promise, it is on EA FC 24 that Cowen has taken his game to a whole new level.
Moving to Tuzzy E-Sports for the new season, he immediately repaid the team’s faith, finishing in the top 10 of the FC Pro Open Ladder: LatAm South and the FC Pro Open Regional Qualifiers.
In doing so, he progressed to November’s FC Pro Open Global Qualifier – the final hurdle before making the first-ever edition of the tournament. Despite his inexperience at the elite level - and being up against some of the biggest names in eSports - Cowen shined.
In the Swiss Stage of the Global Qualifier in London, he ended it as one of two competitors (alongside Tekkz) to win all five of his matches.
From there, the rising star secured passage to the FC Pro Open with highly impressive wins against seanldw and Montaxer in the knockout round. While few earmarked FacuCowen as a contender to win the inaugural FC Pro Open, ending the Global Qualifier as one of two unbeaten players did put him in the conversation for those who could progress.
The Argentine didn't quite meet those new expectations in Match Week 2, ending it with four points from as many matches, with his only win coming against bottom-placed Bonanno.
He came back firing on Match Week 6 and took a near-perfect tally of 10 points, which included a sensational 4-0 win against PHzin. Despite not being enough to progress from Group B as he was outdone by Young on goals scored, the performance ensured that FacuCowen will be back at the Open next year and offered an insight into what he is capable of.
