When it comes to playing video games, few things are as satisfying as enjoying the bragging rights of a victory over one of your friends.
But FIFA Soccer 13 gamer Abdullah Malik can go one step further - he just beat the world’s best player!
Abdullah, 19, of New Hall Lane, Preston, won a tournament hosted by the 1-500 Club, a new online community exclusively for students.
The event offered the winner a £100 prize and the chance to increase this to £250 by taking on special guest Adam Winster, 19, of Dukes Meadow, Ingol, Preston.
Defeating Adam is no easy task as he is the UK’s no.1 and the highest earner in the world from FIFA tournaments - having scooped a staggering $167,000 prize for winning an EA Sports FIFA Challenge in New York last year.
But Abdullah somehow overcame the odds - beating the champ’s Real Madrid 2-1 with Manchester City - and he is now basking in the glory.
The second year biomedical science student at UCLan said: “I’ve been bragging on Twitter - it has to be done!
“All my mates have been bombarding me saying ‘if I was there I would have won’ and guys from all over the country have been offering to play me.
“I knew I was alright at FIFA, I thought I was pretty good, but I didn’t know if I could win a tournament.
“Winning the tournament was great but beating the UK’s no.1 topped it off.”
Around 75 people took part in the competition at Revolution, Preston, which was sponsored by Richer Sounds and Game, who supplied HD TVs and PlayStation 3s.
Abdullah said he was almost eliminated in the group stage on goal difference, but reached the final after surviving a penalty shootout scare.
He then beat a fellow student called Edmund 3-0 in the final, before toppling Adam.
He said: “It’s the intensity that was different, you don’t play the same as when you’re playing your mates.
“I picked Manchester City because I like Tevez and Aguero up front. I actually support Manchester United!
“The atmosphere was great. As soon as it got started the place was buzzing.”
Adam was gracious in defeat and even offered to meet up with Abdullah to talk about entering competitions together.
Abdullah, who works at B&M in Preston, said: “I don’t know if he was at his best but he seemed to be concentrating and he was changing all his tactics.
“It would be quite nice to play him again and I’d love to get involved in more tournaments.
“I was looking at pictures of him in a Las Vegas Hotel at one of the tournaments and that motivates me!”
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