Matias found it awkward playing against teammate Tekkz

Matias Bonanno was among the favourites at the FC Pro Open Global Qualifier in London, coming off the back of a successful eLaLiga 2023 campaign. The 21-year-old lifted the eLaLiga title back in May. It was this fine form that helped earn him a move to Manchester City, where he competes alongside Donovan "Tekkz" Hunt.

He continued his strong form in London, only losing one match the entire tournament. Amusingly, his singular loss came at the hands of his Manchester City teammate Tekkz. That, technically, left Manchester City unbeaten at the event.

esports.gg sat down with the Argentinian at the event to discuss his strong FC Pro start.

Only losing a single game was an impressive showing for the Manchester City player. Confidence is key in EA FC esports, and the Argentinian performed with confidence all event long.

"The tournament has been very good in terms of my level and I'm very confident in the next tournaments."

Although, Matias was quick to admit he feels he has some areas for improvement as the competition moves onto the next stage.

"My defence was really good. I love the way I defended this event. But I believe I need to improve my attack. I did a few mistakes in the matches and that is what I am hoping to improve.

"I did score a lot of goals in this tournament, but I think I can still be better. When I take the ball with my defenders, maybe I made some mistakes. So I need to improve playing out from the back".

EA FC esports is one of the few esports that raises the possibility of playing against your teammates. Tekkz and Matias both play for Manchester City. They share the same coach, feature in content together. Tekkz even told esports.gg that seeing Matias playing so often in Discord is helping him stay motivated.

So, how do you handle playing against your teammate?

"It was an awkward situation as we are partners and we all support each other and he is the best. So it was tricky there and it's a shame that I lost but I'm happy that he won and I support him until the end as we are in the same team. I'll try and win the next one!"

Tekkz and Matias will compete together in the ePremier League, a competition that allows them to compete together, not as opponents.

"When it is competition time we become rivals, but it is part of the competition we need to deal with. We're still friends. It's difficult to separate everything, but I think we're going to get to a good level of friendship for the Premier League."

Just like his teammate, Matias is thriving at Manchester City. The team is supporting their FC Pro roster heavily and is desperate to win a title.

"City is one of the biggest teams in the world. So I'm really happy to be here. I'm looking forward to achieving my goals here."

Manchester City is a big step up for the Argentinian, who last played for Real Betis and Team Heretics. However, he is not feeling any pressure under the brighter spotlight.

"No I don't feel pressure. I like the pressure but I don't know, for me it's the same. I want to win everything so I don't feel nothing."

The new FC Pro Draft system has been on everyone's minds following the FC Pro Open Global Qualifier. Players were able to get to grips with the system for the first time. Matias is among those enjoying the system in practice.

"Yeah, I like the system of drafts. But, it's different than my practice, for example. And in my account, I have a lot of money, so it's very different. I play with [Ronaldo] Nazario for example. Instead, you maybe have to use a Marcus Rashford"

One of the unique picks in Matias' draft was Luca Modric. He was the only player to use the Croatian the entire event. Why did he choose to play with this non meta player?

"Because my coach, Edu, told me about Modric. He's so good. You need to take Modric because he has Trivela. Trivela is very important in this game, so he's a very good player. I think the Trivela is one of the best things in the game. Trivela and Power Shot maybe for example in Marcus Rashford is so good for me."

Matias will join teammate Tekkz and 18 other players in the FC Pro Open regular season. Players will compete for a share of $500,000 and a spot at the World Championship. Matias is in Group B, and has additionally been assigned Yann Karamoh as the player he is representing in the tournament.

"I think the next tournament is very, very important because the FC Pro Open is maybe the most important tournament in the year. So I think I'm prepared, I'm ready, so I'm looking for the next trophy."

Matias begins his FC Pro Open group stage action later today.