Indian challenge ends tamely at PES 2013 World Finals

Both Indian participants were knocked out at the group stage of the PES 2013 World Finals, which also saw the defending champion ousted.

The knockout stages and the final will be held later today, the closing day of the GAMES 13 expo in Dubai.

Mumbai qualifier Nishant Mittal won one of his three matches, but that wasn’t enough, and goal difference saw him finish at the bottom of his group.

In his first match, Mittal came from behind twice but never quite managed to establish himself against E_C_Oneill of the Netherlands. The eventual group topper won 6-3.

Mittal turned it around impressively in his second match against mmoratti, with a goal in each half seeing him through 2-0. He started well in his must-win match against El Matador, one of the tournament’s favourites. However, after failing to convert twice in one-on-one situations, his German opponent dominated proceedings, with the match ending 4-0.

Delhi qualifier Santanu Basu found himself in a group of just three players, but the Kolkata native ended both his matches in defeat.

Basu lost both his matches with 3-0 score lines, ending the Indian challenge at this year’s PES World Finals.

The showcase match of the group stages saw defending champion Pau "pauu_24" Lara of Spain taking on last year’s losing finalist Ettore ‘ettorito97’ Gianuzzi. It was the Italian who came out on top this time, and while Lara won his second match, losing 1-0 to ACandy in his last match saw him knocked out at the group stages itself.

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