The FC Pro 26 World Championship is just around the corner. No doubt about it – this is the biggest tournament of the season.

RBLZ_Umut: Absolutely. Every player wants to be there. Not just because it's the final major event of the season, but because it's the official World Championship. No other tournament comes close in terms of prestige or prize money. Becoming world champion is what everyone is chasing, so we've all been putting in countless hours to be as prepared as possible.

The World Championship is being held in Paris for the first time in 2026. How much does the location matter to you – whether it's the country, the climate, the culture or simply being closer to home?

It's definitely nice not having to travel too far, and I really like Paris. But beyond that, the location doesn't make much difference to me. Once the tournament starts, I'm completely locked in. At that point, it doesn't matter whether I'm playing for the world title in Riyadh, Paris or anywhere else.

The level of competition has never been higher. What are your goals heading into the tournament?

The competition is unbelievably strong now. Every year, a new generation of top players comes through, so the standard keeps getting higher. To come out on top in a field like this, you have to be at your absolute best. But despite the level of competition, there's only one goal – and I'm sure all 36 finalists feel the same way: to become world champion.

You already won the World Championship back in 2022. Looking back, what was the key to that success?

A lot of things came together. First of all, I was in outstanding form and managed to play my A-game throughout the entire tournament. My confidence kept growing from match to match until I reached the point where I genuinely felt unbeatable. You step onto the stage believing you're going to win every game. That said, you also need a bit of luck if you want to win the biggest FC tournament in the world. I equalised in the 90th minute of my quarter-final, and the final went all the way to penalties.

In a tournament like this, every little detail has to go your way. But it's also true that I played an incredible group stage and qualified for the knockouts as the clear group winner. I earned the respect of my opponents early on, and everyone knew I wasn't going to be easy to beat. That's part of it as well. You need that aura if you want to become world champion.