The inaugural edition of Bank Wars, a FIFA 21 Gaming competition for leading Nigerian banks, will witness fireworks as four banks clash in the semi-finals of the competition on Saturday, May 29, 2021.

The four semi-finalists include Access Bank, Fidelity, Standard Chartered and Sterling Bank.

Bank Wars is sponsored by foremost Original Equipment Manufacturer, Samsung.

To get to this stage, Access Bank beat Standard Chartered Bank 7-5 in its final group game on Saturday, May 22, 2021. The victory saw both sides progress from Group A, with Access Bank emerging as group leaders, having won all its matches. Despite claiming only three points, Standard Chartered Bank made the semi-final, courtesy of a superior goal difference to Zenith Bank, which thrashed First City Monument Bank (FCMB) 8-2 to take its points tally to three. However, Zenith failed to make the semis due to its inferior goal difference.

In Group B, Sterling Bank and Fidelity also qualified for the semi-final of the competition after playing out a nine-goal thriller on Saturday. Sterling, which won 7-2, qualified as group leaders with a perfect nine-point tally, while Fidelity finished second on six points. Union Bank claimed third spot with three points after walking over Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) which failed to show up once again for their tie.

With the semi-final encounters set, excitement is high as the four remaining sides in the competition battle for a place in the final.

The Tech Experience Centre, Africa’s cutting-edge technology and lifestyle hub located at Yudala Heights, 13 Idowu Martins Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, will come alive on Saturday when the semi-final ties get underway.

In the day’s first match, Sterling Bank will trade tackles with Standard Chartered Bank on the FIFA 21 pitch. The match, which is set to commence by 1pm, will see a potential cracker as Standard Chartered looks to upset one of the competition’s favourites. In the other semi-final tie, Fidelity Bank will be looking to upstage Access Bank, one of the top dogs in the competition. The match kicks off by 1:45pm.

It promises to be an exciting time at the Tech Experience Centre on Saturday, with FIFA 21 pundits not ruling out the possibility of upsets in both matches.

Bank Wars is expected to come to a fitting climax on Saturday, June 5, 2021, with the third place and final matches of the competition. Winners of the FIFA 21 Gaming competition are expected to smile home with some mouth-watering prizes, courtesy of Samsung.

A Samsung 55-inch TV awaits the first prize winner while the runner-up will go home with a massive Samsung Refrigerator. Also, the third best team will claim a Samsung Washing Machine. In addition, there are prizes for individual representatives of the competing teams while the best goal of the competition (to be determined by votes) will fetch the scorer a Samsung 49-inch TV.

•Bank reps slugging it out at the on-going Bank Wars competition holding at the Tech Experience Centre, V/I, Lagos

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