Adrian ‘Williams_Adrian’ Sanchez takes the 2020 MotoGP eSport Championship after dominating the season.
Photo credit: MotoGP / Koch Media
It was a nailbiter to the end: Championship favorite Adrian ‘Williams_Adrian’ Montenegro Sanchez, his brother Cristian ‘Williams_Cristian’ Montenegro Sanchez and two-time world champion Lorenzo ‘trastevere73’ Daretti engaged in a thrilling final battle for the 2020 MotoGP eSport Championship on Friday night.
Trastevere73 gave his all and secured both of the final rounds at Silverstone and Valencia, which awarded double the points. Yet, he had to concede to Williams_Adrian in the end. The Spaniard, whose real name is Adrian Montenegro Sanchez, had dominated the season going into the finals with a 39- and 61-point lead over the other two obvious title contenders. He was expected to take the trophy, shouldn’t fate go against him. However, at first, this seemed to be the case.
trastevere73 catches up at Silverstone
One’s luck is the other one’s bad luck: Right at the beginning of Race 7, the penultimate of the championship, both Sanchez brothers fell, putting their advantageous positions in the standings at odds. Lorenzo Daretti aka. trastevere73 saw the opportunity and displayed why he was able to secure the world championship back-to-back in 2017 and 2018.
While the brothers attempted to work their way back to the top, trastevere73 and his nemesis Andrea ‘AndrewZh’ Saveri, who dethroned him last year, engaged in a thrilling battle for first place. In the end, Daretti was in too good of a shape and finished 2.575 seconds clear of his rival.
👊@73trast fights back! 🥇
— MotoGP eSport (@MotoGPeSport) November 27, 2020
He keeps the title hopes alive with his win and @26_adriaan‘s crash, and great podiums by @AndrewZh_ and @_moe_27_ ! 👏#MotoGPeSport #eSports pic.twitter.com/v8eKeJjgOm
Willams_Adrian fights back
With the results from the previous race, trastevere73 was well in reach of the championship, overtaking Williams_Cristian in the standings. However, 22 points were still between him and Williams_Adrian. This meant that even if trastevere73 won the ultimate race at Valencia, he was dependent on the favorite not finishing fourth or better.
But this time, Williams_Adrian did not slip and stuck to the Italians heels. It was only thanks to his best efforts that trastevere73 could cling to his marginal lead in the last race and finished half a second before the season’s dominator, whose P2 would seal his championship. In the end, it wasn’t the perfect conclusion for the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider, yet still a great victory overall. Due to his consistent performance over the season, Williams_Adrian took the crown despite a magnificent former world champion, who is all but done winning yet.
Let the celebrations commence! 🎉@26_adriaan, @mmandzukic17_ and @73trast explain how they feel after finishing the year in the top 3 of the standings 👏#MotoGPeSport #eSports pic.twitter.com/0SZuaGesXO
— MotoGP eSport (@MotoGPeSport) November 27, 2020
In the post-match interviews, all three title contenders seemed quite happy with their results. Runner-up trastevere73 even danced a little on stream and commented: “I’m really, really happy for these first two positions,” but also apologized for his mediocre mid-season performance which might have cost him the title.
For MotoGP 2020 winner Williams_Adrian, this title is the reward for “training really hard” and emerging victorious from a tough season. “Especially Cristian and Trast [trastevere73] were really fast,” commented Adrian and dedicated his championship to his family and friends.
The world champion receives a BMW M235i xDrive Gran Coupé as his prize. Trastevere73’s reward is a Aprilia RS 125 GP Replica, while third place Williams_Cristian is given a Lenovo Legion Y740 Laptop.
What are you thoughts on the final two rounds of the MotoGP eSport Championship? Tell us on Twitter at @overtake!
