De Graafschap wins edivisie national championship

De Graafschap has been crowned national champion in the edivisie. Dani Visser beat Bryan Hessing of Heracles Almelo in a spectacular eTribune broadcast live on Fox Sports. After both Visser and Messing have won the match, the final was decided with a golden goal in the third encounter.  17-year-old Visser ultimately triumphed.

The first match on the PlayStation 4 got off to a slow start. In a balanced match between De Graafschap and Heracles Almelo, Visser had most possession. The first opportunity did not come until 40 minutes into the match for De Graafschap, but the Superboeren’s striker overshot. But three minutes later they managed to score: after a pass from the wing, Neymar’s header made it 1-0. Hessing then went in search of the equaliser, but Visser managed to finish the match without too many problems.

In the return match on the Xbox One Heracles Almelo had to come up with a Plan B, and did it with panache. After only five minutes Hessing took the lead with a goal by Ronaldo, after which Mbappé doubled the margin seven minutes later. Just before half-time Heracles seemed to have secured the match: Mbappé scored his second goal. However, Visser came back spectacularly by scoring in the 53rd and 78th minute. A final offensive by Heracles in injury time did not make change the score, as a result of which a golden goal in the third encounter would be decisive.

With a set-play ‘trick’ at the kick-off 28-year-old Hessing sought to decide the final in under 10 seconds. But Visser responded well, and then went on the attack with De Graafschap. Within a couple of minutes this was successful: with a golden goal Visser won the national championship for his club in their debut year.

17-year-old Visser was elated: "How amazing to win the edivisie. After being 3-0 down I really didn’t expect it, but I got back in the match with two tricky goals. To finish it like this is fantastic… I'm still full of adrenaline."

Bryan Hessing of Heracles Almelo: “I had a plan ready for the second match, but unfortunately it didn't work out quite right. Obviously I'm really disappointed, but I'm old enough to accept it. Dani is the rightful winner," says a disappointed Bryan Hessing of Heracles Almelo.

Road to the Final

Both Hessing and Visser caused an upset in qualifying for the eTribune. In December Visser beat Stefano Pinna (PSV and former world champion on the PlayStation), Jimmy Donkers (Feyenoord) and Tony Kok (PEC Zwolle), who in turn had knocked out Dani Hagebeuk (Ajax). The PlayStation final against Kok was particularly nail biting, resulting in a 3-2 victory for Visser.

Hessing earned his place in the eTribune by beating Jaey Daalhuizen (Feyenoord) in the quarter-finals and Levy Frederique (Excelsior) in the semifinals. In the Xbox final against Nick den Hamer (FC Groningen) the score was 2-2 after two matches. More than 68 minutes into the third match, Hessing scored the golden goal, leading to an unprecedented celebration. The edivisie and its eTribune are supported by KPN, Basic-Fit, FOX Sports, Domino’s, Radio 538 and 433.