Crystal Palace midfielder Eberechi Eze won $20,000 thanks to his high class chess skills.
Eze competed in the Chess.com PogChamps 6 online tournament where he claimed first place.
It was a 12 player celebrity competition in which Eze earned a bye into the semi-finals after coming through the round-robin stage.
In the semi-finals he beat gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik 2-0 and then bested YouTuber Sapnap in Friday’s final by the same scoreline.
As Eze secured his victory he shouted ‘come on’ and smiled into the camera with a fist pump.
Bizarrely, it was more emphatic celebration than his nonchalant act after scoring a rocket in the FA Cup semi-final against Aston Villa.
You’re probably wondering, ‘Is chess actually a sport?’ Technically, yes – it’s even officially recognised as a sport by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), although you can’t play it in the Olympic Games.
Eze is chess obsessed thanks to former Palace teammate Michael Olise.
“I didn’t start learning chess until Michael came in,” the 26-year-old told The Athletic last year.
“It was him and my brother who nudged me to learn how to play and face them, so that’s when I started studying the game, watching YouTube videos of the best chess openings, things like that.
“We are always playing something at the training ground.”
Two years ago the two faced off against each other on the Crystal Palace YouTube channel.
When asked who taught Olise how to play Chess he replied; “My mum when I was mad young. Now I taught my younger son over here,” pointing to Eze who is three years older.
Olise came out on top, winning the best of three in two straight matches.
Eze’s chess tournament will put him in a good mood ahead of Palace’s league match against Nottingham Forest on Monday.
But there is no doubt Oliver Glasner’s side is eager for their FA Cup final against Manchester City.
The two sides will meet at Wembley on Saturday 17th May.
Eze’s form in the FA Cup this season has been magnificent, with three goals and an assist in four matches – including his wonder strike that helped down Aston Villa in the semi-final.
Palace have never won the FA Cup before in their entire 119-year history.
They have played in the FA Cup final just twice before, being on the losing side both times – a 1-0 replay loss to Manchester United in 1990 and another defeat to the Red Devils in 2016, that time losing 2-1.
