Newtown Pride FC Wins Inaugural $1 Million Championship Game

Cary, NC, June 4, 2023 - The Soccer Tournament, the $1 million, winner-take-all, 7v7 world championship played this week at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, NC and televised on NBC Sports, has crowned Newtown Pride FC as the event;’s first champion. 

The team was led by MASL Newcomer of the Year Gabriel Costa and backboned by St. Louis Ambush goalkeeper Paulo Nascimento. The lone regulation goal was scored by Costa and the target goal to win the tournament came off an assist by Drew Ruggles. 

Newtown Pride FC is a semi-professional team based in the Sandy Hook section of Newtown, Connecticut, and only the second National Amateur Championship to ever directly qualify for the U.S. Open Cup. Newtown Pride won Group A, which included the likes of Borussia Dortmund, and was one of 16 teams to advance to the knockout rounds. From there, Newtown defeated DMV Diplomats, Israeli Premier League team Hapoel Tel Aviv, and Sneaky Fox FC, which was organized by former MLS MVP Mike Magee and contained several notable former MLS players. In the semifinals, Newtown defeated Zala FFF, led by former U.S. international AJ DeLaGarza and MLS star Lee Nyguen.

In the championship game, Newtown Pride defeated SLC SC, a team composed of players from the Canadian Futsal National Team and League1 Ontario. Newtown controlled the game throughout, outshooting SLC 21-8. In Target Score Time, Kelvin Nunes scored the $1 million goal to complete the 2-0 victory.

After the championship game, Nunes was announced as TST’s first MVP. Nunes finished the tournament with six goals, which was the second most of any player at the tournament. As the centerpiece of Newton's offense, Nunes scored in six of the seven games played, only failing to find the back of the net in the opening game.

Nunes was named to The Soccer Tournament’s Best VII alongside Wrexham first-team goalkeeper Mark Howard, former Everton striker Oumar Niasse of Blade & Grass FC,  Zala FFF’s forward Lee Ngyuen, Sneaky Fox forward Nick Perera, SLC FC midfielder Raheem Rose, and former AC Milan wunderkind, Como 1907 midfielder Patrick Cutrone.

Cutrone was also named The Soccer Tournament’s Golden Boot winner, scoring seven goals in five games.

ABOUT TBT ENTERPRISES

Founded in 2014, TBT Enterprises specializes in hosting high-stakes, open-application sporting events distributed across the world. TBT Enterprises’ first property, The Basketball Tournament (TBT), has crowned nine champions, awarded more than $12 million in prizes, and ushered in innovations such as the Elam Ending® and its signature postgame bracket celebration, since adopted by the NBA and NCAA respectively. Launching June 2023, The Soccer Tournament (TST) will mark TBT Enterprises’ expansion into sports beyond basketball. For more information on TBT Enterprises and its various properties, visit TheTournament.com.

ABOUT THE SOCCER TOURNAMENT (TST)

Launching in June 2023, The Soccer Tournament (TST) is the newest creation from TBT Enterprises. TST is an open-application, million-dollar, winner-take-all competition. Teams will face off in a 32-team, World Cup model. It will feature a 7v7 format and host teams from all across the world. For more information on TST and how to enter a team, visit TheTournament.com.