Andre Silva beats Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Marcus Rashford and Alex Iwobi to be crowned ‘Ultimate Finisher’ at Nike boot launch
Porto striker beats rivals as American sportswear giant releases new Hypervenom 3 boots
PORTO star Andre Silva beat off a host of Premier League stars to be crowned 'Ultimate Finisher' at a Nike event in London.
The Portuguese striker, 21, saw off Marcus Rashford, Alex Iwobi, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Christian Benteke - as well as Euro stars Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mauro Icardi - to win the Championship belt.
The event, at a secret location in the capital, was to mark the release of the new Hypervenom 3 boots.
It was also streamed on Facebook Live, with fans getting to choose which players they preferred.
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Premier League legends Ian Wright and Didier Drogba were two of the judges, as were Grime stars AJ Tracey and Santan Dave.
Other players in the Nike stable, including Chelsea star Eden Hazard and Tottenham goal hero Harry Kane, were part of the crowd.
The players went head-to-head, getting five attempts to score goals to impress the judges and watching crowd.
Starting with some basic finishes, the players got more and more elaborate, with volleys, flicks and overhead kicks sometimes going wayward and other times delighting the crowd.
Aubameyang, who is in the middle of a tug of war between Manchester City and Liverpool, and Icardi, who was heavily linked with a move to Arsenal before signing a new deal at Inter, won their opening rounds against Benteke and Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Silva, who has also been identified by United and Arsenal as a possible summer target, beat Iwobi in the opening round, the Portuguese then beat Icardi to move into the final.
Manchester United starlet Marcus Rashford had turned up late - with Arsenal rival Iwobi at first taking his place - beating Oxlade-Chamberlain in a wildcard round and then Aubameyang.
That set up the final against the Porto hitman, with Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois emerging from the crowd to go in goal.
But Rashford, who has seven goals this season, couldn't beat Silva.
The Portugal international has been bang in form for the Primeria Liga title-chasers, scoring 17 goals in 29 matches this season.
And he clearly had his (new) shooting boots on again, as he was crowned champion over the England man.