The Champions

Whilst 32 teams battle it out for The World Cup in Russia, Pragmatic Play invite you to go for gold with The Champions. This is a 5 reel, 25 payline football themed slot that boasts a number of features including wilds and a penalty shootout bonus round.

When you first start The Champions you're invited to select 1 of the 32 countries participating in the 2018 World Cup. This basically determines the colour of the symbols - red and white for England, yellow and green for Brazil etc. As you'd expect from the theme, the icons on the reel are all football related. These include a football, boots, goalie gloves, shirts and a ref's whistle. Playing card symbols also feature.

Momentum Progressive Game

Wagering starts from 25p and goes up to £125. The wager is adjusted by adjusting the coin value and coins per line. An autoplay option is available. Before you start to spin you're invited to place a crosshair target symbol on the reels. If a football finishes in your chosen position you score a goal and a win multiplier is activated for 10 spins.

This is the Momentum Progressive Game and it can rise to 11 levels with a x20 multiplier. Goals need to be scored within the 10 spins in order to go up a level. Note that changing your bet will reset your level back to 1 and the multiplier to x1.

Penalty Shots Bonus

The Penalty Shoot Out Bonus feature is activated when 3 bonus symbols appear on the reels. You'll be awarded 5 penalty kicks and have to select 1 of the 4 corners to aim the ball. If you score then you win a prize of 5, 10, 15, 25 or 100 times your stake depending on your success rate from the spot. The goalkeeper in this bonus round is exceptionally good!

The Champions is a fun football themed slot. The base game is decent and the Momentum Progressive Game adds a bit of interest. The penalty shoot out is also good and adds something different to proceedings.