When it comes to the FIFA video game franchise, many professional soccer leagues around the world, aside from MLS, have gotten involved in esports. Look no further than how eMLS is accompanied by the ePremier League, eSerieATIM (Italian league), eDivise (Dutch league) and others. Each league features some of the best FIFA talent in the world who all compete not only for their league title, but a shot at advancing to the FIFA eWorld Cup at the end of the year.
With multiple ranked players in the world and more than half the league competing on an international level, eMLS has proven itself to be one of the top leagues in the world for FIFA esports.
While there are only three eMLS events per season, eMLS players compete in a variety of other events on a week-to-week basis. In these other events, eMLS players vie for prize money and Global Series points to qualify for the eWorld Cup, which occurs during the summer. This may sound confusing, but think of it like how your favorite MLS team also competes in the U.S. Open Cup or Canadian Championship, or even the Concacaf Champions League. All the events, leagues, and rankings can be found on the FIFA eWorld Cup website.
Although an eMLS player hasn't won the eWorld Cup in its three years of existence, eMLS is currently among the best leagues in the world. One of the clear standouts is FCC Fiddle, who won eMLS League Series One in Philadelphia and will look to defend his title at League Series Two on Saturday in Portland. Fiddle sits at 24th in the Global Series rankings with a grand total of 675 points.
When asked about eMLS being a top-tier league Fiddle said, “I think it’s one of top leagues in the world because you can look at the total skill level around the league. Thirteen players qualified to events last FIFA, [and there are] 10 players within the global top 100 this FIFA. There aren’t many leagues out there that have this type of player quality.”
Along with Fiddle, other faces atop the Global Series rankings in eMLS include Paulo Neto of Atlanta United at 11, A_Adamou of New York Red Bull at 42 and NYC Chris of NYCFC at 60.
Editor's note: The above reflects Global Series rankings prior to the release of the Feb. 10 edition.
When it comes to the career accolades of eMLS players, many have won championships and competed alongside the best in the world. Some of the big accomplishments include NYC Chris becoming the first-ever eChampions League Winner in 2019 and PhilB94 of Toronto FC placing in the top four during the FIFA 17 eWorld Cup. Elsewhere, you have multiple eMLS players competing and thriving every year in events such as the FUT Champions Cups, Global Series playoffs and the eNations Cup.
With the league growing and the players becoming more experienced, eMLS will only continue to improve and assert itself globally. It’s only a matter of time until we see our first eMLS player raise the eWorld Cup trophy. With the quality of players across the board, that could come sooner than expected.
