New England Revolution’s João Afonso “JAFONSO” Vasconcelos has won the 2024 eMLS Cup presented by TikTok, defeating Inter Miami CF’s John “K1john” Kamel by a 6-0 scoreline in Sunday’s final.
This year’s tournament was held at the iconic ACL Live at the Moody Theater as part of the SXSW 2024 conference in Austin, Texas.
JAFONSO and K1john will now represent eMLS with automatic qualification to the EA SPORTS FC Pro World Championship to be held later this summer.
“I worked all season to achieve this goal of winning the eMLS Cup, and now I am eager to showcase my talents at the FC Pro World Championship,” said JAFONSO who earned $14,000 as part of the season’s $75,000 prize pool.
“My biggest advice for players who want to get to the pro level is to be yourself first. Be confident. Believe in your talents and keep driving to achieve your dreams.”
The 2024 eMLS season featured 22 players from MLS clubs who navigated two League Series competitions and battled through qualifiers, group play, and finals. In total, 403 matches were played throughout the season.
The top six seeds automatically advanced to the eMLS Cup, including League Series 1 champion Paulo “Paulo Neto” Neto (Atlanta United) and League Series 2 champion João Afonso “JAFONSO” Vasconcelos (New England Revolution).
The remaining 16 clubs competed during the eMLS Cup Group Stage on March 8 at Austin FC’s Q2 Stadium for the final six slots, which set up the 12-team eMLS Cup bracket final.
“This was the culmination of an incredible season, representing the global growth of our league with a great mix of international players alongside former eMLS champions, who showed us why they’re among the best in the world,” said Jesse Perl, MLS VP of Brand Marketing.
“The excitement and buzz from the fans in attendance tonight was electric as they came out to support their clubs competing at the highest level of esports competition.”
The 22 eMLS stars interacted with the fans on gaming stations before Saturday’s Austin FC vs. St. Louis CITY SC match at Q2 Stadium. Hundreds of fans had the opportunity to compete with some of the best esports players in the world with the perfect crossover of the real and digital pitch.
Fans in attendance enjoyed limited edition eMLS giveaways, a custom photo booth that digitally placed fans’ photos in front of a special eMLS backdrop, EA SPORTS FC 24 open-play stations to play against each other, and an MLS Jersey Tunnel.
The 2024 season features a roster of notable partners, including TikTok, DoorDash, EA SPORTS, and Avant.
