With the 2021 eMLS Cup this weekend, The Call Up's Jillian Sakovits and Susannah Collins had one of the league's first players and now presenter Mike LaBelle give his take on who could take home the top prize.
The biggest storyline heading into this weekend is New York City FC's Didychrislito, who could claim a 2021 treble after winning League Series One and League Series Two this year. While LaBelle believes Didychrislito is capable, he thinks there could be a different winner come Sunday night.
"I don't know that he does do it," LaBelle said. "The percentages say he shouldn't do it. Just the fact that you're winning against the best players in North America for multiple events, the odds just say something's going to go against you. The ball's not going to bounce your way, you have a misstep or a missed moment."
LaBelle, though, thinks there are plenty of players who could emerge victorious at the end of the weekend's play. He spotlighted the Red Bulls' George Adamou, Austin FC's xBleu and D.C. United's KingCJ0.
"I definitely think George is in a great place from a form perspective," LaBelle said. "I think xBleu has played amazing in the regular season, but he hasn't really been able to put it together in a bracket so could that shift maybe coming into this event? That's another guy to bring up. KingCJ was decent in the first event, was really good in League Series Two so maybe he's building in confidence. Ability is there and he's sitting in a pretty good position."
This year's eMLS Cup takes place on Saturday, March 20 and Sunday, March 21, with play on both days beginning at 3 pm ET. You can stream the tournament on Twitch, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, MLSsoccer.com, and the MLS app.
Before the event gets going, check out all the essential details here.
