After a successful first year, the eMLS has announced its second season along with the expansion of the league. With the additions of F.C. Cincinnati, D.C. United, and Atlanta United, Major League Soccer has said that these newcomers to the actual league will be making their way into FIFA by EA Sports. Throughout the season, twenty-two teams out of the twenty-four city teams will compete for the ultimate goal of winning the eMLS Cup.
The start to the season will kick off with the eMLS League Series, which will be split into two events. The first series will take place in January and is to be hosted by the LA Galaxy while the eMLS League Series Two will be hosted by FC Dallas in February. Professional FIFA players will be participating for tournament rewards and for the best seeding possible in the eMLS Cup. Returning eMLS pros like Cormac Dooley of the Philadelphia Union will be hoping to start the year off strong. He goes by the name “Doolsta” and was featured on FS1’s four-part series entitled “Esports Athletes Rising,” which gave insight into these players’ lives through part of the first season and eventually went on to focus on the FIFA 19 Continental Cup.
Players that compete in this season of the eMLS will be awarded points that will go toward the possibility of participating in the EA Sports Global Series Playoffs. Last year in Amsterdam the eMLS was represented by six players, four in the Xbox Bracket and two in the PlayStation Bracket. There was a total of 128 global FIFA players in the competition last year with Sporting Kansas City’s Alex Betancourt, aka “SKC ALEKZANDUR,” finishing the strongest from the eMLS at a record of 6-1 and losing in the Quarterfinals in London.
This league and worldwide competition has formed a strong community in the short time that it has existed. The partnerships with EA Sports and PlayStation, along with soccer being the most popular sport in the world, will likely encourage the eMLS and other esports leagues to continue to grow.