eMLS announced today the 2020 eMLS Cup champion will be crowned through eMLS Cup presented by Coca-Cola and PlayStation on June 28. The highly anticipated competition will move to an online format and stream live on Twitch.tv/MLS, Twitter.com/MLSandMLSsoccer.com from 12-5 p.m. CT. Competitors will be vying for the title as the best EA SPORTS™ FIFA 20 player in North America and $20,000 in prize money.
Sporting Kansas City eMLS player and Kansas City native Alekzandur qualified for the marquee tournament as one of the top 11 finishers in total season points after League Series One and League Series Two, which took place in January and February, respectively. Alekzandur will square off against Adamou of the New York Red Bulls in his opening matchup, with a quarterfinal spot versus FC Cincinnati’s Fiddle on the line.
While 11 players have already punched their ticket to the event, the remaining 14 competitors will battle in a Last Chance Bracket for the 12th seed on June 26—a win or go home tournament between all eMLS players currently ranked 12-25 to earn the final seed for the eMLS Cup broadcast. To see who has already qualified and to view overall standings, click here.
To celebrate MLS returning to live play with the MLS is Back Tournament in Orlando, Fla., MLS players will be featured as part of the FIFA 20 squads of all eMLS Cup competitors and showcased during gameplay.
The championship is the culmination of the 2020 eMLS season that began in January and featured two majors, League Series One and League Series Two, in the lead up to eMLS Cup. League Series One and League Series Two provided eMLS players the opportunity to accumulate points to determine seeding for eMLS Cup. League Series One was held in Philadelphia in partnership with the Union and League Series Two in Portland in partnership with the Timbers.
Alekzandur has served as Sporting’s eMLS player for the 2018 and 2020 campaigns. In April and May, he joined 21-year-old Sporting midfielder Wan Kuzain in the inaugural eMLS Tournament Special, which saw eMLS players team up with MLS professionals for a two-a-side FIFA 20 competition that aired nationally on FS1. Alekzandur and Kuzain fell just short of the tournament championship, finishing in second place behind Atlanta United FC gamer Paulo Neto and defender Franco Escobar.
The 2020 eMLS season features 25 eMLS players, each representing different MLS clubs, in a quest to be crowned the best EA SPORTS™ FIFA 20 player in North America. Three clubs are new to eMLS this season: LAFC, Austin FC and Nashville SC.
eMLS had a record-breaking year in 2019, growing the livestream audience with each event. Average concurrent viewership and peak concurrent viewership of eMLS Cup 2019 doubled from eMLS Cup 2018. The average watch time per unique viewer of eMLS Cup 2019 also more than doubled from 2018.
eMLS Cup was initially scheduled to occur in March, the event was rescheduled but due to the COVID-19 pandemic and will now be virtual. Due to the changes announced for the EA SPORTS FIFA 20 Global Series, in which eMLS was also an Official League Partner, Global Series points will not be allocated to eMLS Cup competitors.
For more information on eMLS Cup, visit MLSsoccer.com.
