eMLS announced today its competitive schedule for 2020, which will be headlined by eMLS Cup presented by PlayStation® during the second weekend of SXSW® in Austin, Texas.
The 2020 eMLS season will feature 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. The Chicago Fire will be competing in eMLS events in 2020 and will announce its player representative at a later date.
The season will begin in January 2020 with eMLS League Series presented by PlayStation®, two majors in the lead up to eMLS Cup. Each League Series tournament will be streamed live with their own trophy lift and prizing opportunities. During these tournaments, eMLS Players will also accumulate points to determine seeding for eMLS Cup. League Series One will be held in Philadelphia in conjunction with the Philadelphia Union. League Series Two will be held in Portland in conjunction with the Portland Timbers. The eMLS season will conclude in March in Austin, Texas when SXSW hosts eMLS Cup presented by PlayStation® alongside its premier gaming portion of the conference. More tournament details will be announced in the coming weeks.
Enrique Espinoza (gamer tag: BITW18 II) represented the Chicago Fire at the 2019 eMLS Cup, fighting his way through the Last Chance bracket and into the Eastern Conference quarterfinals before falling to FC Cincinnati's Gordon "Fiddle" Thornsberry.
eMLS is an Official League Partner of the EA SPORTS™ FIFA 20 Global Series. The winner of eMLS Cup will receive 850 Global Series points, supporting their qualification for the Global Series Playoffs and ultimately the FIFA eWorld Cup. The top 32 competitors in the EA SPORTS™ FIFA 20 Global Series will advance to the FIFA eWorld Cup, where the winner will be crowned the undisputed FIFA 20 World Champion.
2020 eMLS Season Schedule:
- Jan. 10 – League Series One (Philadelphia, PA)
- Feb. 15 – League Series Two (Portland, OR)
- March 21 – eMLS Cup (Austin, TX)
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.
For more information on eMLS Cup, including participating clubs and player signings, visit www.mlssoccer.com.