The eMLS 2024 cup is getting closer and closer, and what’s more, Major League Soccer has some pretty amazing things in store for the new year. In this article, you can learn more about this matter and dive into the details of an amazing partnership.
eMLS And Its Next Season
For the people out there who are not yet familiar with this term, here’s a short explanation. With the term eMLS, people simply refer to the esports and gaming property of Major League Soccer. This is built around the EA Sports FIFA franchise, and its main purpose is to facilitate gaming to reach global audiences.
It was launched in 2018, and from that moment on, it continued growing its viewership, as well as its digital engagement. For the 2024 edition, people expect to see an expanded roster and possibly a new schedule format. So far, what we know is that this tournament will continue to be played exclusively on Playstation 5, and FC 24 Ultimate Team will be the main game mode, coherently with the previous editions.
There have also been rumors about two major League Series events, which will lead up to the eMLS Cup next year. These events are interesting as they could provide more competitive content, more game time, and more action for fans and supporters.
Who Will Participate?
As the new program was announced, people now know that the best FC 24 players from across North America will represent 29 MLS clubs in the next edition of this amazing event. MLS matches are not only won for the joy of the game, though, even if that’s a big part of it. Truth is there is also a big prize pool to consider, which will amount to $100,000 in this next edition. Interestingly, that is the same amount that was offered in last year’s edition. This tournament could also serve the purpose of helping players qualify for the famous FC Pro World Championship.
Last year’s edition was won by St. Louis City SC, who defeated Atlanta United’s Paulo Neto with a score of 9 to 6 in the Grand Final. This year, people expect to see a game that can compete with last year’s edition.
The Apple Streaming Partnership
One of the main highlights of this tournament is the amazing partnership that is being developed with the Apple Streaming service. Back in 2022, MLS announced a 10-year innovative partnership with Apple, which will allow fans to watch every single MLS match through the Apple TV app. The groundbreaking part is that there won’t be any local blackouts or restrictions.
This is rather unprecedented in the field of esports, which has often resorted to using a wide variety of streaming websites to stream tournaments and matches for their fans to watch. This partnership signifies one more step taken in the commercialization of esports, and this new phenomenon of streaming partnership can signify broader visibility not only for the event itself but also for the players who decided to make esports their main career path.
Summing Up
After all the discussion about esports and their belonging to the field of sports, it is great to see things finally moving forward and incorporating esports into the body of streaming events and tournaments. Regardless of what every single person thinks, one thing must be taken for granted: millions of people out there love esports, and they would pay to watch esports tournaments. The market had to get that hint and move in a more profitable direction by creating a brand new partnership with one of the most established streaming services out there.
