The ultimate festival of EA SPORTSTM FIFA21 is set to sweep across Australia later this month as the NIVEA Men E-League returns with a host of World Cup stars, the defending Premiers, a brand-new sponsor and an intense new format.
Esports is the world’s fastest growing spectator sport and 2019 the FIFAe World Cup™ saw more than 47 million viewers across online platforms.
In 2020, the FIFA21 Challenge became EA Sports’ most watched esports event, with an average minute audience of more than 254,000 and a total watch time of more than 1 million hours.
Over two high-octane days (23 and 24 April), some of Australia’s best-known EA SPORTSTM FIFA21 competitors will vie to call their clubs champions across both PlayStation®4 and Xbox One – all of it underpinned by a new sponsorship deal, with NIVEA Men signing on as naming rights partners.
Glory’s search for a maiden NIVEA Men E-League title will be spearheaded by the returning Peter Saisanas (@saisanasp) who represented the club in the E-League’s inaugural season and Dillon Gomes (@DillonGomes) who backs up from last year’s campaign.
Newcomers Macarthur FC join for the first time and two winners of the tournament will enter the EA SPORTSTM FIFA21 Oceania Regional Playoff which serves as a direct qualifier for the FIFAe World Cup™.
A high-profile commentary line-up featuring YouTube stars JarradHD and TheMasterBucks and esports analyst Nate Patrick and Treaders will bring viewers all of the action on the free streaming platform, Twitch.
Current NIVEA Men E-League competitors Marcus Gomes (MarcusGomesFIFA) and Mark Brijeski (Atlantide Marko) have both tested themselves at previous global FIFA eWorld Cups, while Negede Hunegnaw (ANezer) and Dylan Campbell (DW_Dylan) took out the FIFA 20 Summer Cup Oceania which ran as a regional competition due to COVID-19.
The eleven-round tournament over the two days will see competitors playing from their own homes for the first time as a result of COVID-19 restrictions and in line with EA SPORTS FIFA 21 Global Series tournament guidelines.
“We are really excited to bring the NIVEA Men E-League back for our fans because we know they love football 24/7 and esports is a big part of that,” said APL chief commercial officer Ant Hearne.
“The new format is designed to be super-competitive, especially when we have some of Australia’s top players involved and more teams taking part.
“The numbers show that around the world esports is the fastest growing spectator sport – our fans connect with football in all different aspects of their lives, and we know that gaming is a key part of that.”
About the NIVEA Men E-League 2021
Event Details
E-League 2021 Season – Match Day 1: Friday, 23 April 2021
E-League 2021 Season – Match Day 2: Saturday, 24 April 2021
Key Points
- Each of the 12 A-League Clubs will have two representative competitors (1 x PlayStation®4 and 1 x Xbox One)
- Each club will play against every other club once over 11 Rounds (two event days)
- Points during the regular season will be calculated based on the aggregate results over the two console legs (PlayStation®4 + Xbox One) for the points table to determine the E-League 2021 Premiers.
- Individual console results will then be used to determine the console champions
- Each console champion will receive a place at the EA SPORTS FIFA21 Oceania Regional Playoff (PlayStation®4 only event).
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