The first edition of FFA’s E-League is happening this year, with the best EA SPORTS ™ FIFA 18 players from around Australia competing for bragging rights. Confused? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.
Australian E-League First Edition
Late last year, Football Federation Australia (FFA) announced the introduction of an E-League, an initiative designed to connect fans of the global phenomenon EA SPORTS™ FIFA 18 game with the Hyundai A-League. FFA’s E-League will be the premier competition for the region’s elite EA SPORTS™ FIFA18 competitors to represent the A-League’s elite top tier clubs to determine a new e-League champion for both Xbox and PlayStation. In partnership with the Hyundai A-League clubs, the E-League will begin on 1 February 2018 and run for the last nine rounds of the Hyundai A-League. This provides for each club to play each other once and will end in April with a tournament-style final event.
Each club will have two E-League competitors, with clubs able to choose one competitor directly and the other via a draft. Clubs must have a representative on each console division (Xbox and PS4) and therefore must pick a competitor through the draft on the opposite platform to their club chosen competitor.
The E-League Premiership Rounds will be conducted over a nine (9) round period with each club playing one another once. The final round will coincide with the final round of the Hyundai A-League 2017/18 season. The competition commences on Thursday February 15 with matches played each Thursday from 8pm AEST, with the broadcast lasting two and a half hours.
The E-League competition format will be comprised of two stages: (i) the E-League Premiership Rounds; and (ii) the E-League Final Live Event.
The E-League Premiership Rounds will determine a winning club (not an individual winning competitor) based on the formula set out below.
The following points will be awarded to clubs during the e-League Premiership Rounds: Win = 3 points, Draw = 1 point, Loss = 0 points, No Result = 0 points.
The result and points for each round will be determined by aggregating the scores in each leg (i.e. Xbox and PS4 legs) in a “two-legged tie” approach, as used in European Champions League knock-out stages. At the completion of the e-League Premiership Rounds, clubs will be ranked in order from first (top) to last (bottom) based on the number of points accumulated. The club that finishes in first (1st) position at the conclusion of the e-League Premiership Rounds will be deemed the e-League Premiers.
At the E-League Final Live Event, competitors will face off in a tournament in their respective console divisions to determine an Xbox winner and a PS4 winner. Those winners will playoff in a two-legged home and away final to determine the ultimate e-League champion.
Commencing 8 pm (AEST) Thursday 15 February viewers can tune in to watch the e-League on Fox Sports, Twitch and via a Twitch embedded live stream on the A-League website.
The draft was conducted in Sydney on February 1. The E-League Draft was broadcasted live on the Hyundai A-League Facebook page from 6:30 pm AEST.
KEY DATES
1 February – Draft Day
15 February – e-League Premiership Rounds commence
Late April – Final Event