Electronic Arts and Major League Soccer announce eMLS competitive league for FIFA 18

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Electronic Arts has signed a deal with Major League Soccer to launch the eMLS Cup, a competitive esports tournament with representatives of 19 real-world teams vying for a shot at the FIFA 18 World Championship title.

"We’re honored to partner with MLS within the EA Sports FIFA 18 Global Series as we continue to help grow competitive gaming and soccer in North America,” EA's Competitive Gaming Division general manager Todd Sitrin said. "We engage millions of soccer fans daily through FIFA and attract many more who view our competitions around the world. With the eMLS we accelerate our growth as players compete on the road to the FIFA eWorld Cup 2018."

The teams taking part are:

Chicago Fire
Colorado Rapids
Columbus Crew SC
FC Dallas
Houston Dynamo
LA Galaxy
Minnesota United FC
Montreal Impact
New England Revolution
New York City FC
New York Red Bulls
Orlando City SC
Philadelphia Union
Portland Timbers
San Jose Earthquakes
Seattle Sounders FC
Sporting Kansas City
Toronto FC
Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Each team will "pursue its own process to select a player" to represent it in the eMLS Cup tournament. The winner will be given a spot in the FIFA 18 Global Series playoffs, which will lead into the FIFA eWorld Cup in August. Details about the tournament structure and other relevant information will be revealed closer to kickoff at PAX East in April.

Players who wish to take part must be at least 16 years of age and registered at futchampions.com, and if you're interested then it probably wouldn't hurt to check out the full Global Series rules at easports.com.

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.