Some of Australia’s best FIFA players will face off when the inaugural E-League competition kicks-off on Thursday night!
Here’s everything you need to know for Round 1.
WHEN DOES ROUND 1 KICK OFF?
The inaugural FFA E-League kicks off with round one at 8PM (AEDT) on Thursday February 15th.
HOW DO YOU WATCH IT AND GET INVOLVED?
Fans can catch all the FFA E-League action every Thursday live on FOX SPORTS Digital and the E-League Twitch channel, and are encouraged to use the hashtag #ELeague across social media.
The FFA have also partnered with Twitch to bring more FFA E-League content to the fans. Look out for weekly Twitch Takeover events with E-League stars.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
In conjunction with all 10 Hyundai A-League clubs – the FFA have will oversee nine weeks of EA SPORTS FIFA18 gameplay with clubs battling it out in league-style play on both the PS4 and XBOX consoles. Each club has selected one player directly and drafted their PS4 and XBOX representatives via the live draft. Each club will play opposing clubs once throughout the nine weeks ending April 12th
Click here for all the fixtures
Players will compete on FIFA18 FIFA Ultimate Team and must include at least three Hyundai A-League players from their respective clubs. The aggregate scores from the PS4 leg and XBOX leg for each team will be used to determine the ladder standings and the A-League club which finishes in first place will be crowned the FFA E-League Premiers. For the individual players a tournament will be conducted after the regular to determine the E-League Ultimate Champion and secure bragging rights as the best FIFA player in Australia.
WHAT ARE THE ROUND 1 MATCHES?
Week one matchups will be very interesting as the players feel each other out and settle into their own rhythm of play and of course the added wrinkle of playing in front of the cameras and bright lights.
The five Xbox fixtures will be followed by five PS4 fixtures.
Joseph Nassar ‘OhNoAGoat’ v Dane Crow ‘Bossierhickory8’
Western Sydney Wanderers’ Joseph Nassar tackles Newcastle Jets’ Dane Crow in the third Xbox fixture on Thursday night.
Nassar is a fan of counter-attacking football in FIFA 18 and sets his team to ‘defensive’ to nullify oppositions in transition.
Unlike many others, Nassar rates Eden Hazard as the key player in his squad. Will have Wanderers players Josh Risdon, Alvaro Cejudo and Roly Bonevacia in his starting line-up.
Similarly, Crow also has a preference for playing on the counter-attack and is likely to set-up with a 4-5-1 formation on Thursday night.
Roy O’Donovan, Riley McGree and Dimi Petratos will be the current Jets players in his starting XI.
Rick Tran ‘RBOUBLETTT’ v Bohdan Ling ‘BLfifa’
Western Sydney Wanderers’ Rick Tran comes up against Newcastle Jets’ Bohdan Ling in the eighth match of the night.
Tran’s favourite A-League player is Shinji Ono and counts the Wanderers’ Premiership triumph in their maiden season as his fondest memory.
Tran usually plays with 4-1-2-1-2(2) or 4-2-3-1(2) formation and will use Alvaro Cejudo, Roly Bonevacia and Josh Risdon as his Wanderers selections.
Interestingly, Ling rates Alessandro Del Piero’s move down under as a huge move for the A-League, but Newcastle’s 2008 Championship win remains his favourite memory.
Roy O’Donovan, Dimi Petratos and Daniel Georgievski are likely to be the Jets players chosen in his starting line-up.
This article was originally published at: www.a-league.com.au/e-league/news/e-league-round-1-preview
