The eChampions League: All you need to know
Tuesday, April 26, 2022
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Get the lowdown on the final stages of one of the most prestigious competitions of the EA SPORTS FIFA 22™ Global Series.
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The eChampions League final takes place at the Space Arena in Stockholm on 27 May, the day before the UEFA Champions League final in Paris. Here are the key facts about the competition.
What is the eChampions League?
The eChampions League is a major tournament within the EA SPORTS FIFA 22™ Global Series. Eligible European competitors competed on PlayStation 5 and participated in the eChampions League Global Online Group Stage tournament in February, with the top 32 players advancing to the live knockout stages held in April.
Only eight of Europe’s elite advanced to the eChampions League finals in Stockholm. Players will battle it out for the chance to lift the coveted trophy and take home the lion’s share of the prize pool.
The top three players will also secure a place in the EA SPORTS FIFA 22 Global Series Playoffs in July.
How do the finals work?
The finals take place on 27 May 2022 at the Space Arena in Stockholm, and are played as a double elimination bracket.
Can I watch it?
The finals will be broadcast live on EA Sports Twitch, UEFA YouTube and Champions League TikTok.
Those who have linked their EA account and watch on Twitch will receive viewership rewards.
How did qualifying work?
The eChampions League (eCL) was open to the top PlayStation players on the in-game FUT Division Rivals leaderboard at the end of the first season (ending 11 November 2021). The top 1,024 registered Global Series players in each European region as defined below were eligible to participate.
1) eCL Online Qualifiers (1,024 Players) – 4 and 5 December 2021, online event
Players competed in one of four online qualifiers:
• West: France, Iceland, Ireland, United Kingdom
• Iberia & Benelux: Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain
• Germany & Austria: Austria, Germany
• Nordics & East: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine
These competitions were held in a Swiss format leading to an elimination phase until 16 players remained in each group, with those 64 players proceeding to the next stage.
2) eCL Group Stage (Top 64) – 19 and 20 February 2022, online event
The four groups were combined into two as players competed in one of two competitions:
• Western Europe: West, Iberia & Benelux
• Central & Eastern Europe: Germany & Austria, Nordics & East
This online competition was run as two Swiss events. Each group was completed in one day with 16 of the 32 players from each group moving on to the next phase of the competition. You can watch the full recorded streams here: day one, day two.
3) eCL Knockout Stage (Top 32) – 23 and 24 April 2022, Space Arena, Stockholm
The 32 remaining players entered one double elimination bracket and played in the first on-site event of this season’s competition, as well as the first eCL on-site event in almost three years. The eight surviving players proceeded to the eCL finals.
What prize money is on offer?
Alongside the eChampions League trophy, players are competing for their share of more than $280,000 in prize money.
Winner: $75,000
Runner-up: $50,000
Third-placed player: $30,000
Fourth-place player: $20,000
Fifth and sixth-placed players: $15,000
Seventh and eighth-placed players: $10,000
Additional prize money has been allocated to 24 players who did not reach the final tournament.