The 2020 eMLS season, presented by Coca-Cola and PlayStation fires up again this week and this time, League Series Two is right in the middle of Soccer City, USA.
What is League Series Two and how does it work?
League Series Two is the second of eMLS three tentpole events with League Series One having happened last month in January and eMLS Cup happening next month at SXSW in Austin. Players from 25 MLS teams (including 2021 expansion side Austin FC) will compete to be crowned League Series Two champion as well as for points in the 2020 eMLS standings. The League Series Two winner will also receive a $7,500 cash prize.
All 25 players will play 12 games during the regular-season portion of the event, which will take place throughout the day on Friday, Feb. 14 (10 am–5:30 pm PT) and will not be streamed. The top seven overall players (regardless of conference) will qualify for the live-stream portion of the event on Saturday, Feb. 15 (3 pm–7:30 pm PT), with the host club (in this case the Portland Timbers) guaranteed a place on the live stream no matter their player's result.
Can I attend?
Yes! If you happen to be in Portland, you can still sign up FREE to attend the event on Saturday evening, which will take place at Pure Space in the Pearl District:
Doors open at 3pm PT, and the event will run until approximately 7:30 pm PT. Along with being free, the event is all-ages and those in attendence will be able to mingle with Portland Timbers players Bill Tuiloma and Andrés Flores, try out your own best FIFA moves at the PlayStation booth, check out the custom eMLS SCUF Gaming controllers with special-edition Timbers versions on sale on site, enjoy the Coca-Cola activations, receive exclusive eMLS x Timbers merch, get your own custom FIFA Ultimate Team card, meet Timber Joey, and more.
Moreover, the new Timbers 2020 secondary kit will be for sale at Pure Space with free name and number customization available on site.
How to watch and follow?
If you can't make it to Pure Space, fear not. The entirety of Saturday's event will be live streamed on Timbers.com, Twitch, Twitter and the MLS mobile app.
In addition to the live stream, fans can follow the results of their team's player and get up-to-date standings for both Friday's non-streamed games (10 am–5:30 pm PT) and Saturday's main event. Be sure to bookmark these pages if you want the latest on how RCTID Thiago is doing:
- 2020 eMLS Overall Standings
- 2020 eMLS League Series Two Standings
- 2020 eMLS League Series Two schedule
How are the rosters constructed?
There's a few changes to this year's edition. While all eMLS competitors can construct their FIFA Ultimate Team using any player in the world, the requirement to have more MLS players on the field has increased. Icons, such as historic greats like Portuguese great Eusébio – a staple of Guerrero's 2020 roster – are an option this season, too. Here's a breakdown:
- Squads have five MLS players on the field at all times. (Based off of final 2019 MLS rosters)
- Squads are allowed to have Squad Building Challenge players, Player of the Week, Team of the Year, and a maximum of two icons in starting XIs and subs and up to five icons in reserves.
- The overall squad rating must be 88 or lower as calculated and shown in-game
- All players on squad, including subs, must have overall rating of at least 75 each. No player on subs can be higher than 88.
Note: Roster rules can change from tournament to tournament so keep an eye on this as the season progresses.
Tell me more about RCTID Thiago
A finalist at the 2019 eMLS League Series Two in Dallas, Edgar "RCTID Thiago" Guerrero was also a Western Conference playoff semifinalist at the 2019 eMLS Cup and a third-place finisher after overall regular-season play. In FIFA 19 FUT Champions PS4 Pro Points standings, the McMinnville, Ore., resident finished the year ranked 21st in the United States in FIFA 19 FUT Champions PS4 Pro Points standings.
Finishing League Series One in Philly with a record of 4-5-3 (15 points) in January, Guerrero ended in 12th place in the 25-team, single-table standings, While Guerrero did not qualify for the knockout rounds in Pennsylvania (the top seven spots qualified along with host Philadelphia), he is still very much in the running for one of the top 11 spots at eMLS Cup in March in Austin at SXSW and a strong showing in Portland will put in him great position moving forward.
Prior to joining the Timbers, Guerrero played with Club América as an esports FIFA pro teams competitor. Across numerous esports seasons with them, Guerrero won various titles, including four first-division titles, two Copa Pro titles, two SuperCopa Pro titles as well as a Mexican Cup championship title and two Continental Cup titles.
Plus here's a look at Guerrero's competition for the season. LAFC and expansion side Austin FC are both new to the league this year bringing the total amount up to 25 players.
What's that format again?
As eMLS is an Official League Partner of the EA SPORTS FIFA 20 Global Series, the eMLS Cup winner will receive 850 Global Series points, supporting their qualification for the Global Series Playoffs and ultimately the FIFA eWorld Cup, where the winner will be crowned the undisputed FIFA 20 World Champion.
