2020/21 ePremier League season resumes with Club Playoffs

• ePremier League Playoffs kick off today with Chelsea, Manchester City and Newcastle United, and run until Wednesday 3 March
• Some of the world’s best FIFA pros will go up against amateur gamers to see who reaches the ePL Finals, with two Leeds United first-team players also taking part
• The ePL Finals will take place from 23-26 March, with players competing for the honour of ePL Champion, a prize pool of £40,000 and all-important seats in the EA SPORTS FIFA 21 Global Series European Playoffs
• Playoff results will be available on e.premierleague.com

The ePremier League 2020/21 Club Playoffs begin today, as EA SPORTS™ FIFA 21 players compete for the chance to make it to the live ePL Finals at the end of March.

Thousands of competitors took part in this season’s online qualification on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The winners from that stage will now represent their teams in the Club Playoffs to see if they have what it takes to reach the Finals and ultimately be crowned ePL champion 2020/21.

All 20 Premier League clubs will be hosting a Playoff between today and Wednesday 3 March, with a selection of the world’s best players going up against some relatively unknown contenders.

Last year’s winner Thomas ‘Hashtag Tom’ Leese will be defending his crown as he represents Tottenham Hotspur, while the inaugural champion Donovan ‘Fnatic Tekkz’ Hunt player is once again competing for Liverpool.

There will also be two Premier League stars taking part, as Patrick Bamford and Gjanni Alioski will be competing in the Leeds United Playoff on Tuesday 2 March.

Last season’s ePL runner-up Marc Marley turns out for Brighton & Hove Albion, with other recognisable names from the FIFA world going for glory including Jamie ‘Jamboo’ Rigden (Fulham), Spencer ‘Gorilla’ Ealing (Sheffield United), Diogo Mendes (Chelsea), Sean ‘Dragon’ Allen (Manchester United), Reece Rusher (Southampton), Kylem ‘FUTWIZ Lyricz’ Edwards (Crystal Palace) and Manchester City duo Ryan Pessoa and Shaun ‘Shellz’ Springette.

Following the conclusion of the Playoffs, the best players from all 20 clubs on both Xbox One and PS4 will take their place in the ePL Finals from 23-26 March. The Finals will be broadcast live on Sky Sports, BT Sport, BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport online. They will also be shown on Premier League channels and https://twitch.tv/EASPORTSFIFA, as well as being made available to viewers around the world by international licensees. Over the last two seasons, the ePL Finals reached more than 22 million fans.

The group stages and quarter-finals on each console will take place on 23 and 24 March. The tournament reaches a climax on Friday 26 March, when the remaining players will take part in the console semi-finals, before the console finals and cross-console final. As well as being crowned 2020/21 ePremier League champion, the winner will take home £20,000.

The 2020/21 instalment of ePL was won by Watford’s Thomas ‘Hashtag Tom’ Leese after the inaugural ePL tournament was won by World No1 Xbox One player Donovan ‘Tekkz’ Hunt on behalf of Liverpool. You can see videos from the first two ePL seasons here.

During this season’s online qualifiers, all players were required to play in 90-rated Online Friendlies mode as their chosen Premier League club. Participants in the Club Playoffs and beyond will play on FIFA Ultimate Team™ (using Premier League players only).

ePremier League evolved during the 2019/20 season, with the introduction of the ePL Invitational tournament while football was suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic. This saw first-team players and other famous faces compete on behalf of all 20 Premier League clubs in an online EA SPORTS FIFA 20 tournament. Two instalments of the competition were broadcast across five continents as then-Wolverhampton Wanderers player Diogo Jota and Leicester City’s James Maddison were crowned champions.

ePremier League is operated by esports tournament organisers Gfinity. For more information visit e.premierleague.com.