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On November 6th, Electronic Arts and the Premier League announced the return of ePremier League. This is huge news for gamers, esports fans and anyone who wants more Premier League content. This will be the seventh year of the ePremier League competition and it looks like it will be the best one yet.
Fans have always been looking for more ways to engage with football than just watching the matches. We talk about the games, read all the news and stats, watch the pundits, listen to podcasts — still celebrating the return of the Tifo podcast over here, play fantasy football and bet on the matches.
Football, fantasy football and esports football all have their own betting markets. That makes it pretty clear how much people enjoy betting on football. Placing bets on newer markets like esports is possible with online sportsbooks. Online sportsbooks are also just more convenient in general.
Finding the best betting sites in the UK doesn’t need to take hours of comparing odds and scouring forums reading people’s experiences. Obviously, if you love the thrill of the hunt and doing the research yourself you can. If you’d like a more relaxed and curated experience, sportsbook guides provide reviews and lists of the top sportsbooks for UK bettors.
The ePremier League tournament brings the best of these worlds together. It’s like fantasy football, esports, esports betting and watching the matches all rolled in to one. This brief guide will tell you everything you need to know about the ePremier League, its past winners and how the tournament will work this year.
What is ePremier League?
ePremier League is an annual esports tournament for UK gamers. Players compete as one of 20 Premier League teams on EA’s Football Club 25 (FC25). Players are competing for a share of the £100,000 prize pot. The first-place winner will receive £30,000 and the second place will win £15,000.
Past Winners
The winners of the 2023-24 tournament were Donovan ‘Tekkz’ Hunt and Matias Bonanno. They represented Manchester City. It was a close call in the end, but they were finally able to defeat rivals Brighton & Hove 2-1 in aggregate.
This was the second win for Tekkz, who was also the winner of the first ePremier League tournament back in 2019. That year, he played as Liverpool. In that first competition, there was only one winner as the final round was a contest of the consoles, with the PlayStation winner facing off against the Xbox winner. This new format is just as competitive but adds an element of cooperation and camaraderie that suits the sport perfectly.
Other past winners include Tom Leese (2020) and Olle ‘Ollelito’ Arbin and Tom Stokes (2023). Leese won in 2020 representing Watford and playing on Xbox. Since then, he’s made it to the final twice but hasn’t been able to recapture the magic of his first win. Perhaps this year he and teammate Gorilla will take Tottenham Hotspurs to the top. Arbin and Stokes won the 2022/23 ePL season representing Leeds United. They beat out Liverpool and Spurs in a truly dramatic final.
Tekkz may have his eye on a consecutive win, but there are plenty of other elite gamers hungry for that prize.
How It Works
Registration opened on November 2nd. The first phase of the competition are the Online Qualifiers. These are open to any UK resident who is 16 years or older. These qualifiers have cross console brackets for Xbox and PlayStation.
Each of the qualifiers consists of a two-day ladder competition on Football Club 25 Ultimate Team Friendly on Classic mode. The first qualifier was 20th-21st November. The upcoming qualifiers will be 27th-28th November and 18th-19th December. The top 80 Xbox players and the top 80 PlayStation players will move on to the next level.
The next stage is the Club Playoffs, which will take place from 22nd-30th January 2025. There will be individual brackets for each console system. It will be played using FC Pro Mode and will have a double elimination format.
From there, the top 20 players for each console will move to the Group Stages. These will be held on the 1st-2nd March 2025. The four Group Stage winners will advance directly to the Final Match and the other 16 players will head to the Knockout Stages. The Knockout Stages are single elimination tournaments to determine the other four players who will compete in the Finals.
The Finals will take place on 23rd March 2025. The eight final players will compete in a knockout bracket to determine the winner of the ePL title.
Final Thoughts
The ePremier League tournament is a fun addition to the esports calendar. Now that it’s in its seventh year, it’s safe to assume it is here to stay.
Even though it brings in some of the elite esports professionals from across the country, it’s still one of the few opportunities that regular gamers have to compete in a major tournament. So, with the eighth ePL a year away, you have plenty of time to hone your skills and get ready to play!
