Canadian former international Tosaint Ricketts took on his “biggest challenge yet” at the weekend. The former professional footballer created an eMLS novelty – and was clearly shown his limits
“There’s one more thing I want to achieve with the club,” announced Tosaint Ricketts in mid-December. He had already ended his active soccer career with the Vancouver Whitecaps at the start of 2023, having long since swapped the green pitch for an office. And then he was suddenly “back – more or less”, as his club announced. Ricketts took over the Caps’ vacant eMLS position for the new season and became an eSportsman for the Canadians: “From the Pitch to the Pixels”.
He described the task as his “biggest challenge to date” in the club’s introduction video. Ricketts is the first former MLS player to compete in the eMLS. He has experience in the FIFA offshoots and in the current EA SPORTS FC 24 – but not at the highest level. The 36-year-old therefore wanted to score points by learning from his long career as a professional soccer player.
Before his time with the Vancouver Whitecaps (2019 to 2022), Ricketts wore the jersey of Toronto FC, among others, with whom he won the MLS Cup in 2017. Outside of North America, he has also played in Turkey, Finland, Lithuania, Norway, Romania and Israel. He played a total of 61 international matches for the Canadian national team from 2011 to 2020. With 17 goals, he is one of his nation’s top ten scorers.
13:150 goals – no chance at the start
So what could give him an advantage on the virtual pitch? An understanding of positional play and formations, as well as knowing “when to put pressure on which players”, Ricketts told Fox News. However, he was unable to transfer this expertise to the virtual world last weekend. The former striker was clearly shown his limits in the Series One Qualifier of the eMLS.
Ricketts finished the first half of the season with zero points and a goal difference of 13:150 from ten games. Against well-known eSports players such as ‘Ollelito’ (1:15) and ‘K1John’ (1:18), there was more than just a difference in class to be seen. Of the opponents, only Alan Avila remained in single figures, with Ricketts achieving his best result by far at 3:9. For the ex-footballer, who competes under the gamertag ‘eightysvn’, his “biggest challenge” definitely seems too big – at least in sporting terms.
Ricketts as the link-up piece of the MLS
It can be assumed that by nominating Ricketts, the Vancouver Whitecaps consciously accepted that they would have little or nothing to do with winning the eMLS Cup in 2024. Instead, the bridge between physical and virtual sport is to be further expanded. “It’s an opportunity for MLS to connect with a new demographic,” said Ricketts ahead of his eSports debut.
The former Canadian international will apparently help to appeal to this “new demographic”, but also to the more traditional soccer fan base. Not only for the MLS, but also for the Vancouver Whitecaps. “I look forward to contributing to growth in this segment,” Ricketts is quoted as saying on the club’s website. The (e)sporting performance seems to be a minor matter.
However, the eMLS adventure is not yet over for Ricketts. At the beginning of March, he will compete in the Series Two Qualifier against the eleven opponents in the 22-strong field with whom he has not yet competed. Among them is German Niklas Raseck, who started the new season as defending champion. While ‘NRaseck’ is one of the favorites again this year alongside the likes of Paulo Neto, who won the first qualifier, a points win for ‘eightysvn’ would be nothing short of sensational
