The first details on FC Pro – the eSports ecosystem in EA SPORTS FC 24 – suggest that the national leagues will become significantly more important on the way to the World Cup. How does the new competitive structure work without FIFA?
“I don’t think you need a PhD to understand the system anymore,” said David Jackson – vice president EA SPORTS FC – EA SPORTS had set out to unravel the eSports competitive structure after parting ways with FIFA. The new deep dive on FIFAe’s successor FC Pro does not yet allow any final conclusions as to whether this will succeed. But it does provide fresh information on the structure and procedure.
At first glance, the predominance of national leagues such as the Virtual Bundesliga (VBL) is striking. The first competitive season culminates in the FC Pro World Championship in June 2024, for which 32 players will qualify. According to EA SPORTS, 28 of these eSports players will secure their place via the league competitions, only four participants will be determined via the FC Pro Open. Playing in VBL, eLaLiga & Co. seems more attractive than ever.
Open Ladder, Regional Qualifier and Global Qualifier
It could be a pointer to how much influence real-world turf partner leagues – to which national eSports competitions are mostly subservient – have on EA SPORTS. The open tournament system detached from this, on the other hand, could suffer from a lack of relevance. With only four World Cup tickets up for grabs in the FC Pro Open, the question of incentives arises. The developer could circumvent this problem by offering prize money.
However, EA SPORTS has not yet given any details about the monetary rewards. What is known, on the other hand, is the basic schedule: From the release of the new title on 29 September until February 2024, the focus will be on the global competition of the FC Pro Open. The season will start with in-game tournaments in the competitive game mode of EA SPORTS FC 24 and the opportunity to qualify for the so-called FC Pro Open Ladder, which is divided regionally.
This “ladder” is a pure 1vs1 structure. It is to be provided with a real-time ranking, which can also be viewed outside of EA SPORTS FC 24. The best players of the respective regional FC Pro Open Ladder will advance to the FC Pro Open Regional Qualifiers. There, the 64 places for the FC Pro Open Global Qualifier, which will take place in November, will be played for.
Last World Championship step in FC Pro Open still nebulous
The strongest 16 eSports players from the global elimination “will compete with the best four players in the world from the previous season in the FC Pro Open” – according to the deep-dive article. The reading here is crucial: it could mean that the four best players from the FIFAe World Cup 2023 are qualified. Or that these free passes are only for later seasons. Furthermore, it is not clear how the four participants in the FC Pro World Championship will be finally determined.
Those who do not qualify for the FC Pro Open are to be kept in line in “regional online competitions” – for example via “prizes”. Between February and April, the global tournaments will be suspended to allow players to concentrate fully on the national leagues. Fans and eSports enthusiasts alike can remain curious about the details of the competitive kick-off in EA SPORTS FC 24. Information on this will follow in the coming weeks.