Game publisher Electronic Arts (EA) has announced the return of the ePremier League for the 2023/2024 season.
The competition, which once again features a £100,000 prize pool, sees players compete by representing each of the 20 Premier League clubs. All clubs are required to field players in the ePremier League, which features competitors on both Xbox and Playstation.
The return for 2023/2024 marks the sixth season for the ePremier League, an esports competition featuring teams from the Premier League, the UK’s top-flight football league.
This is the first time ePremier League to be held under the newly-released and rebranded EA Sports FC franchise.
Alongside the return of a £100,000 prize pool, the tournament will award an unspecified number of spots in the UEFA eChampions League and the FC Pro World Championships.
This season’s ePremier League finals will be held live and span across two weekends. The first weekend will take place from January 20th-21st where the four leading clubs will claim spots in the Grand Finals. Remaining teams will have a second chance to join them by playing against on March 23rd, ahead of the Grand Finals on March 24th.
The tournament commences with online qualification in November, with dates varying per club. The format of this season’s Finals will see clubs field two representatives who compete in 1v1 matches against pairings from other clubs. There are separate qualifiers and tournaments for Xbox and PlayStation players.
The news follows EA’s reveal of its overarching EA Sports FC esports ecosystem late last month. The new EA Sports FC esports ecosystem is divided between FC Pro Leagues — which includes the ePremier League and similar competitions for other national football leagues — and the FC Pro Open, an open-qualifier path to pro.
The overall esports season has a total prize pool of $1m (~£820,000).
EA Sports FC 2024 was released on September 29th. The game is the first release for EA under its rebranding from FIFA following the breakdown of the long-term relationship between EA and football governing body FIFA.
Premier League Chief Commercial Officer Will Brass commented: “As the ePremier League enters its sixth season, we are excited to once again provide fans with the opportunity to represent their favourite Premier League club in an elite esports tournament.
“Over five seasons of thrilling ePremier League action we have seen some incredible drama, with a different Champion crowned each season and new gamers continuing to make a name for themselves on a global stage. We look forward to seeing what the 2023/24 tournament has in store.”
Last season, Leeds United players Olle ‘Ollelito’ Arbin and Tom Stokes were crowned 2022/23 ePremier League champions.
