How Does EA FC's eSports Work?

EA's and FIFA's divorce in 2022 was something that no fan could have ever anticipated. After 20 years and various Guinness Records , the football association ended their partnership with Electronic Arts, ending one of the most famous video game series in history.

Of course, the show must go on, and EA decided to launch a new series of games rebranded as EA Sports FC with renewed physics, gameplay and tournaments. If you want to know more about these changes, don't take your eyes off the screen and keep reading this article.

Farewell FIFA, Hello FC Pro Open

After 17 editions, the FIFA World Cup has been shut down and replaced by three FC Pro competitions, leading to massive changes to the e-sport scene.

The first league you should know about is the FC Pro Open. To enter this competition, register an EA account and reach Division 4 in the Ultimate Team Rivals mode.

Once you have accomplished that, you will unlock the game's competitive mode, allowing you to participate in FC Pro Open Ladder matches. Compete against other players and climb up the ranking to classify into Regional Qualifiers.

Everyone can participate in the FC Pro Open, including players from America, Africa, Europe and Asia. As long as you win, you will get points and climb up in your zone classification, making the ladder stage pretty exciting for those who like to bet on eSoccer in South Africa or any other continent.

Regional Qualifier

Once the qualifying period is over, the top players from each region will move on to the Regional Qualifiers; however, don't think the competition will get any easier. Out of the 1,344 players on the stage, only 52 will advance to the Global Qualifier, along with 12 guests.

Global Qualifier

The Global Qualifier is where things get really serious. The first 64 players in the stage will travel to England and compete in five rounds to reach the top 32. Then, those players will participate in another Swiss stage to get the 16 to compete in the FC Pro Open.

This stage has a prize pool of 180,000 USD, distributed between 17 and 64 places.

• 17–24 Place: 7,500 USD
• 25–32 Place: 5,000 USD
• 33–64 Place 2,500 USD

Those who reach the top 16 will advance directly to the FC Pro Open and receive part of their prize pool. Both events will be fully streamed, so make sure to dress appropriately if you get to participate.

The Final Stage - FC Pro Open

The 16 top players from the global qualifiers and four directly qualified will participate together in the final part of the FC Pro Open. This stage will split the 20 players into four groups of five players.

During the group stage, the participants must play twice against every other player in their respective group. Those who finish in the first two places of their groups will enter the FC Pro Open Championship on February 3rd.

The FC Pro Open has an even bigger prize of 500,000 USD distributed like this:

• 1st Place: 80,000 USD
• 2nd Place: 60,000 USD
• 3rd & 4th Place: 45,000 USD
• 5th to 8th: 30,000 USD
• 9th to 12th: 15,000 USD
• 13th to 16th: 12,500 USD
• 17th to 20th: 10,000 USD

Apart from the money prize, the 1st to 4th places will earn a direct entry to the next FC Pro Open. Meanwhile, the 5th to 16th place will gain access to the next FC Pro Open Global Qualifier.

FC Pro Regional Cups

If you didn't reach the top places in the Open Ladder stage, don't worry; you can also participate in the different regional cups available throughout the season. These tournaments also feature a total prize pool of 320,000 USD, making them desirable for veteran esports players and novices looking for experience.

League Partner Competitions and World Championship

Besides the regional cups, there will also be many local tournaments organized by different EA league partners. The price of these leagues can vary depending on the number of people. Still, we recommend participating in them since you can gain experience for the FC Pro Open and, if lucky, might even win an entry to the World Championship.

And speaking of the World Championship, the new maximum tournament of EA football games will be held in June and will feature the top four players of the FC Pro Open and the 28 top players of the different leagues.

So far, we don't know how big the prize pool will be for this season's World Championship, but we estimate it will be around 300,000 USD or more, just like the last FIFA World Cup.