Major League Soccer (MLS) and EA SPORTS FC Pro today revealed details for the upcoming eMLS 2024 season, with Ehsan Zakeri, known as ‘Lamps’, representing Minnesota United for the third year. The eMLS 2024 season marks the debut of EA SPORTS FC™ 24 as the exclusive platform for all eMLS matches and its inaugural season as part of a new era of esports with FC Pro. The competitive calendar will feature two marquee League Series events in February and March, concluding with the eMLS Cup on March 10 in Austin, Texas.
Minnesota United’s ‘Lamps’ is set to be one of 22 players representing clubs from across MLS during the 2024 season. As eMLS continues to grow on a global scale, Zakeri is among – and will compete against – international stars like 2023 eMLS Cup champion Niklas “NR7” Raseck (Germany) with St. Louis City SC, 2022 eMLS Cup champion Paulo “Paulo Neto” Neto (Brazil) with Atlanta United, João Afonso “JAFONSO” Vasconcelos (Portugal) with New England Revolution, and Olle “Ollelito” Arbin (Sweden) with New York City FC.
Zakeri returns for his third season as MNUFC’s representative and seeks to add to his list of success and accomplishments earned with the club, to-date.
“I am looking forward representing MNUFC in eMLS for the third year, and ultimately bringing home the cup. It’s our year,” said Zakeri ahead of the new eMLS campaign.
The 20-year-old most recently represented the Loons on the global stage in June of 2023, competing as one of the top-64 players in the world at the EA FIFA Global Series (FGS) Playoffs in London, England. ‘Lamps’ clinched his spot in the FGS Playoffs via gameplay in four North American Qualifiers tournaments that EA SPORTS hosted. Following his performances during those qualifiers, ‘Lamps’ finished atop the standings as the no. 1 ranked player in the North American continent for the 2023 qualifying cycle.
The 2024 eMLS season format will be as follows:
- eMLS League Series 1: The 2024 season kicks off on Feb. 16 with remote qualifiers followed by the group stage on Feb. 17 and bracket final on Feb. 18.
- eMLS League Series 2: The season continues March 1 with remote qualifiers, the group stage on March 2 and bracket final on March 3.
- eMLS Cup: The season will conclude in Austin, Texas, with the group stage on March 9 and the fan-facing live bracket final on March 10.
The remote qualifiers and group stages of each League Series will be featured on each MLS club’s or player’s Twitch and YouTube channel, and fans can watch each event’s bracket on Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/mls) and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/mls). Each league broadcast will showcase the top 12 remaining players and enhanced coverage for fans. The top two players within the eMLS Cup get direct bids to the FC Pro World Championship.
See below for a list of ‘Lamps’ FIFA accomplishments and finishes across the past two years:
2023
- North America FIFA 23 North America Qualifier 1 Runner Up
- North America FIFA 23 North America Qualifier 2 Winner
- North America FIFA 23 North America Qualifier 3 Runner Up
- 2023 eMLS League Series 1 Runner Up
- 2023 eMLS League Series 2 Runner Up
- 2023 eMLS Cup Top 4
- Qualified for FIFA Global Series Playoffs - Top 64 in the World
- Qualified for FIFAe Nations Series (eUSMNT Representative)
- Ranked first in 2023 North America FIFA Global Series leaderboards
2022
- North America FIFA 22 North America Qualifier 1 Winner
- North America FIFA 22 North America Qualifier 2 Third Place
- North America FIFA 22 North America Qualifier 3 Runner Up
- 2022 eMLS League Series 1 Top Eight
- 2022 eMLS League Series 2 Winner
- 2022 eMLS Cup Top Four
- Ranked second in 2022 North America FIFA Global Series leaderboards
- eUSMNT Representative
- Qualified for FIFA Global Series Playoffs, played in the Top 24 FIFA Global Series Playoffs
Qualified for FIFAe World Cup 2022 - Top 16 FIFAe World Cup
