FIFA 23 players and English Premier League fans rejoice. The ePremier League’s return for a new season has been confirmed with an official announcement. EA and the Premier League enter the fifth year of their successful FIFA esports partnership.
We are ready to share all the details about the 2022/23 ePremier League campaign, including entrance requirements, tournament format, competitive calendar, and prize pool.
What is the ePremier League?
Before we talk about it, we should really know what it is. The ePremier League is a FIFA esports tournament emulating the English Premier League. In it, players from all over the United Kingdom compete for the chance to represent a Premier League club in the ePremier League grand finals and win the trophy on the club’s behalf.
It’s the closest any of the competitors will likely ever come to playing for their favorite club, so it’s truly a great occasion for anyone involved.
Who is eligible to play in the ePremier League?
Unfortunately, not everyone can enter the festivities. There are several requirements that need to be met for participation in the 2022/23 season of the ePremier League:
- You need to be based in the U.K. and aged 16 or higher to apply
- You need a copy of FIFA 23
- You need an active FUT squad in FIFA 23
- You need a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X|S console
The age and FIFA 23 requirements are quite obviously necessary but many will probably be left disappointed that they can’t enter the tournament if they’re still gaming on old-gen consoles. We do sympathize but this one has a solid explanation as well—FIFA 23 on old-gen simply isn’t the same game as on current-gen. Some core gameplay features introduced to the game on current-gen aren’t available to old-gen platforms, which is an insurmountable obstacle for esports.
How to register for the ePremier League
Now that you know whether you can enter or not, you can proceed to registration. The ePremier League has made it as easy as can be. All you have to do is go to the main web page of the league and click on the big Register Now button in the left corner. From there on, it’s up to you to provide the necessary information and complete the registration.
What is the format of the ePremier League?
The ePremier League will go through a few stages of elimination before crowning its champion.
The first stage is online qualifications. It’s where all of the registered players will be dropped in one large pool with the goal of trimming down the numbers to 160 total players—80 on PS5 and 80 on Xbox Series X|S. Despite this final division, players on both consoles will be able to play with each other via crossplay in this online stage. The format here is single elimination, so you better have your game on.
There will be three separate online qualifiers, each one granting entry to the online qualifier playoff, which in turn will determine the full list of 160 players to proceed to the next stage. The online qualifier playoff, unlike the regular qualifiers, will not be crossplay eligible and will move to a double-elimination format.
Those who make it through the grueling online qualifiers will enjoy a first encounter with the Premier League. The second stage is called Club Playoffs. It’s called that because this is where the 160 players will be divided by the 20 Premier League teams. Each club will then hold its own playoff to produce two grand finals contestants, one on the PlayStation 5, and one on the Xbox Series X|S. Once again, there will be no crossplay and the format will be double elimination. These 40 players will be the 2022/23 ePremier League finalists.
The ePremier League grand finals will begin with a group stage, followed by direct elimination quarterfinals, semifinals, and of course, the grand final. Each match will include one game between the PS5 players, and one game between the Xbox Series X|S players, with the final result from the matchup being the combined results of the two games.
In all stages, from the online qualifiers to the grand finals, if a draw occurs, the winner will be determined by a Golden Goal.
The ePremier League calendar
Each stage of the tournament has its own slot on the calendar. We already know the specific dates for all online qualifiers and the online qualifier playoff, as well as the grand finals. The only dates still hanging in the air are for the Club Playoffs, but we still have some general idea of when those will materialize.
Here’s what the 2022/23 ePremier League calendar looks like:
- Online qualifier No. 1 – Nov. 1 to 2, 2022
- Online qualifier No. 2 – Nov. 5 to 6, 2022
- Online qualifier No. 3 – Nov. 8 to 9, 2022
- Online qualifier playoff – Nov. 22 to 23, 2022
- Club Playoffs – late November/early December (Determined by EPL clubs individually)
- Grand finals – March 25 to 26, 2023
What’s the ePremier League prize pool?
Getting in touch with a Premier League club isn’t the only benefit ePremier League contestants will be playing for. There’s also a prize pool of £100,000, and almost everyone that makes it to the grand finals will get a chunk of it. The only ones to miss out will be the clubs that finish bottom of their group.
The spread of the wealth goes as follows:
- First place – £30,000
- Second place – £15,000
- Third to fourth place – £7,500
- Fifth to eighth place – £5,000
- Ninth to 16th place – £2,500
The current champions of the ePremier League are Damien “Damie” Augustyniak and Jack “GoalPoacher” Wignall, who represented Norwich City. If Premier League clubs are overly superstitious, this fact might give them a solid scare as Norwich City was relegated from the English top tier last season.
If we’re being more sensible about it, all this means is that we’ll crown a new ePremier League champion in March. The journey promises to be long and exciting for the contestants, and we’re wishing them all the best of luck.
