ORLANDO, Fla. (Dec. 19, 2018) - Orlando City SC has re-signed Abe Valbuena as the Club’s official eMLS competitor. Valbuena will represent the Club in the eMLS League Series presented by Playstation, the eMLS Cup and in FIFA tournaments around the world in 2019.
“We’re excited to bring Abe back for another season of eMLS ,” said Orlando City SC Sr. Director of Content Ed Cahill. “Abe competed at a high level last season and has only improved in the transition to FIFA 19.”
Valbuena qualified for the eMLS Playoffs in 2018 after two days of qualifying at PAX East in March. This season, Valbuena became Fifa Ultimate Team verified, winning 27 of 30 weekend league games in just the second weekend of the season.
“It’s great to be with Orlando City again, home of the best fans in MLS,” said Valbuena. “I’m ready to exceed expectations for this upcoming season and win it all."
This year’s eMLS League Series will add three new teams to the original 19 and will expand to a multi-event format. eMLS League Series One will be hosted in conjunction with the LA Galaxy in January and eMLS League Series Two will be hosted by FC Dallas in February. Performance in these events will determine seeding for eMLS Cup.
"We were thrilled with the success and excitement in year one of eMLS,” said James Ruth, MLS senior director of properties and events. “Working with our core partners, EA SPORTS and PlayStation, we are creating more opportunities for our players to compete and for our fans to engage with eMLS in 2019. eMLS League Series presented by PlayStation and the rest of our 2019 programming will push us closer to our goal of blurring the lines between traditional and digital soccer, while further elevating eMLS in the global FIFA competitive gaming community.”
Leading up to January, you can watch as Valbuena prepares for competition on his Twitch channel.
