Columbus Crew SC today announced it has re-signed Graham Ellix, Nenad Stojkovic, and Hasib Zulfic as the club’s Esports competitors for 2019.
Additionally, Stojkovic will represent Crew SC in eMLS in 2019 as part of a new expanded format announced by Major League Soccer in November.
The changes include bringing the total number of competitors up to 22 and the introduction of the inaugural eMLS League Series presented by PlayStation.
The 2019 eMLS League Series will be comprised of two events: eMLS League Series One, hosted in conjunction with the LA Galaxy in January, and eMLS League Series Two, hosted by FC Dallas in February.
Each will include participation from all eMLS professional FIFA players, as total performance across the two eMLS League Series events will determine seeding for the 2019 eMLS Cup presented by PlayStation.
Stojkovic, who is ranked an Elite 1 Player in FIFA Ultimate Team Champions, is the former 2010 FIFA Interactive World Champion and is the only U.S. FIFA eWorld Champion in history. In 2018, the 30-year-old qualified for the EA Global Playoff Series in Amsterdam, and in July, competed at the 2018 eMLS All-Star Challenge in Atlanta, Ga.
Ellix, who has been playing FIFA professionally since 2008, is also ranked an Elite 1 Player and is ranked among the Top 100 FIFA players worldwide and Top 25 in the Americas’ Region. Graham competed against Stojkovic in a best-of-three gamer playoff on March 5, 2018, winning Game 2 (4-1) and Game 3 (2-1) to qualify to represent Columbus Crew SC at eMLSCup in April at PAX East in Boston.
Zulfic is the only Crew SC Esports competitor based outside of Ohio (St. Louis, Missouri). He is ranked an Elite 1 Player in addition to being a Top 10 player in the America’s Region and a Top 100 Worldwide Player. He placed Top 8 in the 2018 European Esports Gaming Online 1 Tournament and most recently qualified for the 2018 Esports World Convention Sao Paulo PS4 Qualifiers.
Stay tuned for more updates on the 2019 eMLS League Series starting in January.
