While the whole world has been in quarantine sports have been hard to come by. Liga MX and other leagues are struggling as stay at home orders have yet to be lifted Liga MX has taken matters into its own hands by starting an E-League.
Now many leagues have their E Leagues already started and filled with professional FIFA players the most well-known example in the states being the MLS E-League., but Liga MX has taken a fresher approach with having players who are currently at home play with another player that’s at home each representing their respective Liga MX team with a virtual tournament of FIFA 20 on Playstation 4.
Friday began week 1 of the tournament. At first, on Friday there were some hiccups. With the players using their personal accounts and with messages not being blocked out, so we could see any player’s private information as personal messages. Then some players wouldn’t be able to add one another to start a game. Then on top of that, they were using their personal accounts the first week, so any person that has a Playstation 4 could try to add the Liga MX stars. We have yet to see if they will proceed or if they will make a new account for the players to play on for more privacy with the account they actually use.
Still, even with those hiccups, the weekend’s play was great. Even the pundits who still added commentary to games that were pre-recorded which were odd to get used to at first, but felt more engaging than watching just two random people play and they also had segments where they spoke to teammates of the respective players that were playing. For example, Chivas player Dieter Villalpando’s teammate Chivas Goalkeeper Raul Gudino was interviewed before the E-League match against FC Bravos. The content felt put more together that way and with matches containing 10 goals as Saturday’s afternoon game, Chivas with Dieter Villalpando vs. Juarez F.C’s Diego Rolan the virtual game ended in a 5-5 tie.
The game earlier in the day featuring Tigres vs. Atletico San Luis was more interesting than the actual game in the real Liga MX earlier in the year that ended in a 0-0 tie. This virtual game still ended in a tie, but it was a 2-2 tie that was exciting. Tigres’s player Julian Quinones and Atletico San Luis player Luis Reyes played for their respective teams. The game went back and forth and Luis Quinones recovered from being dominated on the ball early on in the game. The game did have some controversy as the 85 player rating wasn’t used by one or both of the players. People on Twitter argued that the game shouldn’t count, and they had a valid point.
Other games that were note-worthy was Sunday’s thrashing of Xolos de Tijuana by Santos 5-1. America losing on Friday against Puebla 3-0, Atlas beating Cruz Azul 4-1. Toluca beating Morelia 4-0, and Pumas beating Pachuca in a close affair 2-1.
It was interesting and I myself am looking forward to week 2 of play this up and coming weekend for more play, it will be interesting to see if they still continue this E-League when regular Liga MX goes back into play. It’s interesting and it’s something that could stick around with even some pro-FIFA players, but only time will tell.