Major League Soccer (MLS) and Electronic Arts concluded the 2023 eMLS Cup presented by Coca-Cola Zero Sugar and TikTok tonight with St. Louis City SC’s Niklas “NR7” Raseck lifting the trophy at the Austin City Limits Live at the Moody Theater as part of this year’s SXSW. NR7 edged out defending champion Atlanta United’s Paulo “Paulo Neto” Roberto Xavier de Brito Neto in a two-leg aggregate (4-4, 5-2), taking home $20,000 – the highest payout of this year’s record $100,000 prize pool.
While this marks the end of the eMLS 2023 competitive season, NR7 and Paulo Neto will continue their journey with automatic bids into the EA SPORTS FIFA 23 Global Series Playoffs, and Minnesota United FC’s Ehsan “Lamps” Zakeri and CF Montreal’s Alix “LOUX11” Largerie will compete in the EA SPORTS FIFA 23 Global Series Play-ins as the third and fourth place finishers in the eMLS Cup.
“I had to put in a lot of practice and prep time given my performance in LS1 and LS2. I knew I could do better and had to just maintain focus in order to bring the trophy home for St. Louis,” said NR7. “Paulo is an excellent player and I had to work hard to put myself in a position to win.”
“I am sad for not winning the trophy again, but I am happy for getting the global play-off spot,” said Paulo Neto. “I am going to continue working hard everyday, be better everyday, and get healthy mentally.”
Players representing 26 MLS clubs entered this year’s season with one goal in mind – winning the fabled eMLS Cup. However, Atlanta United’s Paulo Neto made it exceptionally difficult over the course of the season, with convincing wins in both League Series 1 against Minnesota United’s Lamps and in an exciting rematch against him in League Series 2. After the League Series events, the top 11 Clubs earned their spot in the eMLS Cup. Philadelphia Union’s Thiago “ThiagoCapo” Vazquez won the eMLS Last Chance Qualifier yesterday at the Q2 Stadium – home of Austin FC – defeating Portland Timbers’ Bruno “CPTBRUNO” Granato Albino in two-leg aggregate (6-2, 3-2) to lock in the 12th Club for the eMLS Cup.
More than 1,500 fans were in attendance to cheer on their favorite players and enjoy the festivities, including limited edition eMLS giveaways, FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT) card creation areas, play areas to enjoy EA SPORTS™ FIFA on PlayStation 5, and more. Austin FC also hosted the “Austin FC Post-Party presented by Netspend” where Urban Heat performed.
