The NIVEA Men E-League is ready to return over two big days and Brisbane Roar’s homegrown representatives are set to have plenty of backing from the grassroots community that has supported their development.
Connor Stewart and Mitchell Sutherland, two Brisbane-based talents, will be in action from 6:00pm on Friday after emerging through the local pathway to earn their opportunity.
The pair have proved their skills over several seasons in the XP FIFA League, a two-tier FIFA esports competition run year-round by the Roar’s official E-League partner, XP Esports.
The Roar works with XP Esports to find and promote local FIFA players and there’s a strong system of talent identification and development in place to deliver leading gamers.
The @brisbaneroar boys are ready for the 2021 NIVEA Men #ELeague! ?#ForTheCrest pic.twitter.com/T0kJw9KUxe
— NIVEA Men E-League (@ELeagueAus) April 21, 2021
“We’ve been hosting grassroots level leagues for the past five years,” explained XP Esports Director Brodie Fisher said. “We have divisions within the XP League, so that we can sort out who are the social players and who are the more professional. We have a relegation and promotion system.
“If we identify there’s a social league player who is getting better or wants to make the step up, they can. There’s a really good system in place where we identify new talent. And what we are putting in place now is, if you’re in the top two for a number of seasons, those are the players we put forward to represent the Roar in the E-League.”
XP Esports run their competitions every Tuesday night from The Gamers Ground at the University of Queensland in St Lucia.
Each FIFA League season typically spans six weeks, fostering strong foundations and relationships.
“The community is very tight knit. Even from when we first started events five years ago, the players are still here now,” Fisher said.
Congratulations to @EnvyAU_ & @MitchellSuthe10 who have been constant performers in the #XPFIFALeague for a number of seasons! Time to show the @ELeagueAus what you are made of!
XP will be backing you all the way??#ELeague #ForTheCrest https://t.co/RH39kB3gWB
— XP Esports Australia (@XPEsportsAus) April 18, 2021
“Our goal when we formed was to form not just a league but a community, so like-minded mates can play against each other and also make friends.
“A lot of them will meet up and play each other online later. The people who are new usually have a lot of fun because the leaders in the group welcome them.”
Match Day 1 of the new E-League season gets underway at 6:00pm this Friday, 23 April, with the broadcast to commence at 5:45pm through Twitch, the E-League Facebook page and the My Football YouTube channel.
Match Day 2 on Saturday starts at 2:00pm and concludes at approximately 9:00pm when the winners across both PlayStation®4 and Xbox One consoles will be known and the overall NIVEA Men E-League 2021 Premiers are crowned.
CLICK HERE for all the competition details.
