Toronto FC pro FIFA player ‘PhilB94’ to kick off 2021 eMLS season Tuesday night

TORONTO, Canada—Toronto FC’s professional FIFA 21 player Phil “PhilB94” Balke kicks off another eMLS season Tuesday night with qualifiers for the first event of the year: eMLS League Series One, presented by Coca-Cola.

Each player will compete in a slate of 14 single-leg qualifying matches, which are set for January 5-6 and 12-13. Competitors will earn three points for a win, one point for a draw and zero points for a loss, with the top-eight players advancing to the two-leg League Series One Tournament on Jan. 16-17.

PhilB94, ranked No. 5 out 27 teams in MLSSoccer.com’s preseason power rankings, enters his third full season representing his hometown Toronto FC. Searching for his first official eMLS title, the Toronto native is currently tied for 1st in North America Global Series Rankings and is poised to have a breakout season.

He will square off against LAFC’s RemiMartinn (ranked 7) at 8:30 p.m. EST, fellow Canadian Skill Shack (ranked 21) of the Vancouver Whitecaps at 9 p.m. EST, before taking on Sporting Kansas City’s Alekzandur (ranked 4) at 10:00 p.m. EST.

The prize pool for League Series One is $15,000 USD. League Series One will be the first of three live-streamed tournaments that each occur over two days and comprise the eMLS season. The season will continue in February with eMLS League Two and conclude in March with the 2021 eMLS Cup.

Last season, Phil finished in the Top-8 in each competition and will look to pick up where he left off.

If you’re interested in watching, the entirety of the 2021 competitive eMLS season will be streamed online. Fans can watch all three competitions on the official MLS Twitch and Twitter pages, as well as MLSsoccer.com and the free MLS app. Fans can also find updated results and standings on MLSsoccer.com.

The full schedule for the League Series One qualifying matches and final tournament can be found here.

If you’re interested in learning more about Phil and how he got started as Toronto FC’s first-ever professional FIFA player, you can read about his story below.