The LA Galaxy have re-signed Giuseppe Guastella to a new contract for the 2019 eMLS season and have signed three additional eSports players to the team, the club announced today.
Guastella, the Galaxy’s first-ever eSports athlete, plays under the gamertag GGGodfather-. The San Pedro, Calif. native is one of the world’s top FIFA competitive players. In his first season with the Galaxy, Guastella reached the 2018 eMLS Cup semifinals.
The five-time FIFA Interactive World Championship finalist will compete to qualify for the FIFA eClub World Cup, which will mark the first time the LA Galaxy has competed in the international club competition. Guastella will participate in online competition on Wednesday, Jan. 9.
Since he entered the competitive FIFA scene in 2009, Guastella has enjoyed a prolific career, including winning the 2009 FIFA Interactive World North American Championship and a top-four finish at the 2012 FIWC in Dubai. Additionally, the 32-year-old won the North American championship at the 2016 AT&T MLS All-Star Game and won gold in 2017 at the FUT Americas Championshipsin Vancouver.
In 2018, the LA Galaxy formed their first-ever eSports team to participate in eMLS, the first competitive league for EA Sports FIFA in North America. The 2019 eMLS season features 22 MLS clubs integrated into the competitive ecosystem, with Atlanta United, D.C. United and FC Cincinnati joining the competition for the first time, as players compete to represent their club at the 2019 eMLS Cup presented by PlayStation® from Sony Interactive Entertainment, having PlayStation®4 as the official console.
New to the 2019 season, the eMLS League Series One, hosted by the LA Galaxy, will take place in January before eMLS League Series Two with FC Dallas in February. Each of these eMLS League Series events will include participation from all eMLS professional FIFA players and will result in their own distinct prizing opportunities. eMLS player performance across the two eMLS League Series events will determine seeding for the 2019 eMLS Cup presented by PlayStation.
Additionally, every rostered eSports player vies for FIFA Pro Points by competing in various EA Sports FIFA 19 events throughout the year, with the goal of reaching the Global Series Playoffs, the main qualification tournament to the 2019 FIFA eWorld Cup.
