Eligella Xmas Cup record raises questions on the future of FIFA LAN events
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After an entire day of FIFA 22 action from some of the best players across Europe on Thursday, the Eligella Xmas cup came to an end as more than 100,0000 people watched  Lucio “HHezerS” Vecchione win the finals against Fnatic’s Donovan “Tekkz” Hunt.  The Eligella Xmas cup was the first-ever FIFA LAN event organized by CEO and content creator, Elias “EliasN97”  Nerlich. It featured 32 of Europe’s best players and a €30,000 prize pool.

This event also marked the first time that EA Sports gave a creator the license to host their own offline competitive FIFA event. Moreover, the LAN was also one of the first for many pros in a long while with FIFA recently cancelling the Team of the Year Cup tournament.

Eligella Xmas Cup success sparks excitement and questions in FIFA community

Following the success and large viewership the Eligella Xmas Cup received, many in the FIFA community have called on EA to improve LAN tournaments and also follow this community-focused system.

“Massive thanks to @EliasN97 showing us that events are possible, perfect organisation and great staff,” tweeted Tekkz. “150K people! Ea are you watching?”

https://twitter.com/Alekzandur/status/1470857834116136968?s=20

“110k viewers on a FIFA LAN not even hosted by EA only goes to show the extend of untapped potential this esport has,” tweeted Alexander “Alekzandur” Betancourt. “Full credit to @EliasN97, truly an insane job well done. I really hope this motivates some at EA to think of what’s possible when they have 1000x the resources.”

The Xmas cup did not provide any Twitch drops nor incentives, but recorded a peak viewership of 150,000. This number is no small feat since most fans already expect rewards from watching FIFA tournaments. However, many people were intrigued by the stage setting and the atmosphere of the event.

“Even though it was online, the viewership experience was insane, I really felt like I was in the studio”, said  FIFA fan Stephen Johnson.

The huge viewership also comes from how big and community focused FIFA is in Germany. The event was majorly streamed in German but that did not stop a lot of non-German speaking people from watching. The success of the Eligella Xmas Cup opens up several possibilities for the future of FIFA esports events. It also shows the need for EA to collaborate with creators in several communities and improve LAN events.


Jimoh Rashidat is a freelance esports writer with over two years of experience. She covers FIFA, League of Legends and general gaming content.


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