Football
Reuters 4y

'Chicharito' and Nani to headline MLS esports tournament

Major League Soccer is kicking off a five-week esports tournament on Sunday featuring players such as new LA Galaxy striker Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez and Orlando City's Nani. 

The eMLS Tournament Special will pair MLS players with their esports counterparts in a single-elimination competition benefiting relief efforts for those impacted in North America by the pandemic.

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The competition begins on April 19 and the FIFA 20 tournament that day will feature Chicago Fire versus FC Cincinnati, before LAFC take on rivals LA Galaxy.

In the coming weeks, D.C. United's Paul Arriola, New England Revolution's Diego Fagundez, Minnesota United's Tyler Miller, Sporting Kansas City's Wan Kuzain, New York Red Bulls Aaron Long, New York City FC's Sean Johnson, FC Dallas' Fafa Picault, Houston Dynamo's Memo Rodriguez, Vancouver Whitecaps Erik Godoy, Toronto FC's Marky Delgado and Atlanta United's Franco Escobar will compete in the tournament.

After each episode, MLS WORKS, the league's social responsibility platform, and FOX Sports will make a donation on behalf of the winning club to Feeding America, with MLS also supporting Food Banks Canada.

The announcement comes days after the Football's Staying Home Cup kicked off on Friday, featuring some of England's top players, as the world of soccer aims to bring the spirit of competition into the digital realm and away from the pitch.

Leyton Orient have also organised a huge 128-team #UltimateQuaranTeam competition that saw real world clubs take each other on in video game form and raise money for charity.

On Saturday, AC Milan forward Rafael Leao faced Inter Milan striker Sebastiano Esposito in a PES 2020 version of the Milan Derby.

Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold has also challenged several people, including Manchester City's professional esports player Ryan Pessoa, to a duel on FIFA 20

The eMLS Tournament Special kicks off on Sunday on FS1 and Fox Deportes.

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