Boston braces for eSports Revolution at PAX East

BOSTON — The Revolution of eSports is in full swing.

Boston’s professional sports scene has certainly seen an impact, as gamers have established themselves, becoming a prevalent part of the region’s professional scene. There’s the Celtics’ CLTX Gaming in the NBA 2K League and Robert Kraft staking ownership in the Boston Uprising of the Overwatch League.

Now, the New England Revolution and Major League Soccer will take center stage during the inaugural eMLS Cup at PAX East this weekend in Boston. Revs President Brian Bilello has been a driving force in making sure his franchise is on the right side of this march toward the fledgeling partnership between sport and gaming.

The culture of video games has truly disrupted the sports industry – so much so that there is talk of gaming becoming an Olympic sport.

The eMLS Cup will be hosted at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center with knockout rounds on Saturday April 7 and the Conference Championship and eMLS Cup final on Sunday, April 8.

The Revolution and Major League Soccer entered the eSports arena with a new gaming league featuring the popular EA Sports FIFA 18. The Revs and 18 other MLS-backed teams each recruited gamers to represent their teams to pursue the inaugural eMLS Cup. The winner of that tournament will go on to represent Major League Soccer against the best FIFA gamers in the world in the FIFA eWorld Cup in August.

The Revs signed eSports competitor and Massachusetts’ own John Oliveira, knows by his gamertag JKO1797, to their e-roster who not only has a passion for soccer, but brings more than 13 years of FIFA experience.