ePremier League 2020/21: Recap, semi-final & final predictions and how to watch
After two days of intense action, we have reached the semi-finals of the 2020/21 ePremier League.
We have some familiar names remaining on both sides of the tournament, with the likes of Ollelito and FalconsDiogo reaching the semi-finals on the Xbox, while PlayStation heavyweight HashtagTom_ is still going strong.
The tournament will reach its conclusion on Friday starting at 6pm (UK time) but before then, let’s take a look back at how we got here and make some predictions on who will win with help from a competitive player, Josh Buchanan.
Josh Buchanan – who you can find on Twitch here – is an FIFA Ultimate Team Verified Player on Xbox who has twice achieved a top 200 finish on FIFA 21 Weekend League, regularly hitting Elite by recording 23 wins or more.
The biggest upset
To sum up the first two days of the ePremier League would be to talk about upsets, goals, drama and penalties. There’s also been a whole lot of directional nutmegs, the new ‘small bridge’ meta-skill being used heavily — timed right, the small bridge becomes a speed boost past the defender by pressing LB/L1 and RB/R1.
Each season, the ePremier League offers up plenty of surprises and this one was no different, with two of the biggest upsets coming on the Xbox side of the tournament. In the second round of matches, previous 2017 world champion Huge Gorilla, who was seeded No.2 out of 20 (your seed ranking goes off your current rank in the global series leaderboard), representing Sheffield United, faced SAF Dragon of Manchester United, losing 6-5 over two legs leading to a shock early exit.
SAF Dragon (MUFC) wasn’t finished there, being at the heart of both upset as he continued his form into the quarter-finals, beating the previous 2019 ePremier League champion and the biggest household name in competitive FIFA, Fnatic Tekkz (LIV), 5-3 after initially falling 3-1 behind.
We also must mention the certified penalty king, Harry Hesketh (EVE), who lost on spot-kicks to SAF Cameron (AST). Does this mean Harry has lost his crown?
Standout performance
The standout performance over the two days was a masterclass from Ollelito (LEE). Ollelito (LEE) proved himself on FIFA 20 by winning a FUT Champions Cup and becoming the European champion. He turned over Gareth Bale’s own ELVNS Stokes (SPURS) 13-2 in the quarter-final as if he were a casual player.
😲 #LUFC defeat Spurs 13-2!!! @ollelito storms into Friday's #ePL semi-finals, where he'll face Arsenal! @alphasyncgaming pic.twitter.com/xHsAbuVCYA
— Leeds United (@LUFC) March 23, 2021
Tom Stokes is no pushover, seen as a veteran in the FIFA scene and a previous playoff champion back in FIFA 19. To beat ELVNS Stokes by this scoreline just shows the level that Ollelito is playing at right now. He is currently ranked fifth in Europe in the global series rankings, making him the top-seeded player on the Xbox side.
Notable mention
We must give a shoutout to Sean Flossy (WOL). Going into the tournament, he was the lowest-ranked player. Representing Wolves, he reached the quarter-finals before losing 7-6 to Healy (ARS). The game could have gone to extra time if not for a diving header to make a goal-line clearance in the 91st minute.
Favourites to win and predictions
Looking at the last eight, we are spoilt for choice with some of the best players in the world on show. We have previous finalists and winners of the ePremier League such as FalconsDiogo (CHE), MarcMarleyyy (BHA) and Hashtag Tom (TOT), all of which are currently in the top 20 in the whole of Europe.
Xbox Semi-final fixtures:
- Olle ‘Ollelito’ Arbin (LEE) v Joseph ‘Healy’ Healy (ARS)
- Diogo ‘FalconsDiogo’ Mendes (CHE) v Sean ‘SAF Dragon’ Allen (MUN)
PlayStation semi-final fixtures:
- Thomas ‘HashtagTom_’ Leese (TOT) v Mitchell ‘Mhaywxrd’ Hayward (SHU)
- Marc ‘MarcMarleyyy’ Marley (BHA) v Shaun ‘Shellzz’ Springette (MCI)
On the Xbox, I am expecting Ollieto (LEE) and FalconsDiogo (CHE) to meet in the final, where I think Ollieto will have too much for FalconDiogo (CHE). On the PlayStation, I think we could see a repeat of the E Nations final in HashtagTom_ (TOT) vs Shellzz (MCI), with the former beating the latter.
Tickets to the #ePL PS4 semi-finals: Booked ✅
🎟 @HashtagTom_ x @SpursOfficial
🎟 @MHaywxrd x @SheffieldUnited
🎟 @MarcMarleyyy x @OfficialBHAFC
🎟 @Shellzz x @ManCityAnd with that, we are ready to go for Finals Day 😍 pic.twitter.com/GmByWFAdbf
— Premier League (@premierleague) March 24, 2021
The winners of the Xbox and PlayStation finals will play in a cross-console final for the ePremier League trophy. I can’t see anything other than a HashtagTom_ win, which will make him the first back-to-back champion in competition history. But this is FIFA Esports; anything can happen.
How to watch the ePremier League semi-finals and final
The games will be broadcast live across the Premier League’s official YouTube channel, EA Sports FIFA’s Twitch, Sky Sports, BT Sport, BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport online.
