EA Sports is the biggest name in the sports section of video games. With their newest installment of FIFA for this year (FIFA 18), it looks like they are turning to eSports. In recent times, FIFA was not so well represented on the big eSports stages. With just a couple of big tournaments every year, it somehow managed to pass underneath the radar. This is mostly due to the fact that FIFA keeps concentrating on the FIWC (FIFA Interactive World Cup) but with all the recent news, this is going to change in the near future and betting on FIFA 18 could become the next big thing in the industry.
If FIFA decides to open its gate to more eSports events, it has a good chance to take over a big piece of the cake. Still, it is very early to talk about this since this year's FIFA installment has just been released. So far, EA has not made a public announcement regarding the issue but with everything else happening in the industry, it would not come as a huge surprise. Considering the current state of the eSports industry and its respective eSports betting sites, FIFA 18 suddenly seems rather interesting.
Why does FIFA suddenly look interesting as an eSport?
As we already stated above, the eSports industry is ever growing and, so far, there was not much place for FIFA. With the most popular games like LoL, DotA and CS:GO flourishing more and more with each passing year, FIFA was not prepared to battle for their share. This could all change because lots of teams from top 5 European leagues are forming virtual teams. They are hiring professional FIFA players on Xbox One and Playstation 4 to defend their team's honor on and off the virtual pitch.
This resulted in some leagues announcing their virtual versions (Spain and France) making up for some interesting clashes in the near future. There is even a rumor regarding Virtual Champions League that is going to feature teams from Bundesliga, La Liga, and Premiership. While this news is still mainly formed as rumors, they could all turn out to be true. If that is really the case, it could mean that we are up for one amazing winter of FIFA eSport events!
Professional Football Sports Teams Entering eSports Industry
Believe it or not, professional sports teams have already acquired a good number of professional eSports athletes to compete under their colors. While football clubs are the most represented in this business practice, other sports clubs such as baskletball (Philadelphia 76ers and Baskonia are the perfect examples) are up there as well. Considering the fact this article is closely related to FIFA betting, it's only logical to include just football clubs with eSports presence. So, let's kick things off with the good old PSG!
Paris Saint-Germain
Paris Saint-Germain is a big-time French football team with stars such as Neymar, Mbappe and Cavani to its name. Plus, they were the first French football club to enter the eSports scene. More precisely, PSG announced its expansion to eSports back in 2016. More precisely, October 4th. Since then, PSG eSports team expanded to DotA 2, Rocket League, and FIFA.
Ajax
Ajax eSports franchise has been founded in September 2016, shortly before PSG's official announcement in October. They've acquired 5 professional FIFA players who are now being led by the firm hand of Edwin van der Sar, Ajax's head of eSports.
Manchester City
Manchester City has flourished with the recent influx of money which allowed it to jump to the very top of the Premier League. They've also expanded to eSports after alleged roumors of their biggest rivals, Manchester United, trying to acquire an Overwatch team. Even though Manchester United doesn't have an eSports franchise just yet, the rivarly could soon switch to gaming battlegrounds too.
PSV Eindhoven
For those of you who don't know, PSV Eindhoven is a Dutch professional football team who ventured into eSports back in August 2016. After an interesting FIFA 17 tournament held at the Phillips Stadium, their first professional FIFA player was announced.
FC Schalke 04
Schalke 04 is a huge German team with rich history and great display of players playing under its colors back in the days. As far as their eSports franchise is concerned, Schalke 04 doesn't just do FIFA but League of Legends as well. They've acquired high quality players and the results will come sooner rather than later, that's for sure!
Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg was the first major European football club to test its luck in the crazy world of eSports. By acquiring David Bytheway, they've made their entrance to FIFA in quite the style. At the moment, they're focusing only on FIFA but could expand to other eSports franchises as well.
Valencia
Valencia eSports franchise announcement was a big fiasco with the news being leaked before the official announcement. However, once all the dust settled down, Valencia eSports started doing lots of work and managed to acquire several eSports teams for various games such as Summoner's Wars, Clash Royale, Hearthstone, and FIFA.
Other professional clubs are taking interest too
There are several more football clubs to venture into eSports but these are the biggest (and earliest) of them all. Without a doubt – FIFA as an eSport franchise will continue to grow at the same (or even increasing) rate, pulling FIFA betting alongisde it for sure. There's only one question still remaining – how quickly will FIFA become the next big thing in the eSports industry?
Betting odds for the next EA Fifa Tournaments and Leagues
Start Times shown in: GMT or GMT +1 during Summer Time
Betting Odds presented by bet365. The listed odds are intended as a guide only and are subject to change. Please check current EA Fifa soccer odds on the bet365 website before placing any bets. Read more about esports betting at Bet365
FIFA 18 Betting Sites
Besides ESL and FIWC, FIFA does not have a lot of tournaments like the popular eSports franchises. Due to this, there are bets only for the biggest annual FIFA tournaments. They can be found on BET365 and Pinnacle. Besides these eSports betting sites, FIFa 18 bets can be found on Bet-at-home and Betway as well, although not as frequent. At the time of writing this article, there were no live FIFA 18 tournaments so we could not give you any relevant screenshots.
How is FIFA 18 played?
As you already might know, FIFA 18 is the most popular football simulation on the planet. Truth be told, with the only competition coming from KONAMI's PES franchise, its popularity and worldwide fame comes as no surprise. Mostly, it is played in a 1 on 1 fashion, even though the game enables real 11 vs 11 matches. While the latter works in theory, it is extremely difficult to maintain a full match with 22 players playing. Still, the main mode is 1 vs 1 with 2 vs 2 matches being rather interesting as well.
Tips for betting on FIFA 18
As most other solo eSports such as Hearthstone and Starcraft II, betting on FIFA 18 requires a lot of knowledge in the scene. If you plan on being successful in FIFA betting, you should first do an extensive research. Research is an important aspect of every bet you place, but it is that more important to FIFa because it is a 1 on 1 sport. Find as much information as you can about the players you're planning to bet on. Check out their form. Check out their previous matches against each other. In order to make a great prediction you need to get to the bottom of as much relevant factors as you can. Here's a list of the most important ones:
- Last 5 matches
- Last matches against each other
- Overall form in the current tournament
- Goal difference in last 5 matches
- Comparison between playstyles
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