Fresh off Friday’s eMLS announcement, New York City FC announced that the club will host a FIFA 18 tournament, which will give fans a chance to take on NYCFC’s professional eSports player, Chris Holly.

The tournament will take place at Upper 90 at its Queens store  Saturday, Feb. 24 at 3 p.m.

Last year, the club made Major League Soccer history by becoming the first MLS team to sign an eSports player, Holly, for PlayStation 4. Six months later, the team added to its eSports roster with the signing of a  second player, Joey Calabro, for Xbox One.

NYCFC FIFA Challenge is a single elimination FIFA 18 Fan Tournament on Xbox One that will give the winner the opportunity to test their FIFA skills and challenge Holly. Upper 90’s Queens store is located at 34-23 38th Street Astoria, NY 11101.

Click here to register.

The grand prize winner will participate in an exclusive VIP experience at our home opener Sunday, March 11 against the LA Galaxy. The winner will receive two  premium tickets, an autographed team jersey and an in-game acknowledgment. The second-place finisher will receive two tickets to opening day and a David Villa signed jersey. The third-place finisher will get two tickets to opening day.

More information on tournament rules will be released closer to the grand event.

NYCFC will compete against other teams for the first eMLS Cup, the league’s elite competitive gaming program in April at #PAXEast2018. The winner will represent MLS in the EA SPORTS FIFA 18 Global Series Playoffs on the road to the FIFA eWorld Cup 2018.

Holly has qualified for the FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT) Champions Cup Jan. 26-28 in Barcelona, Spain, where the top eight finishers out of 128 will advance to a two blockbuster Playoff Event, the EA SPORTS FIFA 18 Global Series Playoffs.  At the playoffs’ conclusion, 32 finalists will compete at the FIFA eWorld Cup 2018 Grand Final in August.

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.