eMLS: JKO goes 1-1-5 in first slate of Series 2 qualifying

New England Revolution fans may or may not know that there is in fact an eMLS league that the club is apart of. John Oliveira hit the sticks on Tuesday and Wednesday looking to improve his spot on the Series 2 standings.

While the Esports industry is booming, the same can’t be said for eMLS. Some people might actually be hearing about the league for the first time.

So what is eMLS? 27 clubs have players competing for a $70,000 prize pool. This specific event is the second of three major competitions that culminate in the eMLS Cup.

Roster rules can vary throughout the competition but for Series 2 a club needs to have five current MLS players, up to one icon with a rating of 89 or higher and one with a rating up to 88. Also clubs can have two non-icons with a rating of 90 or above and one non-icon player rating from 87-89.

A squad also is allotted seven subs that are non-icon players with ratings up to 89 and the reserves are made up of one icon rated 89 or higher and one rated up to 88. The reserves can also have up to three non-icon players.

Goalkeepers don’t count against these limits

So now that all the formalities are out of the way, let’s get to the results.

In this first slate of qualifying games, JKO went 1-1-5 and is currently sitting at 23rd in the Series 2 standings. To put that in perspective, the top eight players qualify for the big Series 2 tournament that will be taking place on February 13th and 14th.

What stands out the most is goal differential. Oliveira currently has a GD of -8 which is in the bottom five of the league. A 6-1 loss to BENR who represents the San Jose Earthquakes, didn’t help JKO’s cause either.

When you look at the teams at the top of the standings, they have seven or eight goals allowed. If JKO wants to climb the standings, he will have to improve in the back.

If defending is an issue then you need to start scoring goals. Sadly that hasn’t been the case so far for Oliveira. His seven goals for is also one of the worst outputs in the league

It will take quite the effort for Oliveira to even attempt to qualify. One or two more losses could seal his fate before the end of qualifying. Each player has 12 qualifying games and Oliveira has already played seven. He doesn’t have a lot of room for error.

The next slate of games begins on February 9th and Revolution fans will be cheering JKO on as he tries to qualify for the big tournament.