Team Liquid Partners With Sunderland A.F.C. Ahead of ePremier League Debut

Ahead of Sunderland A.F.C. making its ePremier League debut, it's been announced that the club is partnering with esports organization Team Liquid.

Two players from Team Liquid will represent Sunderland A.F.C. in the eighth edition of the ePremier League, which starts today, February 28. 

More on the Partnership and Representation

As part of this deal with Sunderland A.F.C., Team Liquid players Paulo Neto and Gabriel "Young" Freitas will wear a co-branded jersey during the event, where they'll compete against an additional 19 Premier League squads. 

Both players have had some success, with Young finishing second at the 2024 Esports World Cup, while Neto got the win at the FIFAe Nations Cup in 2023. Together, they'll compete for a £100,000 prize pool, along with a chance to qualify for the eChampions League and the last event of the season, the FC Pro World Championship.

“A partnership with Sunderland A.F.C. for the ePremier League is the next natural step for the organisation’s EA FC programme,” said Maarten Sonneveld, Senior Marketing Manager at Team Liquid.

“We have a deep respect for Sunderland’s history and its dedicated fanbase. We are proud to have Paulo Neto and Young representing both our organisations as we bring our high-performance standards to the UK’s top circuit.”

Last May, Team Liquid got more involved in EA FC Esports after acquiring Team Gullit, named after the soccer legend Ruud Gullit. 

Football Clubs Embracing Esports

Since the ePremier League kicked off in January 2019, many clubs have gotten involved. As mentioned, this year, there will be 20 clubs in the Group Stage, which runs from today, February 28, to March 1. These will be one-versus-one matches. 

In the last two seasons, Manchester City has won with Donovan Hunt, also known as Tekkz, coming away with the win. 

Now, Tekkz will represent Leeds United. 

On February 28, Sunderland took down Brentford. Sunderland beat them 10-3 and 5-2.