A look inside Day 2 of ELEAGUE FUT Champions Cup

So, you wonder how an ELEAGUE FUT Champions Cup is put together? Stream, event setup and all?

Thanks to our friends at ELEAGUE, I got a chance to cover Stage III of the ELEAGUE FUT Champions Cup, giving me an opportunity to see how these things are put together. More importantly, I saw how the best of the best FIFA20 players play the game most of us love on the most competitive stage.

You drive to the ELEAGUE Arena inside the WarnerMedia Studios in Midtown. You’re ushered through a few tunnels, recognizing different Turner broadcasting elements on the walls from years past. You turn a corner and suddenly the walls are adorned with ELEAGUE branding. Different corridors lead to new rooms with its own set of monitors and tables. Groups of friends and teammates from different parts of the world huddled together watching players warm up or take on their first opponent.

At the end of a very open tunnel sits the HEAVIEST DOOR ON THIS PLANET leading into the studio the tournament will be broadcast from. Cameras everywhere. Players quarantined into two sections of the studio, both groups of players surrounding tables of monitors and their respective consoles. Invited guests and media sectioned off in the closest corner to the studio door. The studio is cold. We’re talking sweaters-in-the-middle-of-summer cold.

In the middle of the studio sits a large studio table. At it, Atlanta United’s own television broadcaster Kevin Egan sits wearing a bomber jacket alongside a blazered Chu Boi and track-suited Mike LaBelle. Jillian Sakovits is caught wandering around the studio as well, all part of the crew bringing you tourney commentary and players interviews from the ELEAGUE Champions Cup Stage III.

“One minute!” yells the stage manager. Camera operators shift into position. NRASEK and Tekkz get comfortable on the main stage as they prepare to face off in the days first Stage III match. Tekkz, with his hood lifted over his head, barely revealing his face, gets some last-minute instruction from a teammate behind him. The other players on opposite corners, XBOX on one side PS4 on the other, patiently wait for their matches to take place.

“Thirty seconds!” the stage manager proclaims. You look around to take in everything that’s happening. People start clearing the stage. NRASEK looks tranquil as time ticks towards the start of his match.

“Five seconds!”

Everyone involved in the broadcast suddenly seems to turn on. An introduction to the broadcast plays on the monitor in front of you. Your focus then shifts to the broadcast crew behind the monitors you’re watching.

“E LEAGUE FUT Champions Cup Stage III is powered by…”

And the day’s events begin. A #1 versus #2 matchup kicked everything off giving the tournament the dramatic start most were anticipating. Penalty kicks were needed and, ultimately, decided NRAZEK would advance over Tekkz.

Unfortunately for Atlanta United fans, Paulo Neto was bounced from this tournament Friday after winning his first two matches but losing his next three. Several upsets took place on the opening night of Stage III but a plethora of top players are still in the competition.

If you’re interested in watching the best FIFA players in the world battle for prize money and Global Series Ranking points, check out the competition through Twitch, YouTube, B/R Live & ELEAGUE.com. The tournament goes through Sunday.