When FUT 20 Champions Cup Stage 3 kicks off in Atlanta on the 17th of January, we will be closing in on the halfway point of the season. It will be the 3rd major of six, and some players may be worrying that if they don’t start performing now, their chances of qualifying for the end of season Global Series Playoffs and ultimately the FIFA eWorld Cup are in jeopardy.

64 players from all over the world will be in attendance, 32 from Xbox and 32 from PlayStation. They will have qualified online or through the Global Series Masters system – where the top 4 players from each console of the last FUT Champions Cup are automatically given a place. That means last month’s champion Niklas “Nraseck” Raseck can look to build on his first, long-awaited, major win.

Joining him in Atlanta will be a host of the worlds best FIFA 20 players, including Donovan “Tekkz” Hunt, Nicolas “Nicolas99FC” Villalba and for the first time this season, FIFA legend Spencer “Gorilla” Ealing will be in action. He has qualified not only for this tournament, but also for February’s FIFA eClub World Cup. For a player many said was past his best, he has proven there is still some top-tier FIFA left in him.

FUT 20 Champions Cup Stage 3 will take place between the 17th – 19th of January at the ELEAGUE Arena in Atlanta, Georgia in partnership with Turner Sport’s ELEAGUE.

The event will feature a prize pool of $200,000 with the winner taking home $50,000 and 2,000 Global Series Points, points which are vital for securing qualification for the end-of-season Global Series Playoffs.

FUT 20 Champions Cup Stage 3: Format + Prize Pool

The FUT Champions Cup’s are the majors of the FIFA competitive season. Qualification is earned either online or through the Global Series Masters. Players can win money and also Global Series Points – these points qualify players for the Global Series Playoffs and the FIFA eWorld Cup.

Each FUT Champions Cup has 32 Xbox and 32 PlayStation players, players are split into two console specific groups.

Groups are played in the Swiss format – the top 16 players from each group advance into the knockout stages. All knockout stage matches are played across two legs with the winner advancing to the next round.

The winner of the console final will be deemed the PlayStation or Xbox winner. The Grand Final, to decide the overall winner, is played cross-platform with one leg played on the PlayStation and one on Xbox. The winner of this takes home the FUT Champions Cup trophy, $50,000 and 2000 Global Series Points.

Placement Prize money Global Series Points 1st $50,000 2000 2nd $30,000 1400 3rd – 4th $15,000 800 5th – 8th $7,500 500 9th – 16th $3,500 300 17th – 32nd $1,000 150 33rd – 64th $500 100

Ones To Watch / Global Series Masters

Fans of competitive FIFA are in for a treat when they tune in for FUT Champions Cup. Making his way to Atlanta is one of the games’ most beloved players – Spencer “Gorilla” Ealing. Having failed to qualify for the first 2 FUT Champions Cups of FIFA 20, Gorilla set about changing his game style to match and complement the new slower-paced meta. And it looks like that hard work has paid off. He has qualified for not only this tournament but February’s FIFA eClub World Cup as well.

It’s a welcome turnaround and as Gorilla is a player who excels at LAN events (remember this is the winner of the FIFA eWC 2017 we’re talking about) so you can’t rule him out taking the trophy home.

Joining him is his new NEO teammate Tom “Stokes” Stokes. Stokes had a great year in FIFA 19, winning the PlayStation Global Series Playoffs. While he hasn’t quite hit those heights in FIFA 20 this season, he looks to be building up steam. Watching these two compete side by side in the next couple of events is going to be a treat.

LET'S GOOOOOO! Me & @StokesFIFA have qualified for the club world cup, finishing 1st in our group! 2 qualifications within a week, so happy!! — Spencer (@Huge_Gorilla) December 22, 2019

Also in attendance will be Team Vitality’s Corentin “Maestro” Thuillier. The Frenchman has had a strong start to the season, having reached the knockout stages in both FUT Champions Cups – he’ll be hoping to go one better this time.

One player hoping for a change in fortune in Atlanta will be FUTWIZ’s Kylem “Lyricz” Edwards – he has twice been knocked out in the latter stages of the competition by fellow Englishmen Donovan “Tekkz” Hunt, and he must feel that if he didn’t have to come up against the best player in the world every tournament, he could, at the very least, be making it to the Grand Final.

Check here for a full list of participants.

Global Series Masters – Xbox

Niklas “Nraseck” Raseck (Unsigned) – FUT Champions Cup Stage 2 winner.

Donovan “Tekkz” Hunt (Fnatic)

“Gabrielpn” (R10 Team)

“Vini” (Netshoes E-Sports)

Global Series Masters – PS4

Diego “Crazy” Campagnani (Team Qlash) – Console winner

Paulo Neto (Atlanta United)

Harry “Harry” Hesketh (Hashtag United)

Damian “Damie” Augustyniak (AS Roma Esports)

FUT 20 Champions Cup Stage 3 – How To Watch / Schedule

All the action from the ELEAGUE Arena in Atlanta, Georgia will take place over three days from January 17th – 19th.

Friday, January 17 – Swiss Round live from 10.30 am local time

Saturday, November 23 – Round of 16 & Quarter-finals live from 11:00 am

Sunday, November 24 – Semi-final, Console Final and Grand Final live from 10:30 am

Watch live video from ELEAGUE TV on www.twitch.tv

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Feature image courtesy of Nomen Est Omen