EA Sports takes Premier League to China for mobile esports event

Jack Stewart, Senior Editor

Last Updated: 08/01/2026

EA Sports is hosting another version of the ePremier League in China, as esports competitors will represent English football clubs.

Unlike the British version, which is played on EA FC 26, the Chinese ePremier League is an FC Mobile tournament.

This is the second edition of the ePremier League China; the first was a FIFA Online 4 in 2021, which Chelsea won.

The finals of the 2026 Premier League-partnered tournament will take place in Shanghai from January 10th to the 11th.

Online qualifiers were held throughout December 2025 and the top 128 players were eventually whittled down to the final 20, one for each club.

Each of the 20 players will be paired with an influencer with a sporting or gaming background as part of the event.

Players will also use “customised line-ups based on official 2025/26 Premier League club squads” to compete across a series of matches

Then an eventual champion will be crowned and will receive around $1,500 (£1.1k) in prize money while the runner-up gets $1k (£744).

The 20 finalists and Premier League representatives are:

• Arsenal – Zhao vv
• Aston Villa – Chris
• AFC Bournemouth – Hu Yifan
• Brentford – Wu Tong
• Brighton & Hove Albion – Du Youyou
• Burnley – Ai Wan pili
• Chelsea – A Fei
• Crystal Palace – Zhang Yuqi
• Everton – Si Machen
• Fulham – Ma Deli
• Leeds United – Zhang HaoZe
• Liverpool – A Diao
• Manchester City – Sun Yifeng
• Manchester United – Han Qingshu
• Newcastle United – Yuan Jia
• Nottingham Forest – Liu Chang
• Sunderland – He Sheng
• Tottenham Hotspur – Mo Cha
• West Ham United – Wei XinYi
• Wolverhampton Wanderers – Pai Daxing

The event will help the Premier League gain more exposure in China.

Gaining access to Asian audiences is why football clubs like PSG have been investing in esports.

UK ePremier League returns for EA FC 26

EA Sports and the Premier League have also teamed up for another season of the ePremier League on EA FC 26.

This will be the eighth iteration of the UK-based event and crucial for British FC 26 esports pros.

The 2026 ePremier League will feature a £100k prize pool and will guarantee the winner a slot in the FC Pro World Championship later in the year.

The tournament is wide open now that last year’s winner Donovan ‘Tekkz’ Hunt has left Manchester City for RBZL Gaming of Red Bull Leipzig.

Following online qualifiers back in November and December, players on top of Club Leaderboards will compete at the Club Playoffs starting January 12th.

The winners of the Club Playoffs will then advance to the Group Stage where they will represent their chosen Premier League club.

The champions of the ePremier League 2025/2026 on EA FC 26 will then be crowned on March 30th.

Jack Stewart, Senior Editor

In my seven years of esports writing, I've introduced esports coverage to newspapers, interviewed some of the biggest names in the industry, and driven viewers mad with the puns in my YouTube scripts. I'm most proud of the latter.

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