eMLS Cup 2021 preview: The Favorite, One to Watch & Dark Horse eMLS The 2021 field for eMLS Cup is stacked with exciting talents and former champions, but who will come out on top? We\u2019ve picked three players you simply can\u2019t ignore when it kicks off on March 20. A dozen of North America\u2019s best FIFA 21 players will square off in the hopes of claiming the final bit of glory of the eMLS season as eMLS Cup 2021 is up for grabs. The final spot on the season calendar offers up a $40,000, an impressive gold trophy, and immortality in the eMLS history books. The bracket is littered with past champions and hungry upstarts, each as talented as the other. But, who is the favorite destined to win it all? Who is the one you need to keep an eye on? And who could slip under the radar but still knock off the big dogs? Well, we\u2019ve picked three players you need to be watching this weekend. Our Favorite: Didychrislito Despite finishing fourth in the eMLS regular season, Chris \u2018Didychrislito\u2019 Holly is arguably in the best form of his life. The New York City FC representative has bagged wins in both eMLS League Series One and Series Two finals, dispatching everyone in his path with relative ease. In the Series Two finals, he only conceded four goals prior to the grand finals while scoring 15 of his own. The grand final wasn\u2019t as easy, as DC United\u2019s KingCJO proved to be a tough nut to crack, but Chris ultimately came out on top with a 5-4 victory. Read More: How to enter eMLS Cup giveaway – Winning eMLS Cup 2021 would be the crowning achievement of the year for the NYC FC man, and with his attacking prowess, it\u2019s hard to see past him completing his own personal treble in dominant fashion. He\u2019s certainly our favorite to take the crown from defending champion George Adamou, who represents New York Red Bulls. Hear more about his story below. “”In League Series 1, I came expecting to win. I always want to win the #eMLS Cups”” ~ @didychrislito (@nycfc)@pringles pic.twitter.com\/e9vU7U6ZZA \u2014 \ud83c\udfae Major League Soccer | #eMLS (@eMLS) March 3, 2021 One to watch: xbLeU Austin FC\u2019s John \u2018xbLeU\u2019 Garcia finished atop the eMLS regular-season standings, though it\u2019s tournament play that has been his downfall. The 25-year-old finished the regular season with a whopping positive 45 goal difference, but he\u2019s failed to make it happen when it matters most. Each time he\u2019s stepped into bracket play, he\u2019s failed to go further than the semi-finals, losing in heavy defeats to Didychrislito each time. He is, though, a force to be reckoned with. As Series Two showed, Austin FC\u2019s pro can cut through defenses with stunning through balls, but he can just as easily shop on the other end, too. John will have a chance if he can break his semi-finals hoodoo. Hear more about his story below. \u201cI think it\u2019s really exciting to be a part of @austinfc\u2019s debut year. It\u2019s also mines, so I\u2019m hoping they both go very well.\u201d ~@xbleu7 @Pringles pic.twitter.com\/BJBY1QuV2J \u2014 \ud83c\udfae Major League Soccer | #eMLS (@eMLS) January 16, 2021 The Dark Horse: Doolsta Longtime eMLS fans know Cormac \u2018Doolsta\u2019 Dooley\u2019s talent \u2013 he won eMLS Cup 2019 after all \u2013 but he\u2019s a dark horse this year. Why? Well, he\u2019s got to overcome two of the best in the game before even getting to the semi-finals. If the Irish star, who is representing Nashville SC this time around, can get past Chicago Fire\u2019s Kid M3Mito in the relegation round, he\u2019d move on to play reigning champion G_Adamou. It\u2019s a gauntlet, to say the very least. Though, if he does overcome it, he\u2019ll be riding a wave of momentum that could propel him to glory. Should a final be reached, Dooley will be able to use that winning experience of two years ago to help, but it\u2019s a tough road to walk before he even gets close. That\u2019s why we\u2019ve named him the dark horse. Hear more about his story below. “”I won #eMLS League Series 1, 2, and the Cup. I was traveling all around the world playing #FIFA events. It was pretty much a no brainer. I had to stick with it, but it was tough to give up on that dream [of playing soccer]”” ~ @doolsta (@nashvillesc)@pringles pic.twitter.com\/xUUu0uLMJ2 \u2014 \ud83c\udfae Major League Soccer | #eMLS (@eMLS) February 24, 2021 All three players will be in action during eMLS Cup\u2019s later stages, given they\u2019ve already qualified thanks to their regular season performances. They didn\u2019t have to compete in the Last Chance Qualifier. Their games will begin on Saturday, March 20, and you can follow along with all the action through our dedicated hub, here and across social media \u2013 @UltimateTeamUK, @FutWatch, @eMLS.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
eMLS Cup 2021 preview: The Favorite, One to Watch & Dark Horse eMLS The 2021 field for eMLS Cup is stacked with exciting talents and former champions, but who will come out on top? We\u2019ve picked three players you simply can\u2019t ignore when it kicks off on March 20. A dozen of North America\u2019s best […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-67618","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67618","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67618"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67618\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67618"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67618"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67618"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}