Hamilton Academical grab inaugural eScottish Football Cup glory

By Jonny Bray

Jayden Groden and Marc Marley brought pride to Hamilton Academical and walked away with £20,000 after beating Caledonia Braves to win the first eScottish Football Cup at Hampden Park.

Two Cristiano Ronaldo goals gave Hamilton a 2-1 lead after the first leg, and they held their nerve under immense pressure to defeat Braves 5-2 on aggregate.

75 clubs from across the country took part in the tournament, backed by professional teams from the SPFL, Highland and Lowland leagues and sponsored by Proximo 3 and Spaces Taylored.

After storming to victory in style, Groden from Glasgow emphasised how much the tournament meant to Fifa players across Scotland.

He said: "It was definitely a massive success, and hopefully there will be more to come over the next couple of years.

"The closer connections between professional teams and eSports is definitely something that I have been waiting for for a while.

"The Scottish boys have been really excited, we have always heard about it, but it has never actually been done.

"For it to happen this year and for us to be champions is just amazing.

"We are so excited for what is to come."

The eScottish Cup generated new revenue streams for professional football clubs in Scotland, with a prize pool of £50,000 up for grabs.

Two players with a minimum age of 16 represented each team, with one player locking horns across FIFA 23 FUT and the other player competing on FIFA 23 kick-off mode.

And David Hamilton, Managing Director of eRena Sports, was delighted to see such a competitive tournament.

He said: "It has been absolutely fantastic to see – the good thing is there was a really good mix between professional players and supporters.

"This is why we started eRena Sports, to help the clubs get involved in esports and it has been absolutely fantastic to see clubs starting their own Twitter accounts, hosting mini tournaments and keeping this momentum going.

"Some teams bought special tops with their own sponsors, and this is what we are saying to the clubs, it is a potential new revenue stream - eSports is only going to get bigger and bigger."

Featured games were streamed live on Twitch, with hundreds watching on as teams battled for a place in the final.

In the featured group games, Kilmarnock beat Greenock Morton 4-0 before Raith Rovers put six past Brechin City.

Braves recorded a 5-1 win over Fraserburgh, there was a thrilling 3-2 victory for University of Stirling against Clyde and there were goals galore as Rangers beat Arbroath 6-2.

Dundee United edged the Dundee derby, Albion Rovers drew with Dunfermline Athletic, and Hibernian saw off Airdrieonians 4-0.

The group stages ended with Hearts recording a convincing 7-1 triumph over Partick Thistle before Aberdeen won 6-2 against Brechin City.

That set up eight fascinating round of 16 fixtures.

Hibs beat Aberdeen 8-6 on aggregate live on Twitch, with Kilmarnock, Hearts, Rangers, Caledonian Braves, Dundee United, Raith Rovers and Hamilton joining them in the quarter-finals.

Braves registered an emphatic 7-0 aggregate victory against Rangers in the featured quarter-final to progress to the semis, where they faced Hearts, while Dundee Utd took on Hamilton.

In one of the closest matches of the tournament, United clutched a 2-1 lead heading into the second leg of their semi-final, but Hamilton took the tie with a 3-1 win after extra time.

Meanwhile, Braves came out on top against Hearts to earn a shot at the grand prize.

Hamilton took the advantage in the first leg, winning the FIFA 23 FUT mode match 2-1.

And the Accies held their nerve on kick off mode to secure an impressive 5-2 triumph on aggregate and become the first ever winners of the eScottish Football Cup

The eScottish Football Cup Finals took place at Hampden Park supported by Proximo 3 www.proximo3.com and Spaces Taylored www.spacestaylored.com – congratulations to winners Hamilton Academicals