Atlanta United’s Paulo Neto is the 2023 eMLS League Series 1 presented by Coca-Cola Zero Sugar champion after defeating Minnesota United FC’s Lamps in dominating fashion in the finals by a score of 9-1.
Paulo earned his position in the Final by emerging from the 12 club-single elimination bracket. This came after battling through the Online Qualifiers on Jan. 24-25 and then traveling to New York City for the In-Person Group Stage, which was the first in-person League Series event in almost three years.
Last year, Paulo finished top eight in the world while representing eMLS at the 2022 FIFAe World Cup. He was crowned the 2022 eMLS Cup champion as well.
The top 12 players shared the League Series 1 $25,000 prize pool:
- $10,000 for the winner
- $5,000 for 2nd place
- $2,000 for 3rd/4th
- $1,000 for 5th-8th
- $500 for 9th-12th
Players from 26 clubs will reset for the eMLS League Series 2 on Feb. 7-12, presented by Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, which in combination with LS1 Qualifiers will determine the first 11 seeds and participation for the coveted eMLS Cup on March 11-12 during SXSW and a piece of the largest prize pool in eMLS history ($100,000). The 12th seed will be determined via the Last Chance Qualifier on Saturday, March 11th in Austin, TX.
