Championship Weekend: PC Division Preview

    After seven weeks of virtual competition, the semifinals and finals of the 2020 Lower League eCup are set! Championship weekend features the semifinals and finals of all three divisions (Playstation, Xbox, and PC), beginning on Friday, May 22nd and concluding with the PS4 and PC Championship matches on Wednesday, May 27th. All matches will be streamed on Twitch at twitch.tv/lowerleagueEcup.

    Below is our preview for the PC Division. For the Xbox preview, click here, and for the Playstation preview, click here.

PC Semifinal #1: Metro Louisville (NPSL) vs. Cincinnati Dutch Lions (USL2)

• Friday, May 22nd, 7:30pm Eastern

• Metro Louisville (7-0) vs. Cincinnati Dutch Lions (4-3)

• Previous Matchup: Metro Louisville 6, Cincinnati Dutch Lions 4

    Metro Louisville supporter Wyatt Weeks has been dominant on the sticks for the NPSL expansion side, and comes into championship weekend undefeated with a 7-0-0 record. After trailing 2-0 late in his first match, Weeks has erupted for 40 goals in seven matches, and enters this weekend as the heavy favorite to take home the PC Division.

    On the other side of the virtual pitch, Cincinnati Dutch Lions supporter Ryan Sparks snuck into the knockout stage on goal differential and now finds himself taking on the tournament favorite in the semifinals. Despite his record, Sparks has proven that he can hang with the best of them, with two of his three losses coming via one goal losses.

PC Semifinal #2: Oakland County FC (NPSL) vs. Union Dubuque FC (Midwest PL)

• Friday, May 22nd, 8:30pm Eastern

• Oakland County FC (5-2) vs. Union Dubuque FC (4-1-2)

• Previous Matchup: Union Dubuque FC 3, Oakland County FC 2

    If anybody can knock off Metro Louisville, it’s Oakland County FC co-owner Theo Foutris. In the opening match of the tournament, Foutris led Louisville 2-0 in the second half, but conceded 3 times in the closing 20 minutes, eventually falling 3-2 on a late winner. Foutris rebounded with five consecutive victories, only to fall 3-2 in his final group stage match to Dubuque. Surely Foutris will be looking for revenge, and the co-owner should be considered a slight favorite entering Friday’s semifinal matchup.

    Union Dubuque club president Cliff Conrad has come out of nowhere to clinch his spot in the semifinals. Plagued by early losses and technical difficulties, Conrad looked like a longshot to qualify for the knockout stage, but won his final three group stage matches and got some help from friendly results elsewhere to qualify for the semifinals. If anything is playing into Conrad’s favor, the long layoff between matches is something that could play into Conrad’s advantage, as he had 3 matches postponed due to technical difficulties during the group stage.

PC Division National Championship : Tuesday, May 27th, 8:00pm Eastern

PC Division - Staff Consensus Predictions

Semifinal #1: Metro Louisville def Cincinnati Dutch Lions

Semifinal #2: Oakland County def Union Dubuque FC

Final: Metro Louisville def Oakland County FC

Please Note: The Final has been moved to Tuesday, May 26th at 8:00pm Eastern.