West Ham United eSports player Jamie ‘Jamboo’ Rigden is up against one of the tournament favourites in Leyton Orient’s friendly FIFA 20 tournament, Ultimate QuaranTeam.
The Irons season ticket holder will take on Manchester City eSports’ Shaun ‘Shellzz’ Springette in the second round - the Round of 64 - in the charity competition.
Jamboo’s West Ham against Shellzz’s Man City will kick off at 7pm tonight (Wednesday) – and you’ll be able to watch live via whufc.com.
Shellzz joined the Citizens in December 2018 after reaching the semi-finals of his first ever event – the FIFA 17 FUT Champions Paris Regional – reaching the cross-console final of the FUT Champions Championship Finals months later.
Along with his Manchester City teammates, he recently represented City at the FIFA eClub World Cup 2020, falling at the group stages on goal difference. Shellzz defeated KV Kortrijk’s representative 4-1 in the opening round of Ultimate QuaranTeam.
Shellzz is a top-class opponent but you always have to back yourself, so hopefully I can play my best game and make it through
Jamboo
Nevertheless, West Ham’s representative Jamboo – normally an Xbox player, but switching to PlayStation4 for the tournament – put in a professional showing himself on Sunday to defeat Wimbledon’s Paul Kalambayi 2-0 in the opening round, and is in confident mood.
"I'm looking forward to tonight's game,” Jamboo explained. “Shellzz is a top-class opponent but you always have to back yourself, so hopefully I can play my best game and make it through."
Ultimate QuaranTeam is a FIFA tournament devised by Leyton Orient’s social media team, capturing the footballing imagination with representatives from 128 professional football clubs around the world.
The competition aims to raise, through JustGiving, vital funding for EFL clubs set to face financial struggles during this time of fixture postponement; the EFL's chosen charity mental health charity called MIND; and the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fundraiser by WHO.
It has also helped put a smile on many football fans’ faces during these unprecedented global circumstances, and Jamboo is happy to have played his part in that.
“It's great [to see eSports get such attention]!” he smiled. “We're happy to keep everyone entertained, raise money and, hopefully, even when fixtures come back, people will continue to follow the wider scene.
"Hopefully I can give the fans something to shout about in the coming days!"
You can get all the latest West Ham United eSports updates on Twitter and Instagram @WestHamEsports.
Don't forget to pick up your limited edition 19/20 West Ham United eSports Jersey - made for West Ham gamers everywhere - through our online store.