The eMLS All-Star Challenge presented by Wells Fargo provided no shortage of thrills, all the way down to a penalty shootout final. After a back-and-forth 1-1 draw, FC Dallas eMLS Player AlanAvi and US Amateur Adrian Mendieta triumphed over Philadelphia eMLS player Doolsta and EA FIFA personality MattHD to take home the title.
The 8-team, 2-v-2 tournament tournament saw celebrity guests, Cinderella amateurs and some of the best eMLS players around competing for a good cause at MLS Digital HQ in Atlanta.
Jason Bonilla, who goes by gamertag whyalwaysme71110, and Mendieta ("Adrian141510") earned spots by winning the eMLS All-Star Challenge Open Qualifiers, along with $500 and a pair of tickets to tonight’s MLS All-Star Game presented by Target (7:30 pm ET | ESPN, UniMás, TSN, TVAS).
They joined a 16-player field that includes eight eMLS players, an MLS player, a European challenger and celebrity guests Landon Donovan, Waka Flocka, Julian Gressel and Juventus amateur Hiram David in the eMLS All-Star Challenge tournament.
The 16 players were be paired to form eight teams (more details to follow) and Wells Fargo will make a $5,000 donation to the charity of the winning team.
- New York Red Bulls - US Soccer Foundation
- Houston Dynamo - St. Judes
- LA Galaxy - LA Galaxy Foundation
- Columbus Crew SC - Columbus Crew SC Foundation
- Colorado Rapids - Special Olympics Colorado
- Philadelphia Union - Philadelphia Union Foundation
- New York City FC - City in the Community
Here’s the full list of competitors:
- US Amateur (July 29 Open Qualifier winner): "whyalwaysme71110" – Jason Bonilla
- US Amateur (July 31 Open Qualifier winner): "Adrian141510" – Adrian Mendieta
- Landon Donovan
- Waka Flocka
- EA FIFA Personality: MattHD
- EA FIFA Personality: Spin Bro Drew
- EA FIFA Personality: Spin Bro Mike
- eMLS player: “Buck” – Connor Buckley (Colorado Rapids)
- eMLS player: “AlanAvi” – Alan Avila (FC Dallas)
- eMLS player: “Kid M3mito” – Guillermo Trevino (Houston Dynamo)
- eMLS player: “GGGodfather” – Giuseppe Guastella (LA Galaxy)
- eMLS player: “Mike LaBelle” – Michael LaBelle (NY Red Bulls)
- eMLS player: “didychrislito” – Christopher Holly (NYCFC)
- eMLS player: “Doolsta” – Cormac Dooley (Philadelphia Union)
- eMLS player: “Stojkovic” – Nenad Stojkovic (Columbus Crew SC)
- Atlanta United MLS Player: Julian Gressel
- Juventus Amateur: Hiram David