FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – New England Revolution eMLS player John “JKO” Oliveira kept his unbeaten run alive in Week 4 of the USL eCup, earning three consecutive victories to claim a second Division B title for Revolution II and earn promotion back to Division A for Week 5 of the USL eCup: FIFA 20 Edition. Playing as Russia, Oliveira knocked off Argentina in dominant fashion on Friday night to secure the division championship.
New England will open play on Tuesday night as the nine-seed matched up against USL Championship side Hartford Athletic, playing as Scotland, at 8:00 p.m. ET. All upcoming live matches and archived videos can be found on the Revolution Twitch Channel. This week, the Revs II side will be captained by goalkeeper Joe Rice, who last took the sticks for the qualifying round back in Week 1, and first-year midfielder and Lowell, Mass. product Mayele Malango, who made his eCup debut in Week 3.
After earning a first-round bye, JKO opened the week with a quarterfinal victory over Charlotte Independence and Germany in a match marred by technical difficulties. Despite conceding early, Oliveira knotted the match at the start of the second half before the connection cut out. Upon restarting the match tied at 1-1, Oliveira rattled off three goals in 45 minutes while pitching a shutout defensively before a second connection drop and subsequent calling of the game for a 4-1 victory.
On Thursday, an upset on the other side of the bracket pitted Oliveira and Russia against Charleston Battery and Greece. It was a hard-fought, competitive matchup until JKO finally broke the deadlock in the 51st minute through Aleksandr Golovin. Another late goal saw a 2-0 victory for JKO and Revolution II to place a spot in the Division B Final.
Friday’s title tilt set up a rematch of a Week 2 semifinal thriller against the El Paso Locomotive and Argentina. The match finished with the same score line, a 2-1 Revolution II victory, though there was no need for extra time this week. Oliveira opened up a two-goal lead late in the second half before El Paso eSports directory Edwin Moreno got one back late. But the dramatic push wasn’t enough for Argentina as Oliveira and the Russian defense held its nerve throughout the night to win another title.
All clubs competing in the USL eCup: FIFA 20 Edition are competing on behalf of a charitable cause during their matches, which will be streamed live on Twitch. The Revolution II team will play to benefit the Revolution Charitable Foundation and the Kraft family’s Together while Apart initiatives supporting COVID-19 relief efforts. A link to donate to Together while Apart will be available for fans to lend their support throughout the live streams, with 100 percent of all donations going directly to the purchase of personal protective equipment and medicinal supplies for the brave doctors, nurses, healthcare workers, first responders, and other essential workers who are fighting COVID-19 on the front lines.
Complete tournament rules, details, and rosters may be found here. Follow Revolution II on social media on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for the latest news and updates.
Oliveira, 26, is in his third season as the Revolution’s eMLS competitor, having initially signed as the club’s first-ever esports pro ahead of the inaugural 2018 eMLS campaign. The Oak Bluffs, Mass. product and University of Massachusetts Boston student re-signed with the club in December 2019, and brings more than 15 years of competitive FIFA experience. In April, Oliveira also competed alongside Revs midfielder Diego Fagundez in eMLS Tournament Special on FS1 and FOX Deportes.
