FUT Champions, formerly known as Weekend League, is where you’ll see the sweatiest, most horrible football matches this side of theePremier League. It’s the hardest 20 matches you’ll play each week, and a massive undertaking that, for most people, will take the entire weekend.
I have a love/hate relationship withFUT Champions. If I get a rare free weekend, I’ll suffer through the sweat. Opponents willabuse kick off glitches, time waste with dull passes between their defenders, and griddy after every goal to goad you into quitting. And yet we persevere. Why? For the rewards.
FUT Champions is the easiest way to get good packs inEA Sports FC 24Ultimate Team without paying money. On top of that, if you win enough matches you get your pick of a Team of the Week player, someone who has performed exceptionally for their IRL club that week. Instead of the usual black TOTW card, you get a regal red one. No different stat-wise, this is purely a status symbol, something to flex in Rivals as your team is revealed. Or at least, it was, until EA took them away.
Some people play FUT Champions every weekend. I do not have the mental fortitude for that, let alone the time. But I’d play every now and then in FIFAs past. In EA Sports FC 24, however, I have less than no motivation to commit my time to its most hardcore game mode, because EA has taken the best rewards away.
“This all works in EA’s favour, as it encourages you to head to the store and buy more packs with real cash.”
Packs are all well and good, but I want to roll the dice on the ultimate gambling machine. Jude Bellingham and Virgil Van Dijk have received Team of the Week cards already this year, while both of their gold cards languish in my team. I can’t afford the hundreds of thousands of coins necessary to grab their buffed versions, but I’d risk a weekend’s action to try to pull their red cards. As it stands, however, there’s not much point in joining the sweatfest.
There’s an additional problem with the Weekend League rewards since the switch to EA FC 24. Packs just aren’t as reliable sources of good players any more, thanks to the addition of women to Ultimate Team. While they’re still incredibly underrated on the pitch, the pack weight has suffered for having nearly twice as many possible cards in the pool. What were once great rewards like Jumbo Rare Player Packs are now an unreliable source of fodder, and it’s even harder to pull those chase cards.
This all works in EA’s favour, as it encourages you to head to the store and buy more packs with real cash, but it cheapens FUT Champions rewards. Red picks would be the perfect antidote to this supply issue, giving good players the best chances to reap their just rewards.
Red picks werethestatus symbol in Ultimate Team. The more of your 20 matches you win, the more picks you get. The more chances at hitting Bellingham or Van Dijk. The more terrified your opponent feels as they see your teamsheet and know that you went undefeated last week. I don’t understand why EA would remove them, especially when the other rewards have lost a significant amount of value compared to previous games.
I could see this being the first year that I don’t attempt FUT Champions at all. In the past I’ve dabbled whengood Liverpool playershave been available, or during big promos like Team of the Season. I’ve never got a decent player from my picks, but that didn’t stop me from trying time and time again in case one week I hit the jackpot. Without the chance to grab a star player for my team, there’s no point playing Champs. No red picks, no party.
Next:Diogo Jota Explains How IRL Football Knowledge Improves His FIFA Gameplay
