Paulo Neto, 21, has already cemented his name in eMLS history, but Atlanta United’s esports player says he’s not done yet.
In an exclusive interview with Scarves and Spikes, Neto said his goal is to win all three eMLS titles in the same year. He came painfully close to doing so in 2023, but lost the eMLS Cup final to St. Louis CITY SC’s Niklas “NR7” Raseck. Although he got his revenge in a 3-2 victory during the 2024 eMLS League Series One qualifiers, Neto says it isn’t enough.
“I won, but I don’t think that was a proper rematch,” Neto said. “I want to play him [Raseck] on a final again.”
Neto’s journey to win the eMLS treble is off to a strong start after hoisting the League Series One trophy in mid February. On the path to his first title of 2024, Neto had several close games, but probably the most intense was his 3-2 semifinal win against New York City FC’s Olle “Ollelito” Arbin. The match went to extra time after Arbin scored a last-minute equalizer, but Neto ultimately snatched the winning goal before penalties to secure his place in the final.
“That game was really tough, but there was not a moment that I thought I was going to lose,” Neto said. “Obviously, I didn’t want to go to penalties because I also think that I’m bad on penalties and also it’s like 50-50. But, yeah, it was a really tough game. I think that he [Arbin] was defending very well, but he scored in the very last minute to get to extra time on the 90th minute, so that was a bit like a shock for me. I almost won the game then I conceded that goal, but fortunately I scored the same way in the 120 [minute] to not bring to penalties and won the game.”
The work doesn’t stop after winning the title, though. Neto made it clear that he’s always focused on winning the next one, and part of that is his preparation. Although a large part of it is playing games of EAFC 24 against other top players, he also says it includes studying his games with his coach to see what he is doing wrong and where he can improve. To prepare for League Series Two this weekend, part of that analysis includes looking at his League Series One games and identifying what he can fix.
“I think that sometimes I was just going forward too fast,” Neto said. “Sometimes I was just trying to score without much patience. Parts of the game I would be just kind of rushing and I could control more that and stay more calm during the match.”
While he admits having to work on staying calm in terms of controlling games, his mental calmness is never in question. Viewers will notice that he rarely reacts to events in his matches. Whether he’s scoring or conceding, Neto always seems to keep his cool.
“I think it was something I acquired with the time,” Neto said. “Like playing more tournaments I could be more calm to them, so I got used to these hard moments on the tournaments. But yeah, there are moments that I still am nervous, but most of them I’m just calm and I don’t express too many reactions and I think that helps me a lot.”
The final thing that Neto does before big tournaments – which he claims is definitely not superstitious – is going out to eat something that he likes the day before. He enjoys Japanese cuisine and said that sushi is his favorite food.
With his most recent title, Neto has made history as the first eMLS player to win four titles. Now, he sets his sights higher. Much higher.
“I want to also win eMLS Cup twice to be the first player to win eMLS Cup twice,” Neto said. “This is one of my goals. And, yeah, qualify for the World Cup and maybe turn Atlanta into a World Champion.”
Neto will get his next shot at lifting eMLS Cup once again on the weekend of March 8-10. Qualifying rounds will be remote, but the final knockout rounds will once again be held at South by Southwest in Austin. Fans can watch his qualifying rounds (March 8 and 9) live on Atlanta United’s Twitch and YouTube channels and the final bracket (March 10) on MLS’ official Twitch channel.
After eMLS Cup wraps up the eMLS season until next year, there’s still plenty for Neto to do. The FC Pro World Championship, the top prize for professional EAFC players around the globe, is held in June. To qualify for this prestigious tournament, Neto has to reach the eMLS Cup final.
Neto also represents the Brazil eNational Team, which has South American qualifiers later this year. Representing his country has taken him to many places around the world, including Riyadh, Saudi Arabia where he and his teammates were crowned 2023 FIFA eNations Cup Champions. He said that other places he would like to visit someday include Los Angeles and Spain (he’s a Real Madrid fan).
In eMLS tournaments, competitors draft their own squads featuring players from MLS and beyond. Even players that retired long ago. They are required to have one MLS Icon or Hero card, field four active MLS players and build their teams using a budget of 12 million coins. Here is the team Neto will be using in eMLS League Series Two:
Neto said that he practices with a variety of different players in the game and picks the ones that he feels more comfortable playing with, but stresses that skill is the most important thing.
“Most of the teams are kind of similar, so I don’t think that the team will impact that much on the tournament,” Neto said. “I think that the difference shows in the one who is controlling the players, not the players.”
But don’t be fooled by Messi’s presence in the team. When asked which side he takes on the age-old Messi vs Ronaldo debate, Neto said with a grin, “Ronaldo, always.”
Neto re-signed as Atlanta United’s eMLS player earlier in 2024. When asked about how long he wanted to stay with the club, he said he’d stay as long as they want him there.
“I like the club, the way they treat me, the structure they provide for me,” Neto said. “And yeah, I just hope that we can continue getting titles.”
As he prepares to compete for more silverware in the coming weeks, Neto expressed his gratitude to Atlanta United fans and everyone else who cheers for him whether near or far.
“I just want to thank you everyone for the support through all the years,” Neto said. “And yeah, I just want to keep you proud and hopefully we can get more trophies and celebrate together.”
You can also catch Paulo live on the Scarves and Spikes podcast Wednesday, February 28, 2024 at 7 P.M. Eastern to hear from him, and watch as he wrecks the guys (or at least Tyler) in EAFC for everyone to see!
Really love watching his games when I can. It’s something different, and a lot of it is mental. If our players had his mentality over the last few years, we would have finished higher each season. He’s known for not reacting to going down, and not reacting to having a lead. He will hammer an opponent 11-0 and keep a perfectly level head; he barely loosens up even when winning multiple trophies in a row.
Obviously FIFA != playing soccer, but it does mirror the mental side of the game, and tactical thinking on a team level. I’d encourage ya’ll to watch the next event if you get a chance and have any interest.
It’s amazing to me how he’s able to stay so calm in those big moments. It’s like he’s just so locked in to the game that he doesn’t express emotion. It’s why I just HAD to ask him about it. His answer makes a lot of sense, but even when he was pretty new to the eMLS stage he didn’t have trouble staying calm. Fascinating guy and a joy to talk to.