Shelbourne have added the Virgin Media eLeague of Ireland to their League of Ireland Premier Division trophy as JP Sleator won the finals at the Aviva Stadium over the weekend.
Eight teams were present at the finals as Bohemians, Cork City, Derry City, Drogheda United, Shamrock Rovers, Shelbourne, Sligo Rovers and Waterford all had players fighting it out to win the title and a chance to be in the pool of players to play for the Republic of Ireland national eSports team.
Sleator got off to a fast start as he was able to brush aside Sligo Rovers' Jake Smullen 12-2 in their quarterfinal clash. The Shels man then went on to face J Delaney of Derry City in the semifinals.
JP Sleator got the edge of Delaney in the first half as it was 2-1 at the break but it looked like it was all over as Sleator extended his lead to 4-1 with not long left. However J Delaney performed a miraculous comeback and score 3 goals in the last 10 minutes of the game to bring it to extra-time.
5 April 2025; JP Sleator of Shelbourne in action against J Delaney of Derry City in the semi final during ELOI Finals in the FAI Suite at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
It was a back and forth extra-time as both keepers were on form but Thierry Henry was able to get on the end of a counter attack in the 116th minute to give Sleator the 5-4 win and a spot in the final where he faced Ciaran Wlash of Cork City.
The final was another topsy turvy affair for Sleator as it was 3-3 at halftime as neither player could really get an edge. However Sleator was able to score two goals in the second half through Henry again and Omar Marmoush as those goals were enough for him to win the final 5-3.
5 April 2025; League of Ireland director Mark Scanlon presents the trophy to JP Sleator of Shelbourne after the ELOI Finals at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
You can catch the Virgin Media eLeague of Ireland Finals live stream on YouTube.
