2020/21 ePL: Hashtag Tom battles through to Finals Day

Defending ePremier League champion Thomas "Hashtag Tom" Leese progressed to Finals Day thanks to an epic sudden-death penalty-shootout victory over Liverpool's Daniel 'Stingrayjnr' Ray in Wednesday's quarter-finals.

Tottenham Hotspur's Hashtag Tom went through in the most dramatic fashion, following a 2-2 draw over two legs, to set up a semi-final match against Sheffield United's Mitchell 'Mhaywxrd' Hayward on Friday. 

It capped off a remarkable day for the 2019/20 champion, who also beat Brighton & Hove Albion's Marc 'MarcMarleyyy' Marley in a repeat of last season's cross-console Grand Final, before narrowly avoiding an elimination match as he edged past Leeds United's Michael 'Michael-Fisher20' Fisher with a stoppage-time winner. 

Hashtag Tom says reaching Finals Day with his beloved Spurs makes it extra special. 

"It meant a lot," he said. "Doing it for Spurs, the club I've supported my entire life, is massive." 

Friday's PS4 semi-finals

1. Thomas 'HashtagTom_' Leese (TOT) v Mitchell 'Mhaywxrd' Hayward (SHU)
2. Marc 'MarcMarleyyy' Marley (BHA) v Shaun 'Shellzz' Springette (MCI)

Sheff Utd's Mhaywxrd, a first-time ePL semi-finalist, knocked out Southampton’s Ethan 'EthxnH' Higgins after winning both of his group-stage matches. 

MarcMarleyyy recovered from his 7-3 group-stage defeat to Hashtag Tom to reach the last four. 

He knocked out Newcastle United's Danny 'dannytaylor' Taylor and Leeds United's Michael 'Michael-Fisher20' Fisher before an epic quarter-final victory over Fulham's Damian 'Damie' Augustyniak.

A goal deep into stoppage time of extra-time, courtesy of the in-game character of Marcus Rashford, sealed a semi-final spot for the 2019/20 Xbox champion.

Manchester City's Shaun 'Shellzz' Springette, the No 4 seed on PS4, had a Man City player to thank for sending him through to the semi-finals.

Shellzz scored a winning penalty with Kevin De Bruyne to break the heart of Leicester City's Cosmin 'NFG Cosmin' Petrescu, who plays for the eSports team of Foxes left-back Christian Fuchs.

Cosmin beat the No 2 and No 3 seeds on his way to facing Shellzz, but came up short in Wednesday's last quarter-final.

The semi-finals and finals will be played on both consoles on Friday, followed by the Grand Final to determine the overall winner.

Friday's ePL 2020/21 Finals Day

See: Full results of Wednesday's PS4 matches

See: What happened in Tuedsay's Xbox matches

See: How to watch the ePL Finals

See: Profiles of the 2020/21 ePL finalists