The German FIFA-eSport-masters, Michael “megabits” Bittner, and Mohammed “MoAuba” Harkous are nominated for the FIFA eNations Cup in London. In a DW Interview, the two talk about their goals and challenges.
DW: After winning the League title with Werder Bremen in March, you didn’t breathe much of the time. How are you preparing for the FIFA eNations Cup in London? Have you trained together?
Mohammed “MoAuba” Harkous: We have currently no proper training plan, because we play so many tournaments – currently, one every week. That is, it is always in preparation for the next tournament. Of course, we had this week an extra training camp with our Coach and some of the other national players as they prepare for the FIFA eNations Cup. We have in this time almost exclusively Two-against-Two trained, because we have played before.
Michael “megabits” Bittner: pre-eNations Cup, it is of course sensible to train together. Also, because there is not the Two-against-Two mode so often in the FIFA-scene. One-on-one, we train less, because we play on different consoles. Since we train against other international professionals. The last tournaments were also all One-on-One competitions, so we are prepared here is actually perfect. And the start of the training camp then was, in the past week, the Foot Champions Cup in London, where we retrieved a good performance. Two-against-Two, we have trained now, and we go with a good feeling into the weekend in London.
As you can imagine, the support by the DFB? You are on the go, similar to the footballers, at times, where you are as a national player in use, with the DFB Team, or the separation between club and national team in eSport is not so strict?
Megabits: In the eSport, the Teams are simply much smaller. We have now at Werder, for example, a main responsible for the eSport Team. At the DFB, there are currently a total of four people. You can’t compare that with the national team in football. We have, for example, still does not have its own club or national coaches. The developed currently and is still in its infancy. I think in a few years, the Teams will be then certainly larger and thus also Parallel to the structure in football.
Is the eSports country play the national anthem is sung?
MoAuba: we don’t know yet. But I do think that this will happen. Probably, but, rather, on the second day, when the group stage is over and there are less Teams. Then that would make a lot of sense.
Mohammed “MoAuba” Harkous the FIFA eWorld Cup Grand Final in 2018 in London
Megabits: Because on the Saturday group run games in parallel, I can’t imagine that hymns are played. Before the tournament, the Teams will be presented. It would take too long to play every single hymn. I can also imagine that it will be made on Sunday in the decisive stage of the tournament.
In addition to its own sporting goals, which you have followed and already realized: do you Feel as the pioneers of the FIFA eSports on a Mission for more attention and acceptance for your Sport?
MoAuba: We will, of course, often asked about our role in eSports, but mainly our thing. I do think that the acceptance is increasing steadily, but it is not our goal to aim to.
Megabits: In the ideal case, it is a mixture of both. During the tournaments, we are focused exclusively on us and on our best performance. At the same time we hold, but also, of course, if we represented Germany, a role model and pioneer for the eSport. We are of course aware of this.
How do you evaluate your chances in London? There are even title ambitions, or are you completely without expectation and goal in the tournament?
MoAuba: Our expectation of ourselves is that we can retrieve our top level. That you can lose despite great performance with bad luck, we are aware of. But it is also clear that If we bring our performance in the Two-against-Two, it can go far. A little bit of luck but also.
MegaBit: The title we already have. But we need to get from round to round our top level, as in football also. Especially with so many top players, who are represented in London, you can with a performance that is only 99 percent, as well in the first round fly out. Therefore, we focus only on the single round, never the whole tournament.
Mohammed “MoAuba” Harkous (22 years old) will represent the German football Association in London on the Playstation, Michael “megabits” Bittner (20) on the Xbox. The two who made a deal with Werder Bremen at the beginning of March the first German club-championship perfectly, with mixing, even longer on the FIFA world. The FIFA eNations Cup in London, the virtual Team world Cup in the soccer simulation FIFA 19, comes on the weekend for the first time ever a German enational team at the Start.
The Interview was conducted by David Vorholt.