Mohammed ‘MoAuba’ Harkous has had a difficult season. Almost two years without an offline tournament gave the German FIFA professional a hard time – both mentally and from a sporting point of view.
“I just don’t win tournaments online.” With these words, the once best FIFA player in the world – and still reigning world champion due to two failed FIFAe World Cups – explains his weakness of form last season.
During FIFA 21, ‘MoAuba’ didn’t get that far in any competition – national or international. His best result: ninth to twelfth place in the European PlayStation Playoffs .
The result is not bad, but also not enough for the German star player. It is definitely in contrast to his semi-final placement at the Eligella XMAS Cup sponsored by CosmosDirekt on December 14th. There ‘MoAuba’ was defeated by the Englishman Donovan ‘Tekkz’ Hunt, but he was able to prove his previous statement: Harkous seems to perform better in offline tournaments.
The strength of a veteran
This is no coincidence, according to the FIFA professional: “There are a lot of young players who are extremely good, but I am mentally superior. This advantage does not apply online.” That is the difference between experienced top professionals like himself and up-and-coming talents.
Harkous has sat on numerous stages, cameras pointed at him and fans in his ears. Tension and stage fright can therefore hardly harm him – also a side effect of his “chilled” nature.
This is in contrast to newcomers like Mustafa ‘xMusti19’ Cankal, who openly admitted at the Eligella XMAS Cup that he was very nervous about the offline environment.
“I live from it”
Not only does Harkou’s self-confidence benefit from sporting success at tournaments, but also his bank account. Because if your own strengths come into play offline, but all offline tournaments are canceled, correspondingly little prize money comes in.
In addition, there are no arguments for future contract negotiations. So it’s no wonder that ‘MoAuba’ says about offline tournaments: “I make a living from it.” After all: According to his own statement, Harkous knows about the inconstancy of the scene and therefore pays attention to how he deals with his money.
A season without offline tournaments posed another problem for ‘MoAuba’: “It wasn’t easy to stay motivated.” Playing alone in your own room is something different than in a hall with 50 friends and like-minded people.
Many eSportspeople, like Harkous, live the exciting and emotional moments and highlights of their own careers for these events. Without them, without offline events, something is missing. That’s why ‘MoAuba’ is also hoping for more events like the Eligella XMAS Cup or from EA itself.