‘SP9_Ebru’ is a rising star in the FIFA sky. The content creator from SV Wehen Wiesbaden has transferred her understanding of the game from real turf to eSport – and is now passing it on to more and more followers.
The accolade came last Monday. A video appeared on EA’s official German-language FIFA channel on Instagram, with over 497,000 followers. Ebru ‘SP9_Ebru’ Önal explains in her very own, eloquent and positive way the best ‘Rule Breaker’ cards in a tutorial.
The fact that she is given this platform shows: ‘SP9_Ebru’ is a rising star in the FIFA sky. It took a long time for more and more women to assert themselves in the male-dominated FIFA scene. ‘SP9_Ebru’ is one of them.
“Contact me!”
“I think up to a certain point women have a much harder time in eSports than men because they have to fight for acceptance,” says her sponsor Sascha ‘M_ocki’ Mockenhaupt, “but once they reach a certain level of awareness they have it easier because it is still very few women out there “.
‘M_ocki’ is himself a big name in the FIFA scene, the third division player from SV Wehen Wiesbaden and department head of the club’s eSport department, not only promotes FIFA eSport itself, but also women in particular. “I want to be the point of contact for everyone who wants to become an eSporter. Contact me!”, Says ‘M_ocki’.
A tournament for women only
“The topic of women in FIFA eSport is one with a lot of potential, because the women I met in eSport are super motivated, they are up for it, are reliable and see the opportunity,” says Mockenhaupt.
One of his methods of promoting talent is the Mocki Cup, his own tournament series. There was already an all-women version here, in which Ebru Önal also took part – and made it big. There will be a second women’s edition of the Mocki Cup on November 24th.
Model ‘Fabienne’
For ‘SP9_Ebru’, Fabienne ‘Fabienne’ Morlok from FOKUS was a role model, with her she saw that it could also work for women in the scene. “Women often don’t trust each other because they are insecure. But when women are just among themselves, as in the women’s Mocki Cups, they have the courage to show themselves,” says Önal.
Ebru Önal together with sponsor Mockenhaupt.SV Wehen Wiesbaden
Ebru Önal’s rise is astronomical, she was discovered by Mizka eSports from near Stuttgart, shortly afterwards contact with Wehen Wiesbaden and Sascha Mockenhaupt came about, then she signed with Bundesliga professional Sebastian Polter on the eSport team.
The understanding of the game from football
“My focus is currently on further increasing my follower numbers and creating even more good content,” says ‘SP9_Ebru’. The content creator has already exceeded her target numbers for January 2022, her positive nature and deep expertise hit the nerve of the community.
She has the expertise from ample hours of play, training and coaching. But she got her understanding of the game on the green lawn. The 21-year-old plays in the regional league and is strong at pattern recognition. “That brings you a lot if you are also good at football,” says ‘M_ocki’ from personal experience.
Hate is coming anyway
But the FIFA Fame also has its disadvantages, there is more frequent hostility from players who cannot cope with the fact that women can also be good at FIFA. “I have to read something in the comments and in the chat every now and then,” says ‘SP9_Ebru’. For the most part, however, their community is grateful for their tips and supports them.
Probably the greatest support she received from viewers was when she took part in the Eligella Cup. She made it to the semifinals at the time. She is now taking the hype that has arisen about her person with her and continues to make videos and streams – for a specific reason: “We as women in eSports are motivation and role models for other women.”