Yannic Bederke from southern Central Franconia became German champion in 2020 –
3 hours ago
Yannic Bederke shows his championship trophy on the lawn of the Augsburg WWK Arena. Due to the corona pandemic, the championship celebration had to be canceled.
22.02.2021
© Photo: FC Augsburg
Yannic Bederke shows his championship trophy on the lawn of the Augsburg WWK Arena. Due to the corona pandemic, the championship celebration had to be canceled.
22.02.2021
Photo: Photo: FC Augsburg
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Marco Richter promised him. He, the FC Augsburg striker, will be there. “If you need a goal, my virtual self will score it,” Richter assured me on the phone. That was in June 2020, a few hours before the decisive game for the German championship. Yannic Bederke, e-athlete in the service of the FCA should lead the Swabians to win the title against Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Not in real football, of course, but in the virtual Bundesliga (VBL). The clubs of the first and second division compete there – instead of in real life on the grass in FIFA, a very popular soccer simulation game for consoles and PCs.
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Bederke is happy to hear more than six months later when he says that in the end it was actually the digital Marco Richter who made Augsburg, and therefore Bederke, the German champions in FIFA20 with the decisive goal. Since then, a lot has changed for the slim young man from Hüssingen. “When I’m out and about somewhere, people keep talking to me,” he says. Media interest has also grown. The 20-year-old now knows how to give interviews. And the pressure has also increased a bit. The scene now looks at him when he picks up the controller. Does he show weaknesses? Is he resting on winning the title?
Duels on the X-Box
To understand how Yannic Bederke became Germany’s best digital footballer, a quick look back at his childhood is enough. As the youngest of three brothers, he has to assert himself against the older ones at an early age – also on the console. “I started playing at a young age and FIFA has always been with me,” he said. Brother Philipp in particular turned out to be a tough opponent on the X-Box.
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“In the beginning all the games went to him, but at some point the tide turned,” says Bederke, not without pride. But Philipp is also part of the four-person e-sports team at FC Augsburg today. The brothers regularly compete together in doubles. How long this will work is difficult to say. Even if it sounds strange: At 31, Philipp is almost unusually old for an e-athlete.
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Beyond 30 there are only a few who can keep up at the highest level. “One factor could be that the ability to react decreases somewhat,” says Yannic. A new version of FIFA is also released every year. The players have to adjust to the new gameplay and new control commands again and again. This is usually easier for the younger ones.
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On Wednesday the derby in eSports rose between SpVgg Greuther Fürth and 1. FC Nürnberg. While the cloverleaf scored 1-1 in the first game and triumphed 5-0 in the second game, the two-on-two duel was again heated. Since the score was 1-1 there too, the club only got 2 out of a possible 9 points – and Fürth celebrated the derby victory instead!
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Bederke made the leap into professional esports early on. In 2017 he managed to qualify for the German championship. As a newcomer, he got through the group stage straight away. A little later, FC Augsburg was looking for people who could represent the club in digital sport appropriately. He found Yannic Bederke, who as an ardent fan of the FCA was not only a regular visitor to the stadium, but also a member of the club.
“Actually, I always wanted to be on the pitch for the real FC Augsburg. Now things have turned out differently,” says Bederke. The soccer field is still no stranger to him. In the second team of TSV Oettingen he is between the posts. Because the games in the virtual Bundesliga are always on Wednesdays, but the games in the real B-Class are mostly on Sundays, this can be easily arranged.
Is that actually sport?
However, the training effort for e-sports is significantly higher. He sits in front of the console for two to three hours almost every day. But is what he’s doing actually sport? Bederke knows the discussion – and replies calmly: “It always depends on how you define sport. If you define it as a competition in which you have to achieve top performance, then what we do is definitely sport.” Above all, quick reactions and concentration are required in front of the screen.
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The virtual Bundesliga plays in double game days. Each of these game days consists of a single on the X-Box, a single on the Playstation and a double. In the case of doubles, the home team decides which console to play on. Bederke plays on the X-Box whenever possible. After all, she was at home all his childhood.
He’s currently the second best player in the VBL on his favorite console. And it’s going well for the team as a whole. In the two-part league, FC Augsburg ranks third in the 13-team south-west group. In order to cope with the many hours in front of the screen, Bederke regularly runs and does stabilization training for the back. Without physical fitness, it will be difficult in esports, just like in professional football.
RB Leipzig is upgrading
And there is another parallel between the real soccer business and its digital counterpart. Commercialization and professionalization play an increasingly important role. Before the current season, Red Bull Leipzig signed Umut Gültekin – recently elected e-athlete of the year – and Richard Hormes, two stars of the scene. And at 1. FC Heidenheim, Bernd Leno, goalkeeper at Arsenal London, and his “Leno e-Sports” team take care of capable controller staff.
United in front of the screen: Yannic Bederke (right) together with his brother Philipp in the FC Augsburg jersey at the console.
22.02.2021
© Photo: FC Augsburg
United in front of the screen: Yannic Bederke (right) together with his brother Philipp in the FC Augsburg jersey at the console.
22.02.2021
Photo: Photo: FC Augsburg
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Things are a little more contemplative in Augsburg. An e-sports room has been set up in the Swabian office, well equipped with monitors and consoles. But Bederke cannot train all day. After all, the trained notary’s assistant is employed at the FCA not only as an e-athlete, but also as an employee in media and public relations. Otherwise he could hardly make a living from his sport.
Other, probably better-paid, offers had been made before the season. But Bederke didn’t want to leave his FCA. “I’ve always been an Augsburg fan,” he said of his decision to join the club. “I can also play here with Philipp.” And he doesn’t have to move either. It is around an hour’s drive from Hüssingen to Augsburg.
A place at the World Cup beckons
Bederke wants to defend his championship title in the coming months. He is also aiming for a start at the World Cup, which had to be canceled last year due to the pandemic. He has to be among the best 64 players in the world to participate. In regular qualifying tournaments, the athletes fight for the starting positions. At the moment it looks good for the young middle Franconian.
