eSports

HSV eSports star Umut storms to PS4 title in Atlanta

The eRothosen’s rising star Umut Gültekin surpassed expectations to steal the third FUT Champions Cup on the PS4 in Atlanta.

Umut Gültekin wrote himself into HSV history on Sunday night in Atlanta, becoming the club’s first eSports player to win a title, and what a way to do it, at one of the biggest eSports meetings in the world! The 17-year-old’s win in the U.S. caps a scarcely believable turn of events for the youngster, who has gone from complete unknown to one of the best PS4 players in the world in a matter of months.

Umut was able to warm up for his ties in the Practice Area, before blowing the competition out of the water on the Main Stage.

Having been discovered by the HSV eSport scouts at the club’s open invitational in September, the then-16-year-old was signed by the eRothosen and placed in the club’s development team. After promising performances in the FIFA Ultimate Team Weekend League, the lad from the Hamburg suburb of Rahlstedt made his first international appearance at the first FUT Champions Cup tournament in December in Bucharest, gathering experience against some of the best players in the world. The school kid celebrated his birthday in December by going through the Weekend League unbeaten, winning an astounding 120 out of 120 games, and ending the weekend at the top of the worldwide PlayStation rankings. This earnt ‘Uns Umut’, a play on words with the HSV legend ‘Uns Uwe’ Seeler, the chance to qualify for the third FUT Champions Cup in Atlanta, a chance that the 17-year-old didn’t let slip.

A month, a flight across the Atlantic, ten wins, three draws and a loss later Umut found himself deservedly in the semi-final, defeating Benfica’s Zezinho 2-1 having been 1-0 behind. Umut, very much an unknown quantity for Hashtag Tom in the final, but also for the majority of the field in the tournament, which consisted of professional players and seasoned pros from well-backed teams, found himself having to make a comeback in the final as well. The equaliser came 20 minutes from time, before a beautiful combination down the left-hand side led to the winning goal that sealed Umut the crown with the last kick of the game. “I can’t really believe what’s just happened. I played the ball long just because it was the end of the game. That it came off and then led to a goal is unbelievable,” said Umut after the full-time whistle.

The 17-year-old barely had time to catch his breath before the Grand Final against the winner of the Xbox category Ollelito. A lack of experience on the Xbox meant Umut wasn’t able to turn around a 3-1 deficit on his favourite console, the PlayStation, putting in a spirited performance to seal a 2-1 win which meant that his Swedish opponent was crowned the grand champion. Having collected 2,000 Global Series Points, which are important for qualification for the World Championships in Milan in February, Umut ends his time in America amongst the top 10 FUT players on the PS4 in the world. Not bad for a 17-year-old lad, who goes back to school in Rahlstedt on Wednesday.