Pull the left joystick to the side, press a button at the right second and the ball hits the ball at a perfect angle. Virtually only, of course. Niklas Luginsland lets out a quick “yeees,” then wraps his fingers tightly around the controller again, his gaze fixed on the screen.
One of the best gamblers in Germany
Niklas Luginsland is an e-sportsman and earns his money with the football simulation FIFA. He is part of national goalkeeper Bernd Leno’s e-sports team and also plays for 1. FC Heidenheim in the virtual Bundesliga. Last year Niklas Luginsland won the championship with his team and 1. FC Heidenheim played at the top again this year. Niklas Luginsland is one of the best players in Germany. His disability, the brittle bone disease, doesn’t stop him.
His career almost ended last winter. As a passenger he had a car accident – a catastrophe with the brittle bone disease, because his bones break very quickly and heal only slowly. But Niklas Luginsland is a fighter and has worked his way back up with a lot of training and discipline.
A star on Tiktok
He still trains his arms on an ergometer every day and regains the muscle strength he needs. Almost all of the fractures have now healed, but not all of them will heal.
Niklas Luginsland not only plays FIFA really well, but is also incredibly successful on social media. Every day he uploads short videos and gives private insights, even if things aren’t going so well at the moment. 150,000 people follow him on TikTok and see him at the last game of the season of VfB Stuttgart celebrating relegation on the grass in the stadium. And the fans are also celebrating the 26-year-old gamer. He is recognized on the street.
Focus on esports career
Niklas Luginsland completed his master’s degree in sports management last summer. But the 26-year-old wants to stay focused on his FIFA career and show that you can be successful with a disability.
“I think there are also a lot of younger viewers in my community. I often have a lot of people between the ages of thirteen and eighteen. I have a bit of the feeling that they are making their first contact with people with disabilities or people in wheelchairs .”
At home in Altensteig, Niklas Luginsland is back in front of the screen with the controller in his hand. His fingers fly over the keys like they used to and the virtual soccer players on the pitch rush from victory to victory. Nothing can stop Niklas Luginsland. Not from the other players and certainly not from Brittle Bone Disease.
Source: SWR