St. Louis CITY Wins Virtual Soccer Tournament

eMLS player for St. Louis CITY SC, Niklas Raseck, wins the eMLS Cup

Written by BENJAMIN SIMON

Sixty-eight minutes into the eMLS Cup semifinals, Niklas “NR7” Raseck seemed in control. He held a comfortable 2-0 lead in the game and seemed a shoo-in to continue to the championship. This was nothing new. At 24, Raseck, St. Louis CITY SC’s virtual FIFA player, has won a German championship, qualified for the world cup and competed competitively for 10 years.

Then, the momentum shifted.

In a matter of seven minutes, his opponent, the first-seeded Ehsan “Lamps” Zakeri of Minnesota United, scored two goals. The crowd of 1,500 at Austin City Limits Live at the Moody Theater roared — and Lamps motioned for them to grow even louder.

Raseck stared at the computer screen with his head tilted.