The esports champion who is now operating as a real-life footballer for Lazio

New York Times

7 hours ago

'He literally fulfilled the real dream — winning the Champions League in the virtual world and now being close to playing it in the real world; it's incredible!'
Those are the words of Raffaele 'Er_Caccia98' Cacciapuoti, an EAFC player for Ligue 2 team Clermont Foot 63, referring to Lazio defender Oliver Provstgaard. The connection between the two goes back to 2021 and involves an intriguing story that rose out of the intertwined nature of football and esports.
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That year, UEFA hosted the third edition of the eChampions League, a virtual edition of the Champions League played on the erstwhile EA Sports FIFA 21 game that featured 32 teams. Provstgaard, under his username 'OliverPN', won the title, beating Cacciapuoti 3-2 on aggregate.
Shortly after his victory, news emerged that Provstgaard was a real-life footballer for Danish side Vejle Boldklub's youth team and had captained Denmark at the under-16 and under-17 levels. He competed in the esports tournament while away from the football field due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury suffered while playing for Vejle's U19 team.
Provstgaard, who idolises Liverpool captain and centre-back Virgil van Dijk, continued to recuperate and eventually returned to the field, giving up a fledgling esports career. He progressed to Vejle's first team, making 91 appearances, before moving to Lazio — the club he supported as a youngster — in January.
'Maybe nobody expected him to win because of the difficulty that it means, but he was the one who played the best by far,' Ignacio 'Nacho' Abella, who Provstgaard beat in the 2021 tournament's upper bracket quarter-finals, tells The Athletic. 'It is crazy that he was playing against us a few years ago and now he's at Lazio.'
The beginning of Provstgaard's eChampions League journey was sub-optimal. He lost 5-4 to Turkey's Mert 'iMertAL' Altintop — currently an EAFC player for Besiktas — in the qualifying round. The margin of defeat meant he ranked 23rd out of 47, with the top 32 making it into the main tournament.
His team included legends such as Ronaldo, Pele, Ruud Gullit, and Edwin van der Sar, as well as current players Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, Bruno Fernandes, and Raphael Varane.
The team for tomorrows ECL pic.twitter.com/PJVziK7hrJ
— Oliver Provstgaard (@OliverPN_) April 30, 2021
Drawn in the upper bracket, Provstgaard beat the Netherlands' Lev 'Lev' Vinken, who currently represents the Eredivisie's Fortuna Sittard in EAFC. The 4-3 win, as per Esports Charts, ranked second in peak viewership for the knockout stages of the tournament.
That victory set Provstgaard up for a revenge meeting with Altintop. This time, he won 6-5 to progress to the quarter-finals. A 4-1 aggregate victory (1-1 in the first leg and 3-0 in the second) over Abella followed.
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'(Provstgaard) was a very skilful player, but in the last part of the season he raised his level a lot,' Abella said.
Provstgaard put in another comprehensive display against Italy's Lucio 'HHezerS' Vecchione. He won each leg 2-0 to progress to the upper bracket final against the UK's Ethan 'EthxnH' Higgins, runner-up at the 2020 FIFA eClub World Cup.
Provstgaard won 5-1 on aggregate to book his place in the grand final against Cacciapuoti, the winner of the lower bracket.
Provstgaard edged the first leg 2-1 but Cacciapuoti scored first in the second leg. The Dane retook the lead in the second half after some incredible Neymar trickery and held the lead to win the tournament.
Thanks for all the messages, appreciate it!🏆
GG's to @Er_Caccia98, world class player!
Winning goal, twisting and turning with neymar pic.twitter.com/QK0YmAFRa7
— Oliver Provstgaard (@OliverPN_) May 29, 2021
'I knew he was the best in that tournament because I saw how he was playing against other players,' Cacciapuoti tells The Athletic. 'I clearly remember a goal he scored with Pele that was crazy considering it was in a final.'
Having won the tournament on May 29, Provstgaard announced his exit from the arena via X. 'Now full focus on football again, so that was the FIFA season for me. I guess it was a good one,' he signed off.
Not going to play the Playoffs this weekend, as I don't have the time. Now full focus on football again, so that was the FIFA season for me. I guess it was a good one🏆😂Hopefully @TheStrxngeRFIFA will appreciate it👁️
— Oliver Provstgaard (@OliverPN_) July 8, 2021
Provstgaard's return to action for Vejle was measured.
Spanish centre-back Raul Albentosa, who had joined Vejle as a free agent in January, saw Provstgaard's potential immediately. 'The first thing (I thought) when I watched Oliver was, 'This guy is amazing. Why is he not playing in the first team?',' he told The Athletic.
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Provstgaard did not feature in the Danish Superliga's regular season where Vejle finished second bottom after suffering 13 defeats in 22 games. He started three of their 10 relegation-round games, featuring alongside one or both of Albentosa and captain Denis Kolinger in central defence, as Vejle won three and drew four but were still relegated.
Kolinger departed in July 2022 and Albentosa became captain and Provstgaard's mentor, with the duo now Vejle's first-choice centre-back pairing. 'Oliver has a lot of quality; left-footed, good with the head, but I (told him), 'You come play a little more aggressively'. We needed him, he enjoyed with us and learnt with me the aggressive part,' Albentosa recalls.
Vejle kept 13 clean sheets in 32 matches across the regular season and promotion round to secure promotion. They also made the quarter-finals of the Danish cup.
The 2023-24 season proved pivotal for Provstgaard. He played every league minute for Vejle, often with Albentosa, who missed only 190 minutes of action himself. Vejle finished 11th out of 12 teams in the regular season but won five of 10 relegation-round games to finish four points clear of the drop zone.
That summer he captained Denmark's under-21s in their European Championship qualifiers. He led a team with Mika Biereth, William Osula, Filip Jorgensen, and Thomas Kristensen, all of whom currently play for clubs in Europe's top five leagues.
'Vejle has big history in Denmark but is fighting to not get relegated and he captained the national team — that is his personality. Normally, the captain is a player who plays in the first league in Germany, or Copenhagen or Brondby, but he played in Vejle and was the captain,' Albentosa explains. 'Oliver is the next great centre-back in the national team and it's possible also that he is the next captain.'
The later months of the season brought a moment that would soon be looked back on with fondness.
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Provstgaard was named the Superliga's young player of the month award for February. While receiving the award at Vejle's training facility, he wore a vintage Lazio jersey from the 1999-2000 season when Alessandro Nesta, Diego Simeone, Pavel Nedved, Sergio Conceicao, Roberto Mancini and Simone Inzaghi helped win the club's second and most recent scudetto.
'My father deserved credit for that. I had this shirt in his closet,' Provstgaard said earlier this year while speaking to Lazio Style Channel.
Provstgaard was named one of Vejle's captains that summer after Albentosa's departure. He started and completed 16 of their first 17 league games but the team struggled, winning just once.
Provstgaard impressed, though, and sealed a move to Lazio during the January transfer window. In the interview with Lazio Style Channel, he called it a 'dream come true,' adding that taking over the No 25 jersey – worn by Lazio's all-time top-scorer Ciro Immobile (207 goals in 340 matches) – was 'incredible'.
'He is a fan of Lazio and then he arrives in Lazio, it's crazy. The injury, playing in Vejle's second division, the first team, Denmark U21s, you join Lazio as a fan of the club — it's like when (Kylian) Mbappe went to Madrid!' Albentosa says.
The early months of Provstgaard's Lazio journey have been on the bench. He came on in two Serie A matches for a total of 33 minutes and helped Lazio see out important 1-0 wins against Empoli (with 10 men) and Atalanta.
One of his first actions against Empoli, playing at left-back, was to contest an aerial duel that left him on the deck with blood streaming down his face. Provstgaard finished the game with a bandaged forehead and a few important defensive interventions.
Already a virtual Champions League winner, Albentosa believes Provstgaard has what it takes to play in the actual competition. 'When I speak with TV in the Danish league, I say he could play for Real Madrid, like (former Denmark midfielder) Thomas Gravesen did,' he says.
'You never know in football — but I think he is Champions League level.'