Do you believe in destiny? Well our winner must certainly do so now. 

This is a story that may have never happened, in fact there were no signs in the stars. When Okoye woke up on the morning of the 19th of November, 2022, he was already running late for the Soccer Mania event.

He, as well as the other registered players all went to bed with one thing ringing in their minds over and over again — only the first 32 people to show up were allowed to participate.

You can already imagine the thoughts that went through his mind as he braved the infamous Lagos traffic enroute the Silverbird Galleria Atrium. The tension was building and he just knew he had to get there and the rest would take care of itself.

Over at the Silverbird Galleria Atrium, the registrations had kicked off, it was 9am and Gamr-time is nothing to play with, remember that only the first 32 players to show up and register will be allowed to play. But this, this is where it gets interesting.

As the star of our story, Okoye, made his way to the venue, the Nivea representative had already gotten there, and what they saw moved them. 

The turnout was massive, above what was projected, this prompted the initial “32” to be extended to 48, to accommodate this increase in interested gamers.

Okoye arrives at his destination, his insides tight with anxiety as he rushes in in hopes of making the “first 32” cut, he says a short prayer under his breath and steps into the designated area.

To his surprise, he finds out that he missed the initial cut but thanks to the extension, he can still play. And boy did he play! Now while all this drama ensued, a few familiar names popped up as well. Imaji, Arogs and Mitch were all on hand to continue their dominance on the sport. Okoye now had a new challenge to scale.

But, that’s the thing with destiny, it doesn’t really care about reputation, and as fate would have it, Okoye faced off against all three.

Okoye’s match against Arogs in the group stages ended in a draw, which came as a surprise to all. But nothing prepared us for when he beat  Imaji and Mitch in the quarter and semifinals respectively. 

The event promised to be an explosive experience, there was music, competition, lights and all the glamour of the Nivea and Gamr brands on display. But Okoye singlehandly added the “mania” to Soccer Mania.