Es macht einen Unterschied, ob der erste Crack beginnt.

It is a common expression meaning it makes a difference.

• Es macht einen Unterschied = It makes a difference
• This is idiomatic German, not something unusual or overly literal.

The es here does not refer to a specific thing; it works like the it in It makes a difference.

Because Unterschied is the direct object of macht, so it has to be in the accusative case.

• nominative: ein Unterschied
• accusative: einen Unterschied

Since Unterschied is masculine (der Unterschied), the article changes from ein to einen in the accusative.

Here, es is a dummy subject or formal subject. It does not point to a specific noun.

German often uses es in general statements like this:

• Es ist wichtig. = It is important.
• Es gibt ein Problem. = There is a problem.
• Es macht einen Unterschied. = It makes a difference.

So you should not try to translate es too concretely here.

Ob means whether here.

So:

• Es macht einen Unterschied, ob ...
  = It makes a difference whether ...

This is one of the most common uses of ob: introducing an indirect yes/no question or a whether-clause.

Because ob introduces a subordinate clause, and in German subordinate clauses the conjugated verb goes to the end.

Main clause:

• Der erste Crack beginnt.

Subordinate clause:

• ..., ob der erste Crack beginnt.

This verb-final word order is a very important German pattern.

Because der erste Crack is the subject of the subordinate clause, so it is in the nominative.

Breaking it down:

• der = masculine nominative definite article
• erste = adjective with the weak ending -e
• Crack = the noun

So:

• der erste Crack = the first crack

Because it comes after a definite article (der) and modifies a masculine nominative singular noun.

This is standard adjective ending behavior in German:

• der erste Tag
• der erste Versuch
• der erste Crack

After der, the adjective usually takes the weak ending -e in this form.

Often, yes.

• beginnen = to begin
• anfangen = to start / to begin

In many contexts they are close in meaning. So a sentence like

• Es macht einen Unterschied, ob der erste Crack anfängt.

is grammatically possible, though the choice depends on style and context.

A few notes:

• beginnen can sound a bit more formal or neutral.
• anfangen is often a little more everyday.
• In a subordinate clause, anfängt also goes to the end:
  • ..., ob der erste Crack anfängt.

Because in German, subordinate clauses are separated by commas.

So the comma in

• Es macht einen Unterschied, ob der erste Crack beginnt.

is required, not optional.

This is much stricter than in English.

Because all nouns are capitalized in German.

So even if a word comes from English, once it is being used as a noun in German, it is capitalized:

• der Crack
• ein Problem
• der Anfang

That is why Crack starts with a capital C here.

No. This is a very common learner question.

• ob = whether / if in the sense of uncertainty or a yes/no possibility
• wenn = if / when in the sense of condition or repeated time

Here you need ob, because the sentence is about whether something is the case:

• Es macht einen Unterschied, ob der erste Crack beginnt.

You would not use wenn here if you mean whether.