Five of the biggest German Twitch streamers play together in a team: No Need Orga (NNO) for League of Legends. In 2022, NoWay, Tolkin, Agurin, Broeki, and Karni succeeded in moving up from the second league to the first German league of LoL. It was a “Miracle Run” against all odds. Two years later, the streamers ruefully realize: They should have never won.
This was the situation: The 5 streamers were playing in the 2nd German League for LoL and were actually doing pretty poorly. In a league of young players and talents who wanted to achieve something, the 5 streamers were more of a hobby group. They had neither a coach nor fixed training times.
While players like NoWay, Tolkin, or Broeki had all sniffed pro air before, none had made it to the top in the LEC; they had all remained at the national level at best. By now, all five were full-time streamers:
- Broeki and NoWay had also reached their early 30s and were actually too old to really start over.
- Toplaner Tolkin had a job at Freaks4U and covered LoL for Summoner’s Inn.
- Agurin was considered the best player of the team and the king of SoloQ.
- Supporter Karni was actually playing far outside his ELO when he was with the others.
The 5 streamers didn’t take e-sports very seriously; it was just a sideline, the streams were the most important as that’s where they earned their money.
But then the miracle happened: Against all odds, the five had a crazy run, suddenly won every single game and advanced to the 1st league of LoL. Especially clever backdoor plays often secured victories against significantly younger players for the veterans.
With their victorious march, they broke a viewer record on Twitch. More people wanted to watch the second league than the first. The German scene around LoL suddenly flourished: While the finals of the 1st league was watched by 30,000 people, suddenly 70,000 tuned in during the semifinals of the 2nd league.
In the end, a crazy play by Tolkin decided the final. Tokin had previously had to resign from his job at Riot’s partner, because that was the only way he could play for promotion.
The most successful team in LoL is Eintracht Spandau – the team was often compared to NNO:
Streamers buy a roster and establish their own pro team in LoL
This was the problem: The 5 Twitch streamers had now officially advanced to the 1st German League, but they couldn’t play there themselves. Their Twitch stream with sponsors clashed with a commitment in the Prime League.
They had hoped that Riot Games would make an exception , agree to some deal or compromise, but they held firm.
Simply selling the spot was also not allowed. The rules stipulated that one must compete with their own team for a year.
This was their solution: The 5 Twitch streamers, known as “No Need Orga,” had to form an organization after all, took over the players from Hertha BSC, who were quitting e-sports, and became “NNO Old,” while their employees now played as NNO Prime in the 1st league.
Costs for the team are enormous – Streamers give up after 2 years
This is how it turned out: In streams, NoWay and Tokin declared the project failed:
- The player contracts were now expiring and would not be renewed.
- The costs of something like this team amounted to around 450,000 € per year – and that money would not come back. E-sports is in a crisis.
- Each individual Twitch streamer would have had to invest around 40,000 € into the project, and they probably wouldn’t get that money back either.
Did not work well as managing directors
This is how the project is viewed today: NoWay explains that one must be honest; as managing directors, the 5 streamers were simply unsuitable, they didn’t work well together. This is also due to the fact that they all stream at different times to avoid each other on Twitch.
Tolkin says: NoWay took on the worst job, constantly receiving mail and had to deal with issues like Polish health insurance. The bureaucratic and time-consuming effort to run one’s own e-sports team is simply crazy.
Tolkin explains that the jungler Agurin had planned an analysis format for NNO, which had begun enthusiastically. But then he lost interest when too few viewers tuned in. His format was the only one that had been sold to a sponsor.
In any case, the sponsorships were a problem, as they were willing to support NNO, but had little interest in e-sports and wanted to leverage the massive reach of the streamers for themselves. They ultimately bit the bullet and offered large discounts, undervalued themselves without gaining much in return.
Streamers wish: If only we had lost the last game in 2022
NoWay bitterly states: It would have been best if they had missed the Miracle Run in the end and lost the final play. Then they would have continued to compete in the 2nd league for promotion, streamed on the side, and spared themselves all the hassle with their own e-sports team.
Tolkin adds: He often told himself that he should have never made that insane play that sealed the miracle run at the time. He lay awake at night wondering: Why did I flash over the wall back then?
This is the legendary play that Tolkin regrets today:
Apparently, the streamers are annoyed by the constant comparison with Eintracht Spandau – as HandOfBlood has a large company backing him in everything, and he is an exceptional figure in e-sports. One cannot compare that with NNO.
The streamers are now trying to find the good in the situation that each of them poured a lot of time and money into the project: They wanted to give something back to the German scene and the players and, in any case, pay the salaries of the employed professionals. Tolkin himself says he played for a mousepad – he is proud that they were able to pay their professionals full salaries.
The German LoL fairy tale dies in the e-sports winter
This is what lies behind it: That 5 Twitch streamers do not function as managing directors was to be expected. This corresponds to the stereotype one has of Twitch streamers.
NoWay one can still imagine as a person at the desk, poring over files with a stony face and looking up regulations in thick books – with Tolkin, who has the energy of a spring toy, it’s already hard to imagine.
However, it was also bad luck that the e-sports bubble burst exactly when the 5 had their miracle run and established their own team.
“The great e-sports winter” is a real problem: Sponsors and investors have been much stingier and more cautious since 2022 than before. There have also been major organizations and teams in the USA that have gone under – 2022 was probably simply the wrong year for a miracle run and the founding of an e-sports team: LoL: E-sports is dying in the USA – 2-time champion reportedly sells team and releases everyone
