In League of Legends there was a bizarre incident on Friday, February 14. The Slovenian ADC Juš “Crwonie” Marušič played in the NLC semifinals for the team Los Ratones against Nord. However, he had to take a break because he was suffering from a serious illness, but still delivered a strong performance. Some LoL fans even compare him to basketball star Michael Jordan.
This was the match: It was the semifinals of the playoffs in the NLC regional league. The winner advanced to the finals. The loser went down to the Loser’s Bracket. The 2 best teams in the league faced off:
Los Ratones is the team of the hour. Coach Caedrel has former elite players Rekkles, Crownie, and Nemesis on the team. Los Ratones has dominated the e-sports on Twitch for weeks
NORD also has 4 ex-professionals and the biggest German Twitch streamer NoWay in the mid lane. NORD has won everything in the league so far, except for the opening match against Los Ratones.
26-Year-Old Plays While Injured
This was the special aspect of the game: The ADC of Los Ratones, Crownie, played the game while suffering from an illness that had already caused him to miss several training matches. Before the match, there was even talk of putting him on the bench. Coach Caedrel would have come in as support, and Rekkles would have switched back from his current support role to his former position as bot laner. But that didn’t happen.
Crownie played and apparently suffered from nausea throughout the match. He played with a bucket next to his computer desk. At that time, the fans assumed he had food poisoning.
In the middle of the match, Crownie called for a timeout, jumped up from his computer at home, and left the room. Apparently, to vomit. When he returned to his spot, he was briefly asked: “Are you okay?” Then the game continued.
This was the outcome: Los Ratones defeated Nord in 4 matches with a score of 3-1, and Crownie finished his job. Especially the jungler Velja turned the game in favor of Los Ratones. While top laner Baus once again died as often as seems possible.
The German streamer NoWay held his ground against the 7 years younger former pro player Nemesis and at least achieved more kills than he died in 2 out of 4 games.
Performance of LoL Player Compared to Michael Jordan
This is what is being discussed: The fans who are aware of Crownie’s condition are impressed by the ADC’s performance. At the time immediately after the match, they assumed Crownie had food poisoning.
A fan says on reddit: “It’s really crazy that he played. Food poisoning is really nasty. I couldn’t leave the bathroom for 5 minutes when I had it. Unimaginable to play a pro match with that.”
Another compares Crownie’s performance with the legendary “Flu Game” of Michael Jordan.
The basketball legend was seriously ill in 1997, yet the 5th game of the NBA Finals was on the line. It was against the Utah Jazz with Karl Malone and John Stockton. From Jordan’s perspective, the game was a must-win. He had to play, no matter the cost.
The legend has it that: Jordan was found by his personal trainer in the morning of the game severely ill, sweating, and shivering. He suffered from food poisoning after a bad pizza the night before.
Although the doctors told Jordan he couldn’t possibly play, he insisted on taking the court, laid down one more time, got up just before the game, and led his team to victory with 38 points. To this day, it’s considered one of the most legendary athletic performances of all time.
Crownie Says He Had Gastroenteritis
This is what Crownie says himself: In another video, the 26-year-old explained (via youtube): It was not food poisoning, but gastroenteritis that he got when his aunt visited him.
In a clip after the match, Crownie says with a smile: He was so overwhelmed with emotions that he needed a break. Apparently, he prefers to be seen this way than in the wake of Jordan.
The story of Los Ratones has been exciting many League of Legends fans for months. This is a team made up of former professionals who now stream and also share the parts of their sport that are usually hidden from the fans’ eyes: An insignificant regional league makes LoL the biggest game on Twitch
