Eintracht Spandau, the LoL team of YouTuber HandOfBlood, launched ambitiously in 2022. They aimed to excite the German league and play for the European Cup in the long term. However, the first year was a sporting disappointment. Now everything should get better.
What kind of team is this? Eintracht Spandau started 2022 in the highest German league in League of Legends: the Prime League. There, they created a stir:
- The first four matches were lost in a row, but there was a great comeback. By the end of the season, they won 8 matches in a row. Thus, they even reached 2nd place and qualified for the playoffs for their first entry into the EU Masters.
- In the playoffs, Eintracht Spandau easily wiped the competitor GamerLegion off the field with 3:0. Suddenly, they were seen as a great hope for Germany. However, GamerLegion made it to the finals and took their revenge. In the end, they only managed to secure 2nd place.
- In the European Masters, it didn’t go well at all. They were out in the group stage. The dream of the European Cup was over.
- The rest of the season went completely off plan. They missed the qualification for the EU Masters in summer and were eliminated in the Super Cup in the quarter-finals. More about this: After one year, we take stock: Team of HandOfBlood is a huge gain for the German LoL scene.
In 2023, everything should get better in terms of sports. The team announced some changes to the roster. These were presented during the Dreamhack.
Who is in the new team? Pride (Toplane) and Special (Midlane) remain from the old roster. New additions are: Zanzarah for the Jungle, LiLipp as Supporter, and SMILEY as AD-Carry.
Especially the experience impresses many fans. On Twitter and YouTube, they say things like: “European Cup”, “I love the new roster” or “Finally, watching is fun again”. The victory against a streamer team also creates excitement.
New roster creates excitement, immediately takes down a large streamer team
Who are the new players? The big highlight in the new roster is the new jungler Nikolay “Zanzarah” Akatov. He played for Astralis from 2020 to 2022 and most recently during the summer for Misfits in the LEC. So he has gained experience in the highest European league and achieved 4th place in the Summer Split.
At 26 years old, he is a bit older but brings a lot of experience to Eintracht Spandau. He is especially known for his Skarner picks.
Philipp Samuel “Lilipp” Englert is the new supporter. He most recently played for the direct competitor Schalke 04 in the Prime League, but he has also been part of the second team of MAD Lions and SK Gaming.
At 21 years old, he is the youngest player in the Eintracht squad. His signature champ is Thresh.
The third new player is Ludvig Erik Hugo “SMILEY” Granquist. The Swede previously played for Vitality.Bee, the team against which Eintracht Spandau failed in the group stage of the European Cup. Most recently, he played for GamersOrigin in France.
SMILEY is especially known for the champions Lucian and Jhin. At 24 years old, he is still in his prime.
Who are the old players? Mahdi “Pride” Nasserzadeh was born on March 13, 1998, in Switzerland. In early 2020, Pride joined Fnatic Rising, Fnatic’s second team, and participated in the European Masters with them. For the 2022 season, he came to Eintracht Spandau.
Pride impressed fans especially with some remarkable solo actions on the toplane. He is expected to do that again in 2022. Particularly with Gangplank and Jayce, he was able to convince.
Joran “Special” Scheffer remains the midlaner at Eintracht Spandau. He already played in 2020 with Excel’s Academy team in the European Masters and reached the quarter-finals twice there. In 2021, he moved to the French LFL but missed qualification with the teams there.
Since 2022, the Dutch player has been with Eintracht Spandau and has impressed mainly on Syndra.
Can the lineup convince? Yes, as they played their first competitive match directly at the Dreamhack without much training. The opponent: No Need Orga, a team of streamers that made it to the first league in 2022.
Although the players are all older, that doesn’t make them any less successful. Among them are the German shoutcaster Tolkin and the well-known LoL streamer NoWay4U.
Eintracht Spandau managed to win both matches in the Best of Three. This creates excitement among the fans. You can watch the match footage on YouTube.
The fans of Eintracht Spandau are excited about the new season 2023. For the fans of NNO, it looks a bit different. Because the team will have to accept some restrictions, such as a streaming ban while the tournaments are ongoing. Their careers would be significantly limited.
Therefore, there will be an NNO Prime in 2023, with an adjusted lineup. More on this topic here:
