Yesterday, on September 27th, it was decided who will be promoted to the 1st Division in League of Legends. More than 100,000 viewers watched the duel between Hertha BSC and Team No Need Orga, consisting of some of the biggest German Twitch streamers in LoL: The audience witnessed a spectacle, with a clear hero.
What are the backgrounds of this game?
- The players from “No Need Orga” (NNO) are among the largest Twitch streamers for League of Legends in Germany.
- The “Prime League” is the regional league in Germany. The game was the relegation match for promotion to the 1st Division.
- After NNO won the Summer League of the Prime League, they fought their way through the playoffs to the finals against Wave Esports. There they lost and then had to face Hertha BSC eSports in the loser bracket.
- The host for the broadcast was Niklas “Bart” Eigen and the game was his last. The casters predicted that the games would clearly favor either NNO or Hertha, yet there ended up being 5 games.
Here you can find the anthem for the 2022 League of Legends World Championship:
Reverse Sweep by the Twitch Streamers Against Hertha BSC
What is a reverse sweep and why is it so special? The playoff games of the Prime League are played in a “Best-of-5” format: This means that the first team to win 3 games wins the match.
Every player occasionally has games where their performance fluctuates. However, due to the format, it is not too bad if one game does not go well. You only need to win 3 out of 5 games. In a reverse sweep, a team is down 2-0 and manages to turn the tables in game number 3.
They then give their all to decide the game day in their favor and win 3-2. This was achieved by the 5 Twitch streamers in the relegation match against Hertha. They turned the tables and marched resolutely towards promotion to the 1st Division. Details about the games can be found here:
- Game 1:
In the first game of the day, the NNO team selects very exciting champions. It is not uncommon for Seraphine to be played in the bot lane. However, Frederik “NoWay” Hinteregger plays Tristana in the mid lane. The draft doesn’t go well and the players make individual mistakes, which Hertha punishes one after the other.
- Game 2:
In game 2, Samet “Coldraa” Safran from Hertha played superbly on Jinx and managed to secure the win with two quadra kills. Leon “Lamabear” Krüger had no deaths on Vi in the entire game. Overall, a game with very few kills, with only 4 kills on the NNO side.
Tolkin Turns the Series with a Blind Flash
- Game 3:
The match point is in this game for Hertha. Even the casters see Hertha as the clear favorite during the game. Muhammed “Agurin” Kocat from NNO only finds his desired form on Kayn in the 18th minute. For a Kayn jungle, that is not a quick time. During this time, he couldn’t contribute much to the game and watched as his team slowly but surely lost control.
But Tolkin didn’t want to give up. He used his flash to initiate an attack in the bush that ended in a kill. This gave him and his team some breathing room, allowing them to catch up with their items.
This one play by Tolkin turned the entire series:
In a fight on the mid lane 10 minutes later, Tolkin could shine. After the battle was won, he quickly switched, teleported to the minion, and kept it alive. An additional minion reduces tower resistances. He drew the following towers onto himself to keep the minion alive, allowing them to win the game.
- Game 4:
Also in the fourth game, Tolkin did not hold back. During the fight for the dragon soul, Hertha missed the engage to actively go for NNO. Tolkin killed Hertha’s carries in that fight and secured his team the soul.
In the following fight for the ancestor dragon, NoWay managed to get a quadra kill and secured NNO the victory in game 4.
- Game 5:
In the final game of the day, both teams are fighting for promotion to the first division. While NNO is on a winning streak, Hertha has to struggle through the losses. They even get Jinx in the champion selection, who has a 100% win rate in the previous games.
Nautilus, Karni’s comfort pick, gets banned in the second phase, and he has to switch to Renata. The players of NNO do not yet know that this pick will win them the game.
While the first 24 minutes are very fight-poor with 4 kills, NNO gains an advantage on the map through clever pushing of the minions and objectives. In the 25th minute, Tolkin managed to turn the tables in favor of his team.
Thanks to Renata’s W ability, players can survive for a few seconds after their death and are revived if they secure a kill during that time. Tolkin managed to secure a kill during that timeframe and then killed 2 more players from Hertha.
Here you can find a clip from the fight:
Thereafter, NNO played for the dragon soul and managed to outmaneuver Hertha on the map. While Tolkin is on the top lane, his teammates lure the opponents towards the dragon. He teleports down but is told that he could end the game with a “back-door” play.
He tries to do so immediately. Hertha cannot decide clearly at that moment and Team NNO gets the ancestor dragon and then crashes into the opponent’s base with the entire team to win the game.
Goosebump moments were not only present in the Prime League but also in the cinematics of LoL:
“We are the kings of the First Division and we are back.”
Tolkin and Broeki provided an interview at the end of game 5 with the analysis corner. Along with heartfelt words for Hertha, which, according to caster Felix “Rocklho” Bao Duy Ho, performed very well on this match day, the victory of NNO is celebrated.
Fun facts about the game day:
- Some players from NNO made it clear before the game on Twitter and in their streams that they did not feel comfortable at all. Broeki said he felt too old at 31 and not prepared at all. This was partly because Twitch streamers have to completely change their usual lives due to Riot Games regulations when they play in the 1st Division.
- During the break between the games, tweets were made that received several thousand likes within minutes
- Tolkin and NoWay streamed after the victory
- Tolkin turned off the stream after 45 minutes because he had to go eat with Broeki.
Cast Breaks Record on Twitch – Very Important for the German LoL Scene
Why is the victory so significant for the German LoL scene?
In their stream, the Prime League and their casters managed to break the all-time viewership record for the event, as over 100,000 viewers followed the final game through various channels on Twitch, as the casters announced during the match:
- About 75,910 saw through the main channel “PrimeLeague” at its peak
- About 14,474 viewers were reached through the channel “LPGjustJohnny”
- 10,000 more were added through other channels.
You can check what will happen after this game day here:
- Bart leaves the Prime League as host after the game day and thanks everyone sincerely for his time
- There are also talks of a conclusion for Hertha
- NNO is promoted to the 1st Division of the Prime League
The question now is whether the Twitch streamers will be allowed to play in the Prime League with their team. But this will need to be clarified with Riot Games in the coming days and weeks.
If you want to read more information about the German league, check out the article about Eintracht Spandau: Head of LoL team Eintracht Spandau gives serious interview on Twitch – Annoys moderator until he breaks off
