In League of Legends the finals of the German LoL league, Prime League Div 2, took place yesterday, on the 23rd of August. 5 German Twitch streamers succeeded with their team “No Need Orga” in a Miracle Run.
The midlaner NoWay played from gamescom in Cologne. It was a spectacle with 70,000 viewers at its peak and several wild stories around it: For instance, the team Googled for the right counterpick against Olaf in the decisive Match 5.
What a game it was! The “Prime League” is the regional league in Germany. Yesterday, the finals of the 2nd division took place: It was a “Best of Five” for the championship in the second league of Germany.
With a spot in the finals comes the opportunity to prove oneself in relegation matches against the last teams of the 1st league and to get promoted to the highest German league. However, to enter the professional league LEC, one must buy in – a sporting ascent is not possible there.
Who was in the finals? The first-placed team of the regular season, Hertha BSC, played against the sixth-placed team of the regular season, No Need Orga.
The team No Need Orga consists of some of the most successful German LoL streamers:
- Frederik “NoWay” Hinteregger (30) in the midlane – He is the second-largest German Twitch streamer overall. He is now significantly larger than, for example, MontanaBlack.
- Niklot “Tolkin” Stüber in the toplane (24) – He is the third-largest German streamer for League of Legends
- Muhammed “Agurin” Kocat (26) in the jungle – The fifth-largest German LoL streamer
- Daniel “Broeki” Broekmann (31) as botlaner – The eighth-largest German LoL streamer, right after Trymacs, who occasionally checks out LoL
- Lukas “Karni” Steiniger as supporter – He is lagging a bit behind, but is still in the top 20
How did the game end? The underdogs from No Need Orga were able to decide the match in their favor with 3-2. The Miracle Run was perfect.
With such backdoor plays, NNO was able to win the series:
Finals of the 2nd league break Twitch record for Prime League
How many watched the game? The finals of the 2nd league had a peak of 69,881 viewers, a record for the Prime League overall. The league has been on Twitch since 2019 – never had their channel seen so many simultaneous viewers.
The semifinals of the 2nd league had reached 70,000 viewers on Twitch: But they had been spread across two channels. For the finals, JustJohnny didn’t stream due to gamescom, hence a large part of the viewers landed directly on the Prime League stream and they were able to achieve this phenomenal figure.
In comparison: The finals of the 1st league on the 20th of August had about 30,000 viewers on Twitch.
“And then they google their champions in a fifth game – that’s so bad”
How is the final being discussed? What is special is the circumstances under which the championship came about. Because the 5 players from “No Need Orga” are different from how LoL teams usually present themselves.
The botlaner Broeki explains: In the decisive match 5, Hertha picked the champ Olaf on the top lane and the streamers were apparently clueless about what to play against him. So they simply researched “Olaf Counterpick” and discussed the Google suggestions:
My mind is blown! I don’t just pick randomly […] and then they google their champions in a fifth game. What the fuck – that’s so bad.
Botlaner Daniel ‘Broeki’ Broekmann
The botlaner is completely outraged by this approach:
Moreover: The midlaner of the team, the German streamer “NoWay” played the finals from a container at gamescom, as told on reddit.
NoWay is the second-largest German Twitch streamer overall and apparently had business to deal with in Cologne.
A comment on reddit says:
“No coach, no scrims, hardly any preparation, mid plays from gamescom, they google counter-picks – profit!
Another adds: It helps that NoWay and Agurin have been among the most talented players on the local EUW server for years.
2nd league in Germany 2022 bigger than the first
Why is the 2nd league so exciting? There is a huge viewer boom brought by the Twitch streamers when they are active in e-sports. We have seen this for several years – for example, with shroud’s valorant excursion. 5 Twitch streamers in a LoL team provide a significant increase in attention, as the numbers show:
The finals in the 1st league were relatively clearly won by the “Unicorns of Love” against Schalke 04 with 3-1 on the 20th of August. But that did not reach the attention of the 2nd league finals.
The most exciting team in the 1st league is for many “Eintracht Spandau” and they had already been eliminated in the first playoff round against Schalke. Many probably stopped following the league afterwards.
But in the 2nd league, a team of the largest German Twitch streamers plays with “No Need Orga”. NoWay is particularly huge in the German LoL scene.
For the team, things actually didn’t look so good, as they only placed 6th with 9-9 in the regular season of the league. Therefore, they played immediately “in the lower bracket” in the playoffs. There, however, they pulled off a miracle run.
The German YouTuber HandofBlood founded his own team “Eintracht Spandau” that plays in the 1st Prime League
What is a Miracle Run in LoL? The playoffs in LoL are arranged such that teams that finish first in the regular season have it relatively easy to win in the playoffs:
- The team Hertha BSC, who finished first in the season, only had to win “two series” to claim the title
- NNO, who came in as sixth, had to win 4 series to become champions.
If a team with such a poor starting position manages to claim the title against all odds, it is referred to as a Miracle Run.
The streamers, however, seem to be somewhat conflicted about their success, as promotion to the 1st league is uncertain:
We have already reported on the semifinals of NNO:
LoL: 70,000 see playoff game where a German “retirement team” of the biggest Twitch streamers shines
The title image is the thumbnail of a YouTube video from NoWay.
