The streamer Maximilian “HandOfBlood” Knabe has attracted attention since the founding of the eSports club Eintracht Spandau through his role as President Knabe and has since developed into a popular character among viewers. MeinMMO author Jacqueline explains what makes this role so particularly good.
Who is President Boy? President Knabe is a role played by Twitch streamer Maximilian “HandOfBlood” Knabe. The figure represents the management of the LoL team Eintracht Spandau.
What defines the role? He embodies a stereotypical, somewhat chubby football coach who stands out mainly because of his bad mood and loud shouting. In general, the entire club is structured to be reminiscent of a football club, starting with the name Eintracht Spandau. The club also has its own mascot, a local bar and so-called “Ultras”, as we are more familiar with football.
On November 14th, 2021, HandOfBlood appeared as President Knabe for the first time. You can see the performance here:
Sophisticated lore from President Knabe and Eintracht Spandau
What’s the story about? A big part of why the role of President Knabe is so well received is probably the lore that has been built around the Eintracht Spandau club and which makes the fans excited. Over time, a kind of ongoing interactive story emerged that viewers could participate in.
There are regular press conferences. In a video, the caretaker “Broeki” calls for President Knabe to be fired (via YouTube). The fans immediately joined in, so the term #Knaberaus briefly trended on Twitter and ultimately led to Knabe leaving the team.
As the story progresses, fans can see how a run-down President Knabe brings mid laner PowerofEvil into the Eintracht Spandau team. In a video X we then see how the former president insists that he is responsible for the player now being on the roster.
Most recently in the lore we were able to see how the president returns and now not only leads the “League of Legends” team, but also takes over the Baller League together with head coach Hans Sarpei.
“We have a fan culture that the others don’t have”
What is President Knabe up to at the moment? Especially in January, the role of President Knabe caused a stir again when HandOfBlood also appeared in his popular role on the Baller League.
This was polarizing because for many who don’t know the streamer or don’t understand the lore surrounding Eintracht Spandau, it seems strange when a streamer acts as if he is an old man posing as a great football president.
What does HandOfBlood itself say about Eintracht Spandau and its role? In an interview with IRL streamer SkylineTV, the Twitch streamer explains what he thinks the role of President Knabe in combination with the Eintracht Spandau club is all about:
In the interview, in the role of president, he emphasizes that his club is a real traditional club with its own fan culture that is not matched by other clubs. He emphasizes that fans are actively involved in shaping the culture.
@einspandau That’s right☝️ #EINS #ballerleague ♬ Original sound – Eintracht Spandau
This always creates strange and funny situations. This is also a reason why the role is particularly popular with fans.
Everything you need to know about the LoL team Eintracht Spandau – in 4 minutes
More videos
Autoplay
In summary, one can say that the role of President Knabe stands out and polarizes. By portraying a stereotypical football coach, the role already becomes very humorous for many.
What’s particularly fascinating is how well he plays this role and how consistently he carries it out on stage. As a result, he amazes his conversation partners live on stage and sometimes leaves them speechless. Often even the fans themselves can no longer tell whether the whole thing was real or an act because it is so well done.
Above all, fans feel connected to the Eintracht Spandau club and the president, as a real fan culture has emerged in which fans can actively participate. There is extensive lore and lots of humorous content, as usual with HandofBlood.
You can read more about the Baller League and the duo President Knabe and Hans Sarpei here:
Eintracht Spandau: HandOfBlood’s LoL team is now doing real sport and has hired a soccer star as an advisor