While often mentioned on stream and confirmed to Sheep Esports, a team has achieved a rare feat: winning an ERL title without a coach — something seldom seen in the past decade, even in Tier 2, since the professionalization of esports. That team is CGN Esports.

From Dung Dynasty to CGN Esports

Initially built around Jungler Muhammed "Agurin" Kocak and known as Dung Dynasty, the roster generated significant buzz at the start of the year by bringing in notable players, including Jackson "KatEvolved" Dohan. However, following a loss in the Prime League semifinals in Winter, the team underwent several roster changes and began competing under a new brand: CGN Esports.

CGN Esports is a German organization already active in VALORANT’s Tier 2 ecosystem, notably through a partnership with Team Heretics. For the Spring Split, the CGN brand absorbed the League of Legends team. However, the partnership brought minimal additional staff or structural support.

Unexpected Victory

Throughout Spring, Agurin and his teammates reportedly had only a handful of scrims, making their eventual triumph all the more surprising. By contrast, other Prime League teams — including their finals opponents, Berlin International Gaming (BIG) — hire full- or part-time staff, with corresponding salaries. For CGN, most of the players earn their primary income through content creation, leaving limited time for dedicated competitive preparation.

Yet on Friday, they pulled it off, defeating BIG 3–2 in the finals. With that win, CGN Esports will head into the EMEA Masters as the DACH region’s first seed. While not considered one of the strongest regions on paper, it’s worth noting that a DACH team — Eintracht Spandau — won the tournament just last Spring.

Should CGN go on to win the EMEA Masters, it may raise broader questions about the effectiveness of current ERL team structures.

One rookie at EMEA

Before transitioning full-time to content creation, Agurin had a long-standing career in ERLs, falling short of EMEA Masters (previously known as EU Masters) qualification multiple times. His first appearance came in Spring 2018 with EURONICS Gaming, where the team failed to advance past the Play-In stage. He later reached Top 4 in Summer 2018 in a notable run with the same team.

All other veteran players on the roster have also previously competed in the EMEA Masters Main Event. Toplaner Rosendo "Send0o" Fuentes Bóveda has qualified three times, reaching the Top 8 on each occasion. AD carry Jona "Reptile" Fritz qualified in Spring 2022 with Unicorns of Love Sexy Edition, also reaching the Top 8. Support player Luca "Lucky" Santos Fontinha made it to the tournament in Summer 2024 with NNO but did not reach playoffs. Midlaner Mike "Phantasm" Thiele, meanwhile, is a complete rookie at the ERL level, despite regularly ranking near the top of the solo queue ladder. This will be his first appearance at the event.