EliasN97: From Esports Pro to Germany's #1 Twitch Streamer

EliasN97 is one of Germany’s most influential creators and streamers – his streams and videos are in German. Since 2017, Elias Nerlich has built an impressive career – from esports player at Hertha BSC to one of the most-watched German Twitch streamers. With 2.47M Twitch followers, 729K subscribers on his YouTube channel Eligella, the Icon League he co-founded with Toni Kroos, his own soccer club Delay Sports Berlin and many business ventures, he is far more than “just” a streamer. In this profile, you’ll find everything about his career, his projects, his Minecraft comeback on Craft Attack – and what parents should know about his streams.

Profile

• Stage names: EliasN97, Eligella, “Eli” for short
• Main content: livestreaming, FIFA/EA Sports FC, Just Chatting, soccer events, Minecraft
• Language: German
• Streaming platforms: Twitch (primary), YouTube
• Known projects: Icon League (with Toni Kroos), Delay Sports Berlin, Fokus Clan
• Management: Rabona (formerly), his own companies
• Special feature: one of the most-watched German Twitch streamers, record hype train in December 2024
• Community: the “Säulen-Squad” or “Eli community”; Discord server

Channels & reach

• Twitch (twitch.tv/eliasn97): his main channel – he streams here almost every day.
• YouTube “Eligella” (@EligellaYT): since August 2017; stream highlights, vlogs, Delay Sports and Icon League content.
• YouTube “EliasN97” (@EliasN97): since July 2018, originally launched with Hertha BSC for FIFA videos.
• Instagram (@eliasn97): lifestyle, behind the scenes, soccer.
• TikTok (@the_real_eligella): viral clips and highlights.
• X (@EliasN97): updates and community interaction.

What is EliasN97 doing right now?

In October 2026, EliasN97 is back on Craft Attack: the official participant list for Craft Attack 14 includes him, and in the new season he is building the group project “Craft Attack on Titan – 9 Titanen” with eight fellow creators, including HandOfBlood, Trymacs, Gamerstime, SidneyEweka and NiklasWilson. His soccer projects, the Icon League and Delay Sports, continue alongside. The analysis of his uploads shows what else he plays:

Who is EliasN97? The key facts

EliasN97, whose real name is Elias Nerlich, was born on December 10, 1997, in Berlin. Now 28, he started his career as a FIFA esports player for Hertha BSC. He has been streaming on Twitch since April 2020 and devoted himself entirely to livestreaming after leaving Hertha in August 2021. Since then, he has become one of Germany’s most successful streamers and was at times among the most-watched Twitch channels worldwide.

What makes EliasN97 special: he combines gaming content with a genuine passion for soccer, business talent and an authentic personality. At special events, more than 200,000 people watch him at the same time. In December 2024, he even set a Twitch record with the biggest hype train of all time – bigger than Kai Cenat’s.

EliasN97’s career: from soccer player to streaming star

Early years and soccer career (until 2016)

Elias Nerlich started playing soccer at the age of 4 and went through several Berlin youth clubs, including:

• Mariendorfer SV 06
• Tennis Borussia Berlin
• Reinickendorfer Füchse
• BFC Preussen (U17)
• Tasmania Berlin (U17)

As a midfielder, he moved to RSV Waltersdorf 09 in the sixth-tier Brandenburg-Liga for the 2015/16 season. At only 17, he made 21 appearances for the senior team and scored one goal. But injuries abruptly interrupted his promising soccer career.

The turning point: from broken leg to FIFA pro (2016–2018)

In September 2016, Elias broke his fibula shortly before FIFA 17 came out. By his own account, he could barely get out of bed for weeks and used the time to perfect his FIFA skills. What began as a pastime turned into a new career.

His dedication paid off: he qualified as one of only 128 players for the FUT Champions Cup in Barcelona (FIFA 18) – as one of four participants without a pro contract. That earned him an esports contract with Hertha BSC in 2018, where he played in the Virtual Bundesliga.

In 2018, Elias finished his Abitur (German high school diploma) at the Fachoberschule Steglitz-Zehlendorf and focused fully on esports. But his bad luck with injuries continued: in 2018, he tore his cruciate ligament, which finally ended any return to real soccer. At 22, he ended his soccer career in 2020 and concentrated on streaming.

YouTube start and first successes (2017–2020)

At the end of August 2017, Elias launched his YouTube channel “Eligella”, where he uploaded let’s plays, reaction videos and stream highlights. In July 2018, the channel “EliasN97” followed in cooperation with Hertha BSC, focusing on FIFA content.

The videos show a mix of gaming content, IRL streams, soccer events and personal highlights.

The Twitch breakthrough (2020–2022)

In April 2020, Elias started streaming on Twitch. The timing was perfect: during the COVID-19 pandemic, viewer numbers soared, especially for games like FIFA 21 and Among Us. His authentic, entertaining style and interaction with the community made his channel explode.

By the third week of July 2022, he was among the top 5 most-watched Twitch accounts worldwide. The German newspaper “Die Welt” called him an “internet star”. In August 2021, he left Hertha BSC and was inducted into the club’s newly created eSport Hall of Fame as its only esports player.

Becoming a top streamer (2022–2024)

In 2022, EliasN97 reached several milestones:

• August 2022: partnership with RTL Deutschland. The “Real Life Eligella Cup” was broadcast on RTL+ and took place in front of a sold-out crowd at Munich’s Audi Dome (7,000 spectators).
• August 2022: became the first non-athlete brand ambassador for Adidas – a historic partnership.
• 2022: the word “Macher” (“doer”), which Elias often used in his streams, came third in Germany’s Youth Word of the Year vote.

In 2024, he won the StreamAwards for the highest watch time and in December 2024 broke the record for the biggest hype train on Twitch. His viewer record so far is 208,614 concurrent viewers (December 15, 2024).

Highlights and fun facts

• Biggest hype train on Twitch: in December 2024 he even beat Kai Cenat’s record
• Youth-word influence: his word “Macher” came third in Germany’s Youth Word of the Year 2022
• First non-athlete: the first non-athlete brand ambassador for Adidas
• Minecraft newcomer: played Minecraft for the first time in 2023 – 11 years after its release
• From injury to success: a broken leg completely changed his life
• Loyal to his hometown: still lives in Berlin

TV appearances and media presence

• 2021: interview on Magenta Sport during halftime of the third-division match between FC Viktoria 1889 Berlin and VfL Osnabrück
• 2022: live link-up on RTL with Florian König and Lothar Matthäus after the UEFA Super Cup
• 2022: reports about Delay Sports Berlin on rbb24 Abendschau and in the Sportschau
• Regularly: interviews and features in Kicker, Sport1, Bild, Die Zeit, Die Welt

Known projects & formats

The Icon League: indoor soccer with Toni Kroos

In November 2023, Elias Nerlich and World Cup winner Toni Kroos announced the founding of the Icon League – a 5-a-side indoor soccer league. According to Wikipedia, Nerlich holds a 20 percent stake in the operating company through his Elias Nerlich Management GmbH.

The Icon League combines pro soccer with entertainment:

• Format: 5 vs 5 (4 outfield players + 1 goalkeeper)
• Pitch: indoor with boards (45 x 22 meters), no offside rule
• Match length: 2 x 12 minutes with an “energy break”
• Special rule: the last 2 minutes are played as net time
• Teams: 14 teams, led by soccer stars, entertainers and influencers

The first season kicked off on September 1, 2024, in the sold-out Lanxess Arena in Cologne with more than 20,000 spectators; the final took place on December 15, 2024, at the SAP Garden in Munich. The Final 8 of season 2 took place in May 2025 at the Max-Schmeling-Halle in Berlin. High-profile team heads include Toni Kroos, David Alaba, Franck Ribéry, Antonio Rüdiger, Claudio Pizarro, Ski Aggu, Luciano, Apache 207, Sido and Klaas Heufer-Umlauf. In November 2025, the league secured Series A funding of around $16.8 million, led by HV Capital, plus a sponsorship deal with Coca-Cola.

Delay Sports Berlin: the dream of his own club

In 2021, Elias Nerlich founded the soccer club Delay Sports Berlin together with former pro Sidney Friede; he is its president. The name plays on “EA Sports” and the delays (“delay”) in FIFA.

What started as a “crazy idea” became Germany’s most successful influencer soccer project. The goal was to be able to play soccer again himself and to promote amateur soccer with their reach. The community voted on the club name, logo and jersey colors.

Delay Sports started in 2022/23 in the eleventh-tier Kreisliga C and has been promoted three times in a row since:

• 2022/23: Kreisliga C → champions, promoted to Kreisliga B
• 2023/24: Kreisliga B → champions, promoted to Kreisliga A
• 2024/25: Kreisliga A → promoted to Bezirksliga
• 2025/26: Bezirksliga (eighth tier)

Despite criticism that overqualified players are signed, Nerlich stresses that the players don’t get “a single cent” in salary. The club’s circle includes Kevin Pannewitz (ex-Wolfsburg, head coach), Sidney Friede (ex-Hertha BSC), Diyar Acar and Andreas Schild (sporting director). Matches are streamed on Twitch; Sportschau, Die Zeit, Kicker and Bild have reported on Delay Sports. In 2025, Delay Sports won the DFB-ePokal in cooperation with the FOKUS Clan.

In August 2025, an incident made headlines: before an important match, several Delay players, including co-founder Sidney Friede, partied all night at a festival. Elias then dropped Friede from the starting lineup.

Other projects and companies

• Elias Nerlich GmbH: operating income from streaming, content and advertising
• Elias Nerlich Management GmbH: holding company for his stakes
• Fokus Clan: managing partner of the esports team (since September 2021)
• Real Life Eligella Cup: his own soccer event with RTL+
• Minecraft Eligella Cup: a community Minecraft tournament
• Elevate Clothing GmbH: held a 40% stake in the fashion label “Elevate”; the company was liquidated in June 2024

Minecraft, Fitnacraft and Craft Attack

EliasN97 discovered Minecraft in early 2023 – 11 years after the game’s release. His first Minecraft stream on January 4, 2023, was chaotic and, in his own words, “absolutely lost” – but that’s exactly what viewers loved. His stream on January 8, 2023, peaked at more than 80,500 viewers, putting him ahead of established Minecraft veterans like BastiGHG.

Together with other streamers such as Rohat, Trymacs, MontanaBlack, rewinside and many more, Elias played Fitnacraft – a Minecraft server project with fewer rules, more PvP and more chaotic action than Craft Attack.

In 2023, EliasN97 and Rohat still felt excluded from the big Minecraft event Craft Attack. At the Minecraft Eligella Cup on December 8, 2024, Elias then announced that he would join Craft Attack 13. The season started on October 25, 2025 – Eli played together with his team (SidneyEweka, NiklasWilson, krokoboss). Since October 10, 2026, he has also been on Craft Attack 14.

Formats on Twitch and YouTube

• Just Chatting: personal conversations with the community, reactions, IRL content
• EA Sports FC (formerly FIFA): his roots as an esports player, pack openings, FUT Champions
• Minecraft: Craft Attack, Fitnacraft, his own server projects
• Among Us: legendary sessions with other streamers
• Special events: Icon League, Eligella Cup, tournaments
• YouTube: stream highlights, Delay Sports match reports and vlogs, Icon League content, behind the scenes

EliasN97’s gaming setup

Only his headset is documented: on his Twitch page, EliasN97 links the JBL Quantum 950 – JBL is a sponsor. He doesn’t share details about his mouse, keyboard, microphone, camera or PC himself; setup lists online don’t cite a source for these.

Friends, crew & collabs

• Sidney Friede: co-founder of Delay Sports and Elevate
• SidneyEweka, NiklasWilson, krokoboss, Repaz, NiekBeats: his Craft Attack circle since season 13
• Craft Attack 14: the group project “9 Titanen” with HandOfBlood, Trymacs, Gamerstime, SidneyEweka, NiklasWilson, krokoboss, NiekBeats and Repaz
• Toni Kroos: co-founder of the Icon League
• Rohat, MontanaBlack, rewinside: fellow players on Fitnacraft and other Minecraft projects
• Minecraft OGs such as BastiGHG and GommeHD: guests at the Minecraft Eligella Cup

Private life

Relationship and engagement

Elias has been with his girlfriend Melina Sophie Baumann since June 2014. In June 2024, the couple announced their engagement. Melina regularly appears in his videos and streams.

Family

In October 2022, Elias bought his mother her dream house – an emotional moment he shared on Twitter, calling it the best moment of his “career” so far.

The downside of streaming

In an interview with the German news magazine Der Spiegel, Elias spoke openly about how the long streaming sessions into the early morning take their toll – for example through poor sleep and little balance.

Character and values

• Authenticity: honest opinions, no fake behavior
• Ambition: constantly chasing new projects and goals
• Community focus: a close bond with his fans
• Passion for soccer: a genuine love of the sport, not just business

Income & net worth

How much EliasN97 earns or owns isn’t public – there are no reliable figures. Net worth estimates online are extrapolated from subscriber and viewer numbers and are not a trustworthy source. What is clear is where his income comes from:

• Twitch: subscriptions, donations, Bits, ads
• YouTube: ad revenue from the Eligella and EliasN97 channels
• Sponsorships: including Adidas (since 2022), RTL and partners labeled on Twitch such as JBL, Paulaner, Würth and Prepmymeal
• Icon League: a 20 percent stake via his management company, according to Wikipedia
• Fokus Clan: a stake in the esports team
• Other brands: such as the vitamin water Vitavate (according to his video description, made “by Eli, Sidney & Willy”), which he promotes in his video descriptions

Controversies and criticism

Like any public figure, EliasN97 hasn’t been free of controversy:

• Spitch ads (November 2022): Nerlich was criticized for advertising the fantasy sports app Spitch, which can be considered gambling.
• Accusations of sexism (May 2023): he made derogatory remarks about women whose underwear is visible because of their clothing style, using a German slur for it. The remarks drew heavy criticism; according to him, partners like Adidas still stood by him.

Is EliasN97 kid-friendly?

• Age: rather from 14. The German parents’ guide FLIMMO rates his channel red because 16+ and 18+ games are shown regularly; on top of that come crude language and a very luxurious lifestyle.
• Gentler entry points: his Minecraft streams on Craft Attack and soccer content around Delay Sports and the Icon League are much more family-friendly than Just Chatting or shooters.
• Long livestreams: Elias often streams for many hours at a time. Agree on fixed times – most highlights are also available as short YouTube videos.
• Ads & gambling-like mechanics: pack openings in EA Sports FC and ads like the one for Spitch can introduce kids to gambling mechanics. Talk about loot boxes and labeled advertising.
• Positive: his story from injured soccer player to entrepreneur shows perseverance – and Delay Sports shows how reach can support amateur sports.

Does EliasN97 swear?

Yes. His streams and videos are in German, and swearing and crude language are common – FLIMMO lists unsuitable language as a point of criticism.

Questions about EliasN97

How old is EliasN97? When is EliasN97’s birthday?

EliasN97 was born on December 10, 1997, which makes him 28 years old.

What is EliasN97’s real name?

His real name is Elias Nerlich. He is from Berlin and used to be an esports player for Hertha BSC.

What is the Icon League?

The Icon League is a 5-a-side indoor soccer league that EliasN97 founded together with Toni Kroos (announced in November 2023). The league kicked off in September 2024 and brings together soccer stars, former pros, musicians and influencers in indoor matches. High-profile team heads include David Alaba, Antonio Rüdiger, Franck Ribéry and Ski Aggu.

What is Delay Sports Berlin?

Delay Sports Berlin is a soccer club that EliasN97 founded in 2021 together with former pro Sidney Friede. The club started in 2022 in the Kreisliga C and was promoted three times in a row – all the way to the Bezirksliga Berlin (2025/26). The squad includes former pros such as Kevin Pannewitz and players with experience in higher leagues.

How did EliasN97 become an esports player?

In September 2016, EliasN97 broke his fibula and could barely get out of bed for weeks. During that time, he played FIFA 17 intensively and improved so much that he qualified for the FUT Champions Cup in Barcelona. In 2018, he signed a pro contract as an esports player with Hertha BSC and played in the Virtual Bundesliga. He has been streaming on Twitch since April 2020, left Hertha BSC in August 2021 and has been a full-time streamer ever since.

Is EliasN97 engaged or married?

EliasN97 has been in a relationship with his girlfriend Melina Sophie Baumann since June 2014. In June 2024, the two announced their engagement.

Does EliasN97 play Minecraft?

Yes, EliasN97 only discovered Minecraft in early 2023 – 11 years after the game’s release. His stream on January 8, 2023, peaked at more than 80,500 viewers. Since then he has streamed Minecraft regularly, took part in Fitnacraft, played Craft Attack 13 and has been on Craft Attack 14 since October 2026.

Where is EliasN97 most active?

EliasN97 is most active on Twitch, where he streams almost daily, often for many hours at a time; he has 2.47M followers there. He is also active on YouTube with the channels Eligella and EliasN97, as well as on Instagram, TikTok and X.

Who sponsors EliasN97?

EliasN97 has several major sponsors and partnerships: Adidas (since August 2022, as the first non-athlete brand ambassador), Coca-Cola (sponsorship deal for the Icon League from September 2025), RTL Deutschland (partnership for the Real Life Eligella Cup) and other brand deals. On his Twitch channel, he links partners such as JBL, Paulaner and Würth.

Did EliasN97 play soccer?

Yes, EliasN97 played soccer for various Berlin clubs from childhood. At 17, he even played in the sixth-tier Brandenburg-Liga for RSV Waltersdorf 09 (21 appearances, 1 goal). Injuries ended his career, though: a broken fibula in 2016 and a torn cruciate ligament in 2018. At 22 (2020), he ended his active soccer career. Today he occasionally plays for his own club, Delay Sports Berlin.

How much does EliasN97 earn?

There are no reliable figures – estimates online are extrapolations. His income comes from Twitch (subs, donations, ads), YouTube, sponsorship deals (including Adidas), stakes such as the Icon League (20 percent via his management company, according to Wikipedia) and the esports team Fokus Clan. In 2024, he won the StreamAwards for the highest watch time.

Is EliasN97 kid-friendly?

Only partly. His soccer, Minecraft and Just Chatting streams are often harmless, but he regularly plays 16+ and 18+ games, his language is crude and luxury plays a big role – the German parents’ guide FLIMMO rates his channel red. We recommend him for ages 14 and up.

Does EliasN97 swear?

Yes. His streams and videos are in German, and swearing and crude language are common – FLIMMO lists unsuitable language as a point of criticism.

How can you support EliasN97?

On Twitch: subscribe to the channel, donate, cheer with Bits, watch streams and be active in chat. On YouTube: like, comment and subscribe. On social media: like, share and comment on Instagram, TikTok and X. Community: join the Discord and take part in events. Icon League and Delay Sports: watch the matches and support them.

Transparency & sources

Facts from Wikipedia (German) (biography, Icon League stake, controversies); Craft Attack 14 participation from the official participant list and the group project from 9titanen.de and the HandOfUncut video description (October 12, 2026); child-safety rating by FLIMMO (German, as of June 8, 2026); setup and sponsors from the panels on his Twitch channel and the Eligella video description (October 13, 2026). More background: Delay Sports (Wikipedia, German), Transfermarkt. Amounts in euros converted to US dollars at the ECB rate of October 12, 2026 (€1 = $1.118).

Profiles: Twitch, YouTube Eligella, YouTube EliasN97, Instagram, X, TikTok, Discord.

We update the figures and the content mix automatically every week via the YouTube and Twitch APIs.