EXCEL’s flaws were there for everyone to see in plain sight as the team suffered another damaging defeat in the LEC, forcing the organization’s CEO to apologize to the fans.
EXCEL went into their final game of Week 2, against a winless Astralis, hoping to bounce back from defeats to MAD Lions and Fnatic, but ended up being humbled in a one-sided, 32-minute game that puts both teams with a 1-5 record in the LEC standings.
EXCEL’s struggles were reflected on the scoreboard as their Nexus was taken down. They mustered only six kills to Astralis’ 22, and destroyed just one tower as their opponents ran away with the game after securing first blood around the third minute.
Vincent ‘Vetheo’ Berrié, who joined EXCEL from Misfits in the off-season, looked inconsolable after the game and had to be comforted by team manager Mert Tanriverdi. After the game, the French mid laner admitted that he has lost confidence and that this is the worst moment of his career.
And on Twitter, EXCEL CEO Tim Reichert couldn’t help but apologize for the team’s display.
Sorry for this….
— Tim (@TimReichert79) January 30, 2023
EXCEL know they have a tough road ahead to finish in the top eight and qualify for the group stage. They will face Heretics, Vitality and SK Gaming in the final week of the regular season.
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Veteran top laner Andrei ‘Odoamne’ Pascu said that the team’s Winter split will end prematurely if things don’t turn around quickly.
“Incredibly disappointing, honestly,” he wrote on Twitter. “It’s such a sh*t feeling, going on stage and having games like this.
“It’s next week or go home at this point.”
EXCEL were one of the biggest surprises of 2022 in the LEC, reaching the playoffs in both Spring and Summer splits. The team changed players in every role except AD Carry and retained the services of head coach Joey ‘YoungBuck’ Steltenpool.
With the team looking dispirited and beaten on stage, many are calling for Felix ‘Abbedagge’ Braun to be given a shot in the final week of play. The German mid laner was hired as a substitute player after leaving 100 Thieves at the end of last season.
