ExceL Esports to house training facility in Twickenham Stadium

ExceL Esports will spend the 2019 competitive season training in Twickenham Stadium, the team announced earlier today.

“We’re looking to move away from the gaming house model because, for us, there needs to be a clear separation from where the players live and where they work,” exceL’s director of esports Joel Holmes-Darby said in the announcement video. “We think that from a mentality perspective, it helps enable the players to come to work to practice with a different mindset, but it also gives them their own space away from work and switch off.”

In addition to many amenities, such as a gym and on-site catering, exceL will have two different scrim rooms for its 10-man roster. These scrim rooms are “designed to be areas where the players will go when the sole focus is to dial in on the game,” Holmes-Darby said. Since these scrim rooms will try to “mimic the on-stage environment” by being players only, exceL will also have separate rooms where the coaches and analysts can conduct VOD reviews and analysis.

Along with this practice facility reveal, exceL announced that the team will be functioning from London, instead of Berlin where the LEC will be held. ExceL will be flying out to Berlin every week for LEC play, the team confirmed on Twitter.

Boasting a seating capacity of 82,000, Twickenham Stadium “is the largest dedicated rugby union venue in the world.”

ExceL is one of the new European League of Legends teams who were accepted into Riot Games’ LEC permanent partnership program for the upcoming 2019 season.