After yet another unfortunate LEC season, Excel Esports has started its search for answers this offseason by letting its starting jungler explore his options for the 2023 LEC Summer Split.
Andrei “Xerxe” Dragomir is the second player to leave Excel’s League of Legends this year due to the team finishing in last place in back-to-back seasons. The 23-year-old journeyman will be hunting for the ninth team of his career looking toward the remainder of 2023, while Excel will be in the market for a new jungler over the next couple of months.
The 2023 Spring Split might have been the worst season of Xerxe’s career, especially after finishing as the only non-support player in the LEC to end the regular season with single-digit kills. He also sported an abysmal 2.2 KDA, according to competitive League stats aggregate Oracle’s Elixir. This disappointing split cannot be placed solely on Xerxe’s shoulders, however.
Bad performances are also amplified when on an underperforming team, and as a unit, Excel were never on the same page and couldn’t buy themselves any momentum. One glaring issue was their mismanaged early game, which led to a horrendous -2,510 average gold difference at 15 minutes.
Related: LEC’s new 2023 format has been well-received but poses one glaring issue for EU pros
Whether it was through solo kills, unforced errors, or poorly timed engages, the roster couldn’t seem to stay together and remain consistent for too long before making a mistake. It is a stark contrast to the expectations that many fans and analysts had for this relatively stacked lineup since they feature some talented European stars like veteran top laner Andrei “Odoamne” Pascu and rising mid lane prospect Vincent “Vetheo” Berrié.
In the meantime, Excel’s management will have plenty of difficult decisions to make before the final season of the year. It is clear that the org’s current strategy isn’t working and could prompt even more change before the next LEC split begins later this year.
Published: Apr 6, 2023 11:05 am