Excel’s Patrik has his sights set on his ‘big goal’: an LEC title

“Hello, this is Patrik!” League of Legends European Championships Caster Medic yelled, astounded at the spectacle before him.

Then Origen bot laner Patrik “Patrik” Jírů hopped over the wall near Gromp into three members of G2 Esports as Ezreal, casually unloaded his combo onto then MSI champion mid laner Rasmus “Caps” Borregaard Winther. Then Patrik calmly flashed back over, surviving the ballsy maneuver with a kill to boot.

That moment, a match that happened more than two years ago, was representative of his burgeoning talent within the European circuit.

He’s experienced it all in the LEC’s often turbulent ride; from his beginnings on H2k-Gaming, to reaching the summit on Origen in Rotterdam, Netherlands, to eventually finding himself a new home with British upstarts Excel Esports — where he’s been a mainstay for close to four seasons.

Patrik has seen many teammates come and go in those four seasons. Now, he’s the only player that remains from the LEC 2020 spring roster. No matter what setbacks Excel have faced, Patrik’s many noteworthy performances blazes a renewed chapter in his career and a path forward for his team. Currently, he said he is more determined than ever to take Excel to the playoffs.

Dissecting the new Excel

Throughout his time on Excel, 2021 is arguably the year that put Patrik and his team squarely in the gaze of the public, and not for all the right reasons. From replacing promising mid laner Paweł “Czekolad” Szczepanik with Erlend “nukeduck” Våtevik Holm, to not properly communicating their off-season plans of promoting Mark “Markoon” van Woensel and Henk “Advienne” Reijenga, to ending up 2-5 after the first three weeks of summer, it looked like Excel were just trying to make waves instead of the playoffs.

But, in Week 4, Excel made a bold decision to promote the promising duo of Markoon and Advienne from academy roster BT Excel, their academy roster. Coach Joey “YoungBuck” Steltenpool clearly communicated the team’s intent after learning from their fumblings in the offseason. Since then, win or lose, Excel have looked reborn for summer. Even in their losses, their games have been much closer than they were at the start. But what made this possible?

Announcement regarding our #LEC roster heading into week 4.@MarkoonLoL & @Advienne1 will join the LEC team ahead of this week's matches with Dan & Denyk moving to the BTXL roster.#ThePowerOfBetter #XLWIN pic.twitter.com/sMWzDhym1i

— EXCEL (@EXCEL) June 28, 2021

According to Patrik, the previous iteration of Excel was not always on the same page. Specifically, they had difficulties in agreeing on proper directions during matches. But, with the introduction of Markoon and Advienne, their proactive playstyle and confidence outside Summoner’s Rift gave the team a new lease of life.

“You can say I’m a veteran and they are rookies, but the atmosphere in the team doesn’t feel like that,” Patrik said. “It feels like we are all veterans and I don’t get the rookie vibe from them. They are both really good players.”

While Patrik admitted that this feeling hasn’t translated to perfect play, the team does at least operate in harmony.

Regardless, perhaps the most discussed point of this roster is their mid laner, Nukeduck. The Norwegian mid laner is veteran of many European campaigns and his presence is almost synonymous with the highest rungs of European League of Legends. However, his arrival has been extraordinarily polarizing. Fans on social media often cite Nukeduck as past his prime, ever since Origen finished dead last during the summer of 2020.

Patrik sees it differently. As someone who played with Nukeduck on Origen, Patrik said he believes his teammate  brings more than just strong gameplay and a “champion ocean” to the team. Despite Excel’s current record, Patrik also said he thinks Excel are a better team now than seasons past. For example, Nukeduck has worked well with Markoon to better their mid-jungle synergy.

“I enjoy playing with Nukeduck because he brings a different passion for the game,” Patrik said. “I think he has very good knowledge of matchups and a wide champion pool because he takes a great time to learn champions in detail. Nukeduck has a good view of the game and shares his opinion with the team, making sure the team understands what he means.”