Excel Esports have made yet another exciting addition to their 2020 LEC roster. Having already completed their coaching line-up, Patrik ‘Patrik’ Jiru will be Excel’s starting ADC going into the Spring Split.

The 19-year-old was a memorable face on the European stage this year, helping his former side Origen to a second-place finish at Spring Split after taking down Fnatic, as well as making it to Gauntlet after a less impressive Summer Split.

But why did Patrik decide to join Excel? He admitted that the star-studded coaching team helped to sway his decision.

He told us: “Origen and I didn’t come to terms together so there wasn’t really anything we could do – that’s why I decided to leave.

“I had a few offers and I think the other teams’ rosters and coaching staff weren’t as interesting as this one, so basically I joined because I believe we could go further as a team and it’d be really good here.

“I think it’s hard to judge a coach if you’ve never worked with him from the outside perspective but I expect Youngbuck to be really good since he’s been doing super well over the years. I’m just excited to work with someone who’s proven himself to be this good.”

Expectations and Ambitions

Excel have struggled since their induction into the LEC, finishing ninth and tenth respectively in the inaugural year of the competition. But Patrik believes the roster shake up in the off season will improve Excel’s results next season.

He told us: “I think last year, Excel’s biggest problem was their bot lane where they didn’t really synchronise with the rest of the team as well. I think if I can make it work with the rest of my teammates we can actually finish top six, maybe even top four.

“For me, I just want to feel like we’re actually improving as a team on a daily basis and that we’re not stuck in one place which has happened to me before. I think we will be good enough to reach playoffs for sure and what happens after that we’ll see.”

Worlds Heartbreak

It took a while for Patrik to get over losing to Splyce at Gauntlet © Riot Games

Despite his achievements with Origen, Patrik didn’t make it to Worlds this year, something he says took him a long time to get over.

“It obviously felt really bad that I didn’t make it to Worlds because towards the end when we were in playoffs we were playing really badly – we weren’t working together at all.

“However, once we started practicing for Gauntlet, I became more confident because we were playing well again. At the time, it hit me really hard when we lost to Splyce because I thought they weren’t as a good of a team as us so it took me some time to get over the loss.”

Like every professional League of Legends team in the world, Excel are determined to make it to Worlds and various staff members including Youngbuck have touched on a ‘two-year plan’ – a rough timeframe as to when the organisation expects their roster to get to the international stage.

Patrik, on the back of his own disappointment from not making it to Worlds this year, is also on board with this ambitious strategy.