Excel Esports has announced the appointment of Joey ‘YoungBuck’ Steltenpool as its League of Legends head coach, pending Riot Games approval.
YoungBuck is a six-time European champion and was previously the League of Legends head coach for Fnatic and G2 Esports.
UK-based esports org, Excel, which takes part in the League of Legends European Championship (LEC), said it looks forward to working with YoungBuck on building a new performance strategy ahead of the 2020 LEC season.
When asked about the upcoming LEC season, YoungBuck said:
“I am very excited to join Excel. As a relatively new organisation to the LEC, with many young and talented players, I feel like this is the best place for me to use my experience and ability in regard to developing talent. I hope to help Excel grow and become a powerhouse team in the LEC.”
Joey ‘YoungBuck’ Steltenpool, Excel Esports
YoungBuck’s appointment as head coach comes after Excel came to an agreement to part ways with both David ‘DLim’ Lim and Alec ‘Bonquish’ Warren, as head coach and strategic coach respectively. DLim joined earlier this year.
Grant Rousseau, head of operations at Excel Esports, commented: “This is an extremely exciting time for us at Excel and I am very proud to be welcoming the six-star general, Joey, to our organisation.
“Unfortunately this means that David and Alec will be parting ways with us. They were valued members of our team and I wish them all the best in whatever comes next.”
Excel have made a number of coaching staff changes in the past. With disappointing results in the LEC so far, they will no doubt hope to turn things around for the next season.
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
Wow! That’s a very unexpected move for Youngbuck. But that sounds like a great deal for both Joey and Excel. I feel like the experience he’ll bring to the team is going to start showing on the rift pretty quickly once the new season kicks off.