UK esports org Excel are off to a solid start in the latest LEC season, and recently went through a number of management and other changes. To discuss the new Excel and their ambitious goals, Esports News UK editor Dom Sacco hops onto a Zoom call with Excel COO Tim Reichert.
He calls in from his home office in the lush greenery of Oberhausen, central Germany, with a sign behind him telling him: ‘You can’t make everyone happy, you are not pizza.’ But before we jump into his approach to life and work, the LEC is first on the agenda.
The Summer 2022 LEC is underway, and the Excel League of Legends team picked up two wins in the opening week versus Misfits and Fnatic. A loss to G2, but also a perfect KDA game against Misfits. Has that set the standard for the rest of the season?
Yes and no. It was more or less a perfect game [against Misfits] but that’s also related to what our opponents are doing, they had a rough day, it was perhaps not their best performance. But more important for me is to see our team getting along very well, working harder than most other teams I’ve had before and there’s a lot of individual skill. We have one of the best players in Europe.
So it’s allowed us to become confident, and not just look for playoffs, but for more. It’s not delusional or over ambitious. I know our current form might change, and there’s a scenario where playoffs hit and it’s about Worlds slots, or the meta doesn’t fit us, or two players struggle for whatever reasons. That’s what we need to focus on – that this doesn’t happen. And we’re not just one of the very best.
I do think that now, at the moment we are definitely a top three, top four, maybe top two team. And it’s important this will not change in the course of the next eight to ten weeks.
There seems to have been a turning point for Excel. You reached the LEC playoffs for the first time, you beat Fnatic, one of the teams many expect to finish in the top few positions this season.
There has been a turning point, especially for [bot-laner] Patrik, but also for Joey [Youngbuck, head coach]. This burden to not make playoffs for so long maybe held them back a bit and gave them additional pressure. But I don’t think this was a big factor, I just think our team right now is that good, it’s not even about playoffs anymore. We still need to get into the playoffs and there are very good teams competing, but our confidence, mentality and ambitions are different.
We are also super disappointed about ourselves in that we didn’t beat Vitality in the playoffs best-of-five. There are reasons why we didn’t do well at that time, but we’ll make sure this doesn’t happen to us again.
You want to finish in the top three in the LEC, but are there any other goals you have for this season?
The ambition and goal is making it to Worlds, but I don’t want to limit ourselves. We should be looking for more, like maybe going for the LEC finals and winning an LEC trophy. It’s funny when I talk to my team and for Joey and Patrik who I mentioned, for them discussing these ambitions and goals, and not being delusional about that.
We want to win everything that’s possible, right, and the team is working hard on that. I’m confident the words I’m using here aren’t creating unnecessary pressure on them because we all just think like that. Can we achieve that? We don’t know yet. But there’s no other goal than just being the best.
It’s very difficult because G2 look really strong, but that doesn’t make us less ambitious.
“The ambition and goal is making it to Worlds, but I don’t want to limit ourselves. We should be looking for more, like maybe going for the LEC finals and winning an LEC trophy. We want to win everything that’s possible, and the team is working hard on that. There’s no other goal than just being the best.”
The competition pushes you on. I think the LEC is really competitive, and like the Premier League, anyone on their day can beat any other team.
Yes, very much. I don’t think the bottom teams will beat the top teams in a best-of-five, but yes, anything is possible in a best-of-one.
How are things at Excel in general right now?
Obviously we made some internal changes not connected to rosters. My personal change is quite a big one, because now my responsibilities and my focus are in different areas. It’s very busy, but I would say the things you can see from the outside, and the things from the inside, are very good.
The teams are doing good – not just the League of Legends team. It’s also the Valorant team, our League of Legends academy team, our FIFA team… so that’s something we’re very happy with. We think we can do quite a lot of damage [to our opponents] this year. Maybe damage is the wrong word, but I think you know what I mean – we can be very successful.
We are just not allowed to drop the ball. Right now, the teams are really good, but we all know how it is sometimes. There are swings: very strong to very weak from one moment to another. We need to make sure this doesn’t happen in the most crucial times.
You are now COO at Excel Esports following some management changes, and the XL Shoreditch office has opened. Tell us about managing your new role and what it means for Excel.
I did kind of the same at Schalke, so it’s not something new in that sense. But the reality is in terms of Excel’s operations, it’s bigger than Schalke has been. They had a smaller esports department with much less stuff, so we’re quite big and have to grow, not just with our competitive success, but in all other aspects.
We have the new infrastructure in London, we’re about to have new infrastructure in Berlin, new people coming in, new recruitment, so there’s a lot to do, but I’m excited about that. I love that – it’s nothing I’d ever complain about. But I need to find the right balance, because for now we did not go for a replacement for myself as esports director. So I’m still in charge of that and need to find the balance to still deliver the best job possible for our teams, while at the same time having enough quality time to spend on developing the operations of Excel.
So I have both responsibilities and it is quite stressful, but for now it’s the best decision to have me [in both roles] for now. But I think we’ll get to a point where we have more people on that.
“I do think that now, at the moment we are definitely a top three, top four, maybe top two LEC team. And it’s important this will not change in the course of the next eight to ten weeks.”
What can you tell me about this new facility for the team in Berlin? That hasn’t been fully announced.
Nothing has been announced yet, but it’s not confidential. We have become too big [for our existing facility] and our ambitions and expectations in Berlin for our German operations are different from three years ago when Excel moved into that facility.
We need something which is much more professional, which provides us with more opportunities to provide our players and better infrastructure. We have found a place, we’re on the last details to sign the paperwork and the expected timeline on that is to move into that infrastructure by the end of the year.
To be realistic, we all know how difficult construction work is, so hopefully we can stick to that timeline but it’s not set in stone.
Now I should be asking about the League team and so on, but there’s a sign behind you on this Zoom call which says something about pizza. What is that?
(Laughs) Give me a second.
(Moves to show a sign which says: ‘You can’t make everyone happy. You are not pizza.’)
I think that’s a present – my wife felt it somehow fits with my personality. And it actually reminds me of my job, so I found it appropriate to have that in my office!
I feel similar. As a journalist you can’t please everyone, but I’m a social person and like to get along with others. Do you feel this applies to your role at Excel in particular?
Yes. It applies a lot to myself. I’m also a social person, at least when it comes to business, on a private level I like my small area of friends and family. I’m not a guy that goes out every two days.
I think my job demands me to be nice and respectful to people, and to treat everyone as they deserve to be treated. I’m very much a team player myself, but at the same time, we all know how difficult the esports business is and we all know that changes are often needed. Sometimes they’re difficult, whatever the change is, if it’s a service provider or a player on a team.
So they’re often difficult decisions and it’s important to make them with respect and staying true to myself and our cause and values. Sometimes they’re not nice, and this is how I need to do my job, to be successful.
You’re not pizza.
I’m not pizza, exactly (laughs).
“We’re about to have new infrastructure in Berlin. We have become too big [for our existing facility] and our ambitions and expectations in Berlin for our German operations are different from three years ago when Excel moved into that facility. The expected timeline is to move into that infrastructure by the end of the year.”
What are your predictions for the Vitality and Mad Lions games this weekend? Will you be looking for revenge against Vitality?
I think we go 2-0, yes. I’m quite confident. We have side selection, but again it’s best-of-one. One mistake versus two very strong opponents in the early game, and that’s what happened versus G2. We made some stupid early mistakes and then we couldn’t get back into the game. It could happen again, but I’m very positive and optimistic. They will be cool games – you can expect us to be very strong.
Just lastly, Excel have been been signing more content creators lately, including 14-year-old Rezhexx. That’s interesting.
Really an interesting story. An amazing story to be honest. We met Rezhexx at Insomnia Gaming Festival at our booth. He popped up, he has a great personality, and Freeman our talent manager just thought it might be cool to help him. It’s not for us, to be clear, it’s not a signing where he delivers crazy numbers to us.
He’s just started as a content creator and I think it’s a good approach to help these young players. His father is also Jason Bradbury [tech/media personality and former Gadget Show presenter], a popular figure in the UK. And this was not a reason at all why we signed him, I don’t even know if we knew this before, Freeman just saw this young kid and it was a funny coincidence that his father is also a public figure. So maybe it’s in the genes!
It’s not like Caedrel, who has a huge fanbase and delivers numbers, so it’s very different, but I love that.
Thanks for the chat, Tim.
Excel play versus Vitality at 6pm BST today (June 24th) and Mad Lions from 5pm BST on June 25th this weekend on the LEC broadcast
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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.
