UK and Spanish esports organisation GiantX have promoted their LVP Superliga top-laner Antonio ‘Th3Antonio’ Espinosa Bejarano to their League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC) roster.
The Spanish player replaces Romanian top-laner Odoamne, who has been benched, as has South Korean jungler Peach. A replacement jungler has not yet been announced.
GiantX said in a press release: ‘The Barcelona-born top laner will be part of the line-up kicking off the LEC Summer split season in Berlin, which starts in June. As the community quotes; ‘Th3LEC’ is finally a reality.’
The news comes after GiantX finished sixth in the LEC Spring 2024 regular season, and were knocked out in round one of the lower bracket in the playoffs. G2 went on to win the LEC Spring 2024, with Fnatic also qualifying for MSI.
GiantX said in a statement: “Throughout the past few weeks we have been exploring potential options and working hard to rebuild our LEC roster in order to aim for a better competitive performance in Summer.
“With many decisions yet to be taken, we have decided that Odoamne and Peach will not be a part of the starting roster for the upcoming split. We would like to thank both of them for their efforts and contributions throughout the previous LEC splits.
“We will continue to work hard on building a roster that our fans will be excited for and will provide additional updates in the near future. Thank you. #WeAreGiantX.”
Commenting on his new role, Th3Antonio said: “This is the dream I’ve been working towards since I entered esports. I always wanted to compete at the highest level to face the best, and finally, I have this opportunity.
“I never stopped striving, and thanks to that and the work we’ve done together with all my teammates, we’ve achieved great things in Spain, but the LEC has always been my ultimate goal.
“I have achieved it, thank you for all the support, I will not fail, I am prepared. We’re taking GiantX to Worlds, I swear. Going to the LEC with my lifelong club, GiantX, is a double dream. Everyone knows what GiantX means to me.”
Th3Antonio, GiantX
Sports Director at GiantX, David Alonso, added: “Th3Antonio deserves this opportunity, both in recognition of the level he’s at and all the work he has put in over the past few years.
“We are convinced of this decision and that he will give everything to succeed in the LEC. He has always been characterised by sacrificing himself for others, and lately, he has taken a step forward by leading in crucial moments, a clear sign of his maturity as a player.”
Having joined at a young age in 2017, Antonio ‘Th3Antonio’ Espinosa has become one of the most decorated players of the LVP Superliga and of GiantX history. During his time with the team, he has won four Superliga titles, two Iberian Cups, one Copa, and has reached an EMEA Masters final, as well as other national competitions.
“The decision to promote Th3Antonio reflects GIANTX’s need to implement changes following the results of the LEC Winter and Spring split seasons. In both splits, the team fell short in the first round of playoffs. The Summer split season is the main shot at Worlds for all teams, and the aim of the club was to make the necessary changes to achieve this goal. After a period of reflection and numerous trials, Th3Antonio has been chosen for the toplaner position,” GiantX said.
Reaction to Th3Antonio’s promotion to GiantX LEC roster, plus Odoamne and Peach being benched
LEC host skokz found an old picture of her and Th3Antonio, and reposted it.
Odoamne responded to being benched, after coach kaas said: “Welcome Th3Antonio, it’s a very powerful weapon to have someone on board who will always prioritise the team above anything else.”
Odoamne said: “Nice flame.”
Peach, who joined Excel Esports (GiantX’s former name, prior to Excel’s merger with Giants Gaming) this time last year, has not yet responded to his benching on Twitter.
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.
