In our second hype video looking at the upcoming teams in the ESL UK League of Legends 2016 summer split, we throw the spotlight on exceL eSports.
eSports News UK video producer Rob Allen looks at the story of xL in this video, who have taken on a completely new stance.
They’re no longer doing this for fun – they want to win.
To help them do so, they made drastic changes to their roster and brought in Furndog as coach.
Manager (and former support) Ryan “Barnetto” Barnett said: “We joined as a group of friends under xL, and then we realised that wasn’t enough to succeed in the current environment – and there were a lot more talented teams than us.
“We decided if we were gonna do it, then we’d have to do it right – and put the resources in. We started to look at what we could find best in a team – not as friends. We took it more professionally and we treat it as a part-time job, something we want to succeed at, as opposed to something we do for fun.
“We still have fun, but there’s more of a mature atmosphere now.”
Jungler Skudzy says these changes make xL more of a force to be reckoned with.
View the video here:
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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.
