MAD Lions vs exceL

A clash between the MAD Lions and EXCEL Esports wasn't supposed to be this darn interesting, and yet here we are. This, by and large, is a fight between the defending LEC champions (and, by proxy, one of the best teams in the world), and an organization that has never reached the playoffs. Hardly anything worth writing home about, right?

Well, as it turns out, the EXCEL bunch doesn't intend to go "gently into that good night." Instead, they're motivated, hungry, and -- thanks to two great roster changes -- reinvigorated in the most important (and obvious) of ways. Their upset wins over Vitality and G2 last week told us one thing and one thing only: they're not to be trifled with. Moreover, they're currently tied in fifth place which, in all fairness, is quite a respectable result, given whom we're talking about here (and their shoddy track record). They're still a middle of the pack team (at best), but we need to give them credit for the way they've handled things and for the speed at which they were able to seemingly correct course and get on the same page.

Whether they've truly "ascended" still remains to be seen. You can never be too certain with EXCEL, as you're always waiting for the other shoe to drop. They've had amazing performances in the past as well but they never lasted for long. As for MAD Lions, they're not all that consistent right now but they're getting there. They've improved leaps and bounds from week 1, and it's fair to assume that they'll continue growing and evolving over the coming days and weeks as well. They're still not at at 100%, but they're not far off either. They're better than EXCEL in every which way, both individually as well as a five-man unit, and even though they might struggle in the early stages of the game they should still be more than capable enough to take XL down. It probably won't be a pretty sight, but they have all the right tools to get the job done.