Excel Esports vs MAD Lions Preview and Predictions: LEC 2023 Summer Group Stage
| Tags: League of Legends
| Author Bence Loksa
Excel Esports vs MAD Lions will be the first time the British organization will play in the Group Stage of the renewed LEC format.
The wait is over, the summer break is behind us, and the LEC is back full throttle this weekend! After three weeks of the LEC 2023 Summer Split, we said goodbye to two teams out of the ten: Team Vitality, who struggled to get a single win and Astralis, who’s knockout is a bit sad, as they were in the picture until the last match of the last day. But life goes on, and there’s still 8 teams that want to get to the top 4 to have a shot at the Season Finals – and two of them will kick off the Group Stage.
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Excel Esports vs MAD Lions Preview
Excel Esports
Excel Esports did it! The British organization broke the Playoff-curse last year only to take on the Group Stage-curse after the start of the 2023 season, as they failed to qualify for the Winter and Spring Group Stages of the LEC. Andrei “Odoamne” Pascu and co. have gone through some changes in the weeks before the Summer Split which have played off immensely, as the new curse has been lifted as well! Excel Esports finished 3rd in the regular season with a 5-4 scoreline, so not only did they make it to Groups, but they also seem to be contenders for the top 4.
Their new jungler, Lee “Peach” Min-gyu brought stability to the team with his tank junglers, and Felix “Abbedagge” Braun seems like a different person when he’s playing Azir. With Odoamne, Dino “LIMIT” Tot and Patrik “Patrik” Jírú stepping up, Excel beat teams such as Vitality, Team Heretics and Team BDS.
MAD Lions
The Lions started the Summer Split incredibly strong, beating VIT, G2 Esports and KOI in the first week of the Summer Regular Season. Afterwards, however, their opponents figured out their playstyle while Javier “Elyoya” Prades Batalla and his teammates performance worsened, which meant that they only secured a single win in the second week, going on a 5-loss streak after their match against Astralis.
MAD Lions have been in a similar position in Spring, where they had to play tiebreakers in order to make it to Groups. They also do this in the Rift, spending the early game slightly behind to take over the match when it most matters.
Excel Esports vs MAD Lions Predictions
The two teams have faced each other on the second day of the second week, but MAD Lions was unable to beat Excel, even after Yasin “Nisqy” Dincer whipped out his Twisted Fate, while Elyoya and Matyás “Carzzy” Orság had a great performance. Abbedagge and Patrik were unstoppable, while Peach, LIMIT and Odo refused to let anyone close to their carries. While the match lasted for almost 40 minutes, Excel never faltered – why would they do so in the Group Stage?
Where to watch Excel Esports vs MAD Lions
You can find Excel Esports facing MAD Lions this Saturday at 18:00 CEST on the official LEC YouTube and Twitch channels, as well as lolesports.com. Don’t forget to check out ESTNN’s other Previews and Predictions!