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Caedrel: Excel have a 10-15% chance of making playoffs
Excel’s playoffs chances looked dead, but after a 2-0 week, Caedrel reckons his team still have a chance. It’s going to be a thriller, he says.
It was an amazing weekend for Excel at the LEC. After a poor start to their second split, the British underdogs finally got a 2-0, beating Rogue and Misfits. With some top teams standing in their way, it is going to be ridiculously tough to make the playoffs from here, but it’s a challenge that the team’s jungler, Marc ‘Caedrel' Lamont is ready to take on.
In this latest Excel at the LEC column, Caedrel tells us what it was like to win both matches at an LEC weekend, whether he thinks his team can make the playoffs, explains how his rookie teammates have improved and gives us his reaction to the criticism he and Mickey have experienced this split.
2-0 felt good
We got our first 2-0 of the year! It felt good and we were all really happy, but it was against two weaker teams so it’s difficult to judge how good we really are.
Normally we’d face one tougher team and one weaker over the weekend but even though our plays were quite clean, we did face two weak teams. It felt amazing to finally get a 2-0 nevertheless.
We still need a miracle
Excel celebrate at the LEC
© Riot Games
This weekend is really important for us. We’ll face Splyce who are looking pretty good and also Vitality, who are playing a bit shit lately. It could be a 1-1 weekend for us but I’m really not sure. It’s not out the question to get 2-0 but we can’t underestimate Splyce who had a really strong performance against Schalke last week.
We have three weeks left and we have to go 5-1 in the remainder of our games for a shot at playoffs, so it’s going to be a fucking thriller. We still have to face G2, Fnatic and Origen out of those games so if we don’t go 2-0 this weekend it means we have to win against G2, so that’s gonna be fun!
But if we go 0-2, that’s us out of playoffs and that’d really suck for us not to make it two splits in a row.
I’d say we have a 10, maybe 15% chance of making it. I’ll try my best to win of course because we shouldn’t give up and none of us will until it’s literally mathematically impossible. It’d be bit of a miracle but you never know.
Jeskla and Mystiques have grown so much
Jeskla and Mystiques have improved this split
© Riot Games
It’s really nice to see Jeskla and Mystiques’ growth throughout the split. If you compare their performances in week two to now, they’re so much better and have improved so much.
The way they play the game is a lot more controlled as opposed to what rookies usually do, which is come in hard and try and fight everyone. Of course, sometimes they still have those tendencies, which is kind of funny.
It’s nice to see your teammates do well and grow – they both have quite high skill ceilings, they’re young, and I have no doubt that they will continue to get better.
Mickey is super dedicated
Caedrel enjoys playing with the dedicated Mickey
© Riot Games
Mickey is a really nice person – he’s always laughing and smiling and poking people during scrims. He has this image that he’s super toxic and he rage quits and sure, he has gotten a bit mad a few times but so have I, that’s not out of the ordinary.
He’s genuine and a nice guy, he wants to go to Worlds and he will do everything in his power to win. He’s the type of guy that when we lose and if he’s playing Akali, even if it’s not his fault, he’d go home and play 30 solo queue in a row on that champion to make sure it never happens again. He’s really dedicated which is nice to have on a team.
Everyone’s entitled to their opinions and they’re allowed to joke around but when it goes on and on and on it gets tedious, especially when people don’t really know what his life was like. Maybe he was having a rough time and maybe he was a bit immature but right now he seems super happy and content with life.
I don't let hate get to me
I’ve read a few negative things but I’ve also read some positive things people have been saying about me. I try to separate ‘Caedrel’ and Marc. If people talk about me as a player, I usually take it on the chin, but if they were to flame me as a person, I’d take it a lot more personally. It doesn’t bother me that much – sometimes I have a look at Reddit but generally I try not to because it can be toxic sometimes.
People’s opinions are irrelevant, the only opinions that matter to me are mine, my teammates', and making sure I maintain a good image among the pro players and the teams.
Nowadays, people can make a mistake and everyone makes a huge deal out of it, makes memes out of it and flame players for it.
With traditional sports, someone can make a mistake in the game and fans would go to bars or pubs afterwards and complain about them to their friends. The players themselves obviously have no idea what they’re saying because they’re not there but when it comes to esports, people can just rant online no matter what and say whatever the fuck they want. It’s easier to see that and some people can get affected by it quite easily, but I don’t let it get to me.
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