The LEC roster moves continue to hit as Son “Mickey” Young-min joins Excel Esports per esporin. This is the second significant move by the team this month, adding Petter “Hjarnan” Freyschuss at ADC back on May 8.
Kaynaklarımızdan gelen bilgilere göre, geçen mevsimi Kore Yükselme Ligi takımlarından APK Prince'te geçiren Koreli orta koridor oyuncusu Mickey, #LEC takımlarından Excel'in yeni orta koridoru olacak.
Mickey daha önce #LCS'te Team Liquid ve Golden Guardians formaları giymişti. pic.twitter.com/EoNsRmoqCP
— Esporin (@esporincom) May 17, 2019
Mickey
The Korean mid laner does not have the best reputation among the League community. He first made his name playing mid lane for the Afreeca Freecs in 2016, placing fifth all year. Mickey then made his way to the ROX Tigers before leaving for NA to join Team Liquid in 2017. He would stay in North America for the next year and a half, joining the ill-fated Golden Guardians in 2018 Summer. This is where his reputation would sour, leaving before the season even ended. The community sounded off on the mid laner, labeling him as toxic for abandoning his team before the season was over. This tag would follow him to Korea, as he joined APK Prince for 2019 Spring. They would fail to qualify for the LCK.
Excel Esports
The newcomer to the LEC had a rough first split. The English organization struggled throughout the season, eventually finishing in ninth place. Their starting mid laner Fabian “Exile” Schubert was benched after Week 4, with Joran “Special” Scheffer taking over. Special was an upgrade over Exile but still was considered a mid-to-lower-tier mid laner in the LEC. The team would answer some of their issues by bringing in reigning Worlds semifinalist Hjarnan at ADC. Excel are showing that despite being one of the poorer and smaller-market LEC teams, they are not content with stagnant mediocrity.
What does it mean?
This move is a risk for Excel Esports. Mickey was by no means a top-tier Korean mid, and Europe is known for producing top-tier mid lane talent. It seems like a budget option for a team who needs to improve. In an ideal situation for Excel, Mickey meshes well with the team and becomes a mid-tier mid laner in the LEC. For the short term the move is not a bad one, but time will tell if it pans out.
