LEC roster changes impacting the 2023 Spring Split

The move to a new format has made the LEC Spring Split a lot more competitive. With just 3 weeks to prove your team is worthy of extending their season, general managers are not afraid to pull the trigger. Now that every game matters more, roster changes can turn the tide, for the better or for the worse. 

Astralis make roster changes ahead of 2023 LEC Spring Split

This is the third year the Astralis organization has been competing in League of Legends at the highest level. The previous two years were nothing to talk about, as the team never managed to place higher than the bottom two in the league. But heading into 2023, the organization knew it had to prove it wasn’t just a CS:GO conglomerate. 

Mid laner Oliver “Dajor” Ryppa made a name for himself in the NLC during the 2021 season. Helping Fnatic’s academy team reach the grand finals of the 2021 EU Masters circuit. There they faced off against French powerhouse Karmine Corp put him on the radar of many teams. Astralis were willing to give the youngster a shot, but the constant roster turmoil and negative results didn’t bode well for his development. After just 3 weeks into the 2023 season, Astralis was ready to move on.

Astralis sign mid laner  Adam “LIDER” Ilyasov

Insert Adam “LIDER” Ilyasov here. The Norwegian native with Georgian roots had been competing for 6 years already, on top of being a household name in the EUW solo queue. He got his first whiff of the LEC stage back in 2019. He was promoted from Misfits Premier to the main Misfits roster. After that mess of a split ended, he went back to the ERL’s, signing with MOUZ esports from the German Prime League. This is where he made himself known to the wider audience. Winning the German League and reaching the Final four of the 2021 Summer EU Masters, on top of some memorable highlights.

 After bouncing between Vitality and Golden Guardians of the LCS, Astralis finally gave him a proper chance. Despite his undeniable talent, Lider has always been criticized for his champion pool limitations.  But that didn’t seem to matter in his first week. He led his squad to a 2-1 record but his synergy with the team was the promising part. Being able to whip out his signature Irelia pick against the juggernaut that is G2 Esports in 2023 showed the team’s confidence in him. With two of Europe’s best mid laners due to be his opponents in the upcoming weekend, it’s make or break time for Lider and his resilient Astralis squad.

Excel signs Abbedage and Limit for LEC Spring Split

At the same time, Excel finds itself gasping for air. The team had high expectations heading into the 2023 season, but so far, we have seen none of it. On paper, their roster had players talented enough to compete with the best in Europe. Top laner Odoamne has the championship pedigree and experience needed to hold down the fourth. Vetheo has been one of the brightest young stars in the mid lane over the last two years, but has been struggling in his new role after joining Excel this past year. Similarly to other struggling teams like Fnatic, the bot lane seems to be a major issue.

With the increase in volatility and quality of bot lanes in the LEC, teams that can’t match the pace have found themselves lagging behind. The first victim to this trend was Vitality bot laner Neon, who was replaced by Upset. Now, Excel are also making a bot lane change. Support Limit is signing as a free agent and has replaced Targamas in the starting role. 

Hildon new coach for Excel

Excel is also making a change in philosophy heading into the 2023 LEC Spring Split. Hildon will be the new head coach for Excel. The Danish native has been playing competitively as a jungler since 2016. He then slotted into the coaching role for team Dusty in the NLC during the 2020 season. 

He might not be the only change looming over this roster. Free agent mid laner Abbedage has also been added. At the moment he is classified as a substitute and is part of Excel’s content creator program. But if things go sour similarly to the previous split, expect management to make a drastic move with a major leap of faith. Abbedage was one of the best young mid laner before Schalke 04 sold his rights to 100 Thieves of the LCS before terminating their organization. There he became an LCS champion in his first split but fell out of favor because he was taking up an import slot. Going back to Europe is probably the reset he needs, but Excel needs more than Faker-dagge to salvage this season.