After Imperial removed their roster after picking up the Bulgarian MK line-up, many thoughts were placed on where the squad was heading next. The next announcement came out of left-field, as it seemed Jakem and the boys have headed onto the Gfinity Elite Series side exceL esports.
[#CSGO] Announcing our new Counter Strike roster, to compete in the @Gfinity Elite Series & all other competitions.https://t.co/wz5LTVh2Bb pic.twitter.com/STxi1EBJr7
— Excel Esports (@EXCEL) May 1, 2017
The squad’s had a variety of success since it was formed just before the last ESL Premiership season. Managing to finish top three in the UK Masters league and coming third in play-offs, as well as a solid top four finish in the ESL Premiership. The side also played in the so-far dubious UK Gaming Tours, where they’re second place with a qualification spot to the as-yet-announced LAN finals. They are also set to be competing in the next season of ESEA Main, one of at least 13 UK teams taking part in Season 25 (assuming none are moved up or down into different leagues).
On a statement on their website:
This talented squad previously represented Team Imperial and competed in the recent ESLUK Premiership split, in which they finished 4th, as well as qualifying for the UK Masters group stages and subsequently finishing 3rd.
The team is led by captain and secondary AWPer JAKEM, a competitive Counter-Strike player on and off for the last nine years. Having competed all over the world in various teams and competitions, Jake brings a wealth of experience combined with his prowess as an in-game leader and will be looking to lead the team to victory in all competitions.
Having made his competitive LAN debut at Multiplay’s Insomnia 55, Boaster has gone from strength to strength in a competitive career that includes a LAN win at Insomnia 56 and T4 finishes in multiple ESLUK Premiership splits.
Conor first emerged on to the UK scene back in 2015 after impressing in ESEA matches. He was then drafted in to various mix teams including fish123, with which he secured a 2nd place finish in an ESLUK Premiership split, and Team infused, with whom he secured another 2nd place finish at Insomnia58.
Whindanski’s competitive career began in an internet café in Belfast, competing with a team of friends in Counter Strike: Source. After a successful event Whindanski was drafted in to represent Ireland in a 4 Nations tournament, the start of his competitive career with CS:GO. Whindanski’s biggest success came with former team FM-TOXIC, in which he competed at multiple international tournaments including ESWC, Dreamhack Valencia, Copenhagen games and multiple Insomnia events.
The fifth and final member of the core roster is Luzuh, the team’s AWPer and newest addition to the team. Luzuh’s career began at Insomnia 57 and has seen him play for multiple rosters including Bulldog and Team EndPoint. Luzuh was also part of the LAN winning exceL/EndPoint mix team that won the recent epicLAN event earlier this year.
The new exceL line-up is:
Jake “jakem” McCausland
Joe “Luzuh” Loose
Philip “Whindanski” Nicholas
Jake “Boaster” Howlett
Conor “conoR” McCool
