Odoamne To Join Excel For 2023 LEC Season

Reports indicate that Odoamne will not re-sign with Rogue for 2023. Read more about his next LEC destination here.

Odoamne To Join Excel For 2023 LEC Season

Despite bringing Rogue its first LEC title since its inception in 2014, it looks like Andrei “Odoamne” Pascu may be bound for another LEC team in 2023. The top laner has been with the team since November 2020; however, his contract with Rogue ends on November 21st when free agency opens in the LEC.

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Alongside their LEC title, Pascu led Rogue to the Worlds Quarterfinals, a feat no other Western team in the world accomplished this year. Unfortunately, it appears Rogue is headed in a different direction in 2023.

XL Odoamne

Reports indicate Odoamne is already in verbal agreement with another LEC team. While this might seem surprising given the fact that free agency is still a few weeks out, the eight-time LEC All-Pro top laner has more than earned the respect of the remaining teams in the LEC. The news of Pascu’s transfer comes from renowned League of Legends insider and leaker Brieuc “LEC Wooloo” Seeger. His entire announcement is as follows:

• To add context on XL Odoamne: Finn himself was initially told he’d stay on Excel but with how unexpected this offseason is shaping up to be, XL ended up in a position that could secure them Odoamne, so they did it. Nobody saw this coming 2 days ago.

Critically, Seeger’s report mentions 2022 XL starter Finn “Finn” Wiestål. His post makes it clear that Wiestål was supposed to start for Excel in 2023. Given his history and recent performances, it is likely that most organizations predicted Rogue would re-sign Pascu for 2023: Excel included. However, Pascu’s sudden emergence into the free agency market provided Excel with an opportunity they could not pass up. While Wiestål certainly stepped up this year, Pascu’s resume is much too impressive to pass up on. It is unclear at this point where Wiestål will end up.

While Pascu is set to join the likes of Excel’s mid laner Erlend “nukeduck” Våtevik Holm and Patrik “Patrik” and ADC Jírů, Mihael “Mikyx” Mehle will be playing for G2 Esports next split. Additionally, G2 has also reportedly gained interest in Excel’s current jungler Mark “Markoon” van Woensel because of his incredible performances this year. While they are in the market for a new jungler, G2 is also reportedly interested in MAD Lions’s jungler Javier “Elyoya” Prades Batalla.

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Who Will Replace Odoamne on Rogue?

Although nothing is official yet, Rogue is reportedly interested in signing Team Vitality’s academy top laner Mathias “Szygenda” Jensen. Jensen had last played in the LEC on Team Vitality in 2021. Given the unexpected nature of their choice to search for a new top laner, news surrounding Rogue’s their future acquisitions is sparse. Outside of insider reports regarding Jensen, it is not known whether Rogue is looking at other top laners.

Notably, Rogue signed a deal with Spanish esports organization KOI to share branding in 2023. Although it has not been officially announced, it is likely Rogue will rebrand their LEC team’s name and logo to that of KOI’s. As a result, the two top laners signed to KOI’s roster from the LVP Superliga, SLT and WhiteKnight are also options for Rogue headed into 2023.