YoungBuck discusses his departure from Fnatic

One of the more surprising pieces of news this year came when one of European League of Legends’ top coaches Joey “YoungBuck” Steltenpool announced his departure from Fnatic and revealed Excel Esports as his new home, one of the weaker teams in the LEC.

In a recent interview with Esportmaníacos, YoungBuck explained his decision to leave the team by saying he didn’t “find fulfillment” with the position and that there were a number of internal issues that caused him to question his remaining time with Fnatic.

“Compared to 2019, I would say a small group didn’t really care much about the team practice, and didn’t put any effort into it,” said YoungBuck during the interview. “They didn’t really talk during the practice, or gave feedback to teammates or wanted to receive teammates’ feedback.”

YoungBuck continued by saying, “Winning feels really good, which made the decision really difficult. We’re competitors and we’re usually extremely competitively driven. It would have made it easier if we bombed out of Groups and didn’t make it to the quarter-finals at Worlds, but in the end I know what Fnatic are going to do and I’m not fully aligned with it—but I do still think they’ll probably make it to Worlds next year. It’s just that I will find happiness elsewhere and more fulfillment [with Excel].”

The coach admitted in the interview that his new team may not be as successful as Fnatic due to the difference in talent levels between the two teams, he did say his happiness with a new team was more important.

YoungBuck’s move from Fnatic to Excel was made possible much in part due to his close relationship with former G2 player Ki “Expect” Dae-han, whom YoungBuck previously coached as members of G2 Esports.

With plenty of work left to do with Excel, YoungBuck seems more than ready to take on his new challenge with a fresh perspective.