XL Advienne: “I’m going to see what I’m capable of in the LEC and I want to see if I can stay at the top level”

Excel Esports have pulled off an incredible 2-0 week in Week 4 of LEC 2021 summer, defeating not just G2 Esports but also a surging Team Vitality, with two new rookies no less.

This will give them much needed hope in achieving their elusive goal: reaching playoffs for the first time. Central to both their wins was one half of the two Dutch rookies, support Henk “Advienne” Reijenga, who spoke to us about his debut matches and some thoughts on his time on BT Excel.

First and foremost, thank you for accepting this interview. Congratulations on going 2-0 this week against not only G2 Esports, but also against Team Vitality! What were your expectations before going into the games this week since the game against G2 was the debut match for you and Mark “Markoon” van Woensel?

Advienne: Honestly, I didn’t really have expectations and just went in to see what’s what, since obviously the level of the LEC is so much higher than in the European Regional Leagues (ERLs) that you don’t know what to expect, right?

I was a bit nervous going into scrims but the moment I started playing in them, I felt like I could at least play decently up to this level. That’s the moment I lost the initial stress and told myself I’m just going to play the game, see what happens and then take it from there.

Was it easy slotting into the team or did you have some difficulties?

Advienne: I think it was pretty easy for me personally because I came in with Markoon so we already had a communication structure in place, where we know how each other communicates and what we need to do to help. That definitely helped a lot and both of us are probably the main voices at the moment together with Erlend “nukeduck” Våtevik Holm, especially since he has a lot of experience. The other players are also really good at their respective roles so I think it’s gone pretty well so far.

I agree, you guys have looked very good so far and in both those games, you faced big names in the bot lane. What was it like facing G2 and Vitality’s bot lane duos?

Advienne: Well… I’ve never played against any one of those players before so I had no idea what to expect. I had the nameplates off and just played the matchup to see what happens! Obviously those players are good so you can’t just expect to run at them and expect to win, but I honestly think against better players it’s easier to play mind games and in a way makes it slightly easier to pull off some stuff.

That’s interesting since I spoke to SK Gaming’s new support Lilipp and he mentions that the difference between ERL/LEC bot lane duos is ERLs tend to be more about 2v2’s while LEC bot lanes are much harder to punish. What’s your take on it?

Advienne: I think the biggest difference is the teams just understand the game better. Maybe the focus on 2v2’s in the bot lane in the ERLs comes more from the fact that players don’t necessarily trust their teammates to make the right play or if they don’t understand the game that well, they play matches like they do from solo queue.

I think in LEC you can still go for that 40% play as long as it’s calculated and you understand your opponents. In LEC, maybe it’s somewhat easier to understand your opponents since you’re playing the same opponents who have certain habits. If you can work them out then you can take those plays. I do think it’s mostly down to game understanding and in a way, it’s really nice to play against a player that I can trust to understand the game, so I can try to play mind games against them.

Against opponents who are worse, you really need to beat them mechanically because if you don’t, you know they’re going to do some crazy shit and flip it.

That’s a really interesting perspective. On Markoon, your synergy with him has been talked about a lot from NLC and I’d like to ask why do you work so well together? Is it the double Dutch factor?

Advienne: (laughs) Well, I think it was nice to have a Dutch teammate in Markoon when I joined BT Excel, since we can both speak in Dutch and it’s usually easier to be chill with each other if you can talk in your mother tongue.

I do think that Markoon is a very strong, leading voice in the game even with his young age and he would just tell people what to do when he thinks it’s right and what I’m really good at is being a good supportive voice where I can pitch ideas and mention different things happening. I’d say our communication styles complement each other well.

When Markoon was interviewed, he mentions he regards you as more of a strong laning support that roams more often than before. So conversely, tell us your thoughts on what you think of Markoon as a jungler.

Advienne: I think Markoon is someone that wants to be aggressive. He gets angry or he thinks he’s made a mistake when he’s not done something when he could’ve been there, as opposed to some players who maybe are fine not needing to do too much. Markoon will look for every available opportunity to punish the enemy and make them feel uncomfortable and his killer instinct makes him a really good jungler.

I think the only times he might get a tiny bit emotional is when he gets invaded and can’t do anything about it! But other than that, he’s calculated but still aggressive.

A fun question then: Since you and Markoon are in the spotlight, how high do you think BT Excel would place in the LEC right now?

Advienne: I honestly have no idea. There are so many factors to consider when you change even one player, and a good example of this would be G2 Esports. I think in any team, even changing one piece can go many different ways and will affect team dynamics, which might be something that’s often overlooked in general. But overall, I think that BT Excel can be a decent team in LEC.

So… will they be better than the main team?

Advienne: (laughs) No comment on that!

Speaking of BT Excel, last season you won NLC with them and even made the EU Masters finals. What lessons have you and Markoon learned from your journey there, and which ones do you take with you to the LEC?

Advienne: I can’t speak for Markoon but we learned a lot about the game due to the incredible coaching from our Head Coach Simon “Swiffer” Papamarkos, and we learned so much thanks to Jørgen “Hatrixx” Elgåen and Andrei “Orome” Popa being in the team as well.

Before, I used to think I didn’t know anything about the game and the other people did, because I was so new to the scene. I kind of learned that other people sometimes know as little as I think I do, and during EU Masters I didn’t realise this yet and don’t think I played my best, because I was nervous and didn’t know if I could trust myself to do the right things. But after EU Masters I realised it’s still the same game and I can trust myself to know what I’m doing.

Coming into LEC, I think it’s just perfect timing because I now have the right amount of confidence to play here.

You made a post on Twitter detailing how you left your family and university behind to pursue your dreams, and now you’re playing in LEC. To me it sounded very lonely, how’s your situation now looking back?

Advienne: When I left university, it was scary in the beginning because I left everything I had built up there. I think I was in university for five years then and I made many friends there. It was quite a long part of my life. My last team was Berlin International Gaming (BIG), it was an incredible team where everyone was super nice and it was a very fun experience, and I never felt alone there. Then I went to BT Excel and it was kind of the same thing!

So far every team I’ve gotten into I’ve made new friends and not felt lonely. Yes, it is sad that the people I used to see two or three times a week I now see two or three times a year, but it’s part of life. I’m making new friends and meeting new people, that’s why I don’t stay lonely.

What are your goals as a player? What are you looking to achieve in LEC?

Advienne: I’m going to see what I’m capable of in LEC, I want to see if I can stay at the top level and if I can stay in the LEC, then I’d happily stay here. Obviously I want to be the best but right now I want to see how far I can go and how long I can enjoy it for.

I’m also in a position where when I don’t enjoy competing anymore, I can always go back to university to finish my studies and be on my way from there.

We’ve come to the end of the interview. Anything else you’d like to add? Any shoutouts you’d like to give?

Advienne: I want to shoutout every player in BT Exel and also to coach Swiffer! They did an incredible job of helping me through my rookie months and they’ve taught me so much, it was an incredible environment and an experience I’ll never forget. So quick shoutout to them. Other than that, thank you for this interview!

You’re welcome Advienne and best of luck!

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Image Credit: (BT) Excel
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