Who Is Wouter Sleijffers? CEO Of British EXCEL ESPORTS Announce His Departure From The Company

The former CEO of British esports organisation EXCEL ESPORTS, Wouter Sleijffers, recently announced his exit from the company. Sleijffers has quit Excel after close to four years. At Excel he first served as a CEO then later as an advisor. While serving as an advisor he expanded Excel’s operations and helped them achieve a global footprint for the organisation.

Sleijffers’s decision of stepping down from his role as the advisor comes after Tim Reichert was appointed the company’s CEO in January 2023. Sleijffers is a two-time esports CEO. He was previously the CEO of rival British esports organisation Fnatic from the period between 2015 and 2019. He then joined Excel as CEO in January 2020.

Throughout his years at Excel, he also held a variety of consultant and advisory roles. He is a popular and respected names in the industry due to his almost decade-worth of experience at the top of two of the biggest esports organisations in the UK.

Why did Wouter Sleijffers quit Excel Esports?

Rumors suggest that his decision to exit was perhaps on the horizon came in January 2023 when he stepped away from his CEO role and turned into an Advisor role, saying that it was the “perfect time to hand over the reins.”

Sleijffers did not reveal the next steps in his career, however, he stated that there could be a revealed ‘soon’. He expressed his gratitude and excitement for the company’s future in a post on LinkedIn.

“Excel Esports is supported by amazing talent, and the very best sponsors & partners. It’s impossible to describe the incredible change and growth we’ve achieved over the past years. All credits for what has been achieved thus far, simply go to every single Excel Esports member, on- and off stage, past and present,” he wrote.

He added, “Excel Esports is in top form, and sometimes we deserved so much more. I’ll be looking forward to everything that’s still to come, and will remain a supporter from the sidelines. I wish the team the best of luck taking Excel Esports to greater heights & glory.”

Sleijffers’s tenure at Excel served an interesting time for the company. The organization joined the LEC, Europe’s franchised League of Legends league, in late 2018. It was one of the ten franchises that got the rights to participate.

Post joining the company, Sleijffers had said in an interview with Esports Insider that his main objective for the company was to be successful competitively. He wanted to “have a shot to reach the World Championship in year two.” The closest Excel ever got to the goal was at the LEC Summer Season Finals, when the organization reached the LEC Season Finals, however, was knocked out even before qualifying for the Worlds.

As far as his other plans were concerned, Sleijffers said that in 2020 that he wished for Excel to be the “leading professional esports organisation in the UK.” The organisation was seen taking long leaps in that direction in recent years. During his tenure at Excel, he witnessed the organization’s founders Kieran Holmes-Darby and Joel Holmes-Darby both leave the company.