Sources: 3XA set to return to SK Gaming for 2027

A familiar face is returning to Cologne. Thomas "3XA" Foucou is set to return to SK Gaming in the League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC), sources tell Sheep Esports on Friday. Having previously played for the team from early 2023 to mid-2024, he was eventually benched in favor of Cho "Rahel" Min-seong.

The French AD carry will therefore be the second player locked in for the German roster. As previously reported by Sheep Esports, Korean midlaner Seo "SlowQ" Ye-bit is set to remain with SK Gaming, with the project built around the two former Karmine Corp Blue players.

SK Gaming AD Carry Josip "Jopa" Čančar has been exploring his options with other LEC teams long before this change.

Last year, 3XA looked poised for a return to the LEC. The French AD Carry spent 2025 with Karmine Corp’s LFL team, where he led them to an EMEA Masters trophy, a run in which they stopped Los Ratones from completing a perfect year and eliminated them in the semifinals. Following those results, 3XA had discussions with three LEC teams last year’s offseason, but eventually managed to find no agreement.

This year, 3XA competed for a French streamer’s team in the LFL, French Flair, composed of former LEC players. However, as the team failed to deliver significant results, the project fell apart. In the Summer Split, 3XA joined Joblife in the LFL as an AD Carry. However, the team fell apart as 3XA and Joblife parted ways mid-split. The player asked to leave the team following disappointing performances.

This offseason looked less promising for 3XA, especially with multiple AD Carries on the market and ERL AD Carries such as Franciszek "HARPOON" Gryszkiewicz and Berat "Aetinoth" Tıknazoğlu having solid chances of joining an LEC team. However, an early offer from SK Gaming has come through, which the player accepted.

After giving Mihael "Mikyx" Mehle the keys to the car for the 2026 season, the German organization failed to deliver the expected results, finishing 11th in the LEC Versus and eighth in both the Spring and Summer Splits, never reaching the LEC playoffs. The team did attempt to turn things around during the season by signing SlowQ to replace Adam "LIDER" Ilyasov, but the move had little impact.

3XA's first stint with SK got off to a promising start, with a top-four finish in the 2023 Winter Split before the team gradually declined over the following splits. At 23, the French AD carry is therefore returning to the LEC, with the final composition of SK's roster still to be determined and questions remaining over whether it will be enough to bounce back from last year's disappointing results.

A year and a half after he left the organization, Exakick is therefore returning to SK Gaming under the name 3XA. After being benched at the end of the 2024 Spring Split, the French player took a break during the Summer before joining KC in the LFL, where he won the Flash-In, the LFL Summer Split, and EMEA Masters, all alongside SlowQ.

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