After long years of waiting patiently, Antonio “Th3Antonio” Espinosa Bejarano has finally reached his life goal. The arc has been completed. TH3LEC ceases to be an aspiration, a goal, or a mere dream; it becomes pure reality. As officially announced by the GIANTX club on their social media, Th3Antonio will join the club's squad in the LEC for the upcoming summer split, marking the beginning of a new chapter for the player.
GIANTX, in Need of Changes for Summer.
It has taken a lot of effort, sweat, and even tears, but the Spanish top laner has earned his chance to showcase what he's capable of in the LEC.
After 7 long years playing under the GIANTX Pride (formerly Giants)
banner in the Superliga,
Th3Antonio will finally step up to the organization’s LEC team to fill in the shoes of Andrei "
Odoamne'' Pascu, who has reportedly been benched
as reported by Sheep Esports.
GIANTX had already announced its intentions to make changes to its LEC roster, following poor results in the spring split with only an eighth-place finish in the playoffs.
While there were fans who thought Th3Antonio was a seemingly probable replacement for Odoamne, there was no indication that it would happen, given that GIANTX didn't even make the Superliga finals after Guasones reverse swept them and therefore, didn’t qualify for the EMEA Masters.
Th3Antonio won't join the LEC alone; his teammate Lee “Juhan” Ju-han will join him in the jungle from GIANTX Pride. With these two changes, the organization aims to improve its results in summer and fight for a spot in the Season Finals. However, it won't be easy, as GIANTX only has 65 Championship Points. Although Rogue and Karmine Corp currently have 0 points and GIANTX seems to have some margin for error, a 9th or 10th place finish would be disastrous for the giants and could jeopardize their qualification.
Better Late than Never
Th3Antonio is a clear example of perseverance and loyalty. After what seems like a lifetime with GIANTX, winning 4 Superliga titles and an Iberian Cup, it was clear it was time for Th3Antonio to join the LEC, but the stars never aligned. However, the charismatic player never gave up, and every year he has worked harder to fulfill his dreams. There have been so many times when Th3Antonio was rumored to be promoted to the LEC that TH3LEC already seemed impossible for the fans, an unattainable goal.
Th3Antonio has been playing for the organization from Málaga for 7 years and has won 4 Superliga titles with them. He will now continue under the same banner but at the European level.
This year could have started better for Th3Antonio as well. The first half of the split ended with a record of 3-6 for the team, and the departure of Philippe "Akabane" Le and Malaury "Malau” Restouble midway through the split made everything uncertain.
At that time, GIANTX Pride had only a 12.8% chance of making it to the playoffs. However, Juhan's addition brought solidity to the team, and when it mattered most, GIANTX Pride started performing, achieving a kind of "miracle run" to qualify for the playoffs.
The playoffs started well for the team, first defeating Movistar KOI and then UCAM. However, just before securing their ticket to the final and the EMEA Masters, Guasones pulled off a reverse sweep, putting an end to GIANTX's Winter Split.
Throughout the split, both in good times and bad, Antonio always seemed to find a way to hold his position and deliver spectacular performances that brought crucial victories to his team.
This season, Th3Antonio has played everything: from his famous tanks to support picks like Karma or carry champions like Kennen or Rumble, and he has shown wonderful proficiency with all of them. Hence, GIANTX gives him a chance to try to take the team to Worlds and represent their region on the international stage.
What to Expect from TH3LEC
If there's one thing that defines Th3Antonio, it's that he's a player who plays for his team. In the Superliga, he has always been known as the “king of the weak side”, always willing to pick tanks like Cho’Gath, Ornn, Poppy, or Malphite to absorb all the pressure and allow his team to snowball without worrying about the enemy jungle. He is also capable of translating this philosophy to characters like Karma and assuming a supportive role at the same time.
Although Th3Antonio has been criticized in the past for not being able to play carry champions, he has demonstrated that he can carry his team with champions like Kennen, Rumble, Gangplank, or even Fiora. It remains to be seen what face Antonio will show us in the LEC and how he will adapt to his team's needs. It will also be interesting to see the clash of styles between more aggressive toplaners like Myrwn or Photon with Th3Antonio's more "endurance-like" style.
One thing is clear: "el Peluquillas" is not going to give up at the first hurdle. Th3Antonio has waited a long time for this opportunity, and now he's going to make the most of it. We expect to enjoy TH3LEC for a while.
