How Much will Alexx’ Absence Hurt the ROKKR?

The Minnesota ROKKR will be without one of their streakiest players in Alexx, at least for the time being. According to reports, he injured his thumb early in the team’s home series. He then shared a tweet about the situation. This instantly dealt a blow to the team’s roster as they were eliminated from their own tournament. With Exceed taking Alexx’ place, they actually played fairly well.

In particular, they came close to sweeping the Seattle Surge in the knockout match, but unfortunately for them, they got reversed swept. Exceed did a solid job under the pressure, but there’s no doubt that they will miss Alexx. Coming into the series, he was still regarded as one of the better K/D players in the Call of Duty League.

He, GodRx, and Assault have proved to be a formidable trio when it comes to getting kills. Missing a chunk of that firepower looks like it could hurt, especially after struggling throughout the home series. In fact, he was second on the team in total kills this season. Assault has the edge on him in K/D, but total kills show that Alexx was lighting it up. And even when he comes back, nobody knows if he’ll be 100% or not.

They do have time on their side.

There is some good news for the ROKKR however. They won’t be playing until the New York Home Series on July 10, so this will give him plenty of time to heal up. Their offense and depth is what has made the team so good before the struggles. Luckily, they still have elite K/D players like GodRx and Assault while also having two well-balanced players in Asim and SiLLY.

But despite that, in an esport like Call of Duty, sometimes one player can play a huge roll in a team’s success. In some ways, it’s sort of like basketball. When a sport has a relatively small lineup like five players, there is a better chance for one or two players to make dramatic impacts on squads.

If Alexx remains hurt, then it will be interesting to see if Exceed continues to progress. If there is one positive thing that fans can take from this unfortunate injury is that young up and comers like Exceed are getting their shot to show what they can do. This is a great time for him to build up his skills in the big leagues.

That said, GodRx and Assault may arguably be the Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen of the ROKKR, but they are missing their Toni Kucoc in Alexx. If Exceed can step up and be their Steve Kerr (or better) then that would be huge for them and of course for his development. But only that constant thing known as “time” will tell the tale.