Despite claims that they had found the final piece of their “superteam” between the LEC’s Spring and Summer splits, Team Vitality are still aggressively mediocre. Why has the team that was allegedly going to take over the LEC failed to launch?
After five weeks and 11 games, Vitality sit in fifth place in the LEC with a 6-5 record. Today we break down Vitality’s struggles to be a contender, as well as hear from one of their players about what’s holding the team back.
How good is the roster, really?
Vitality are fifth in the current standings for a reason. Against teams with a winning record, Vitality have gone 1-4 this split, highlighting a distinct inability to beat the teams above them. Even with Riot granting the LEC an extra spot at Worlds 2022, Vitality still look like an outsider to a four-team delegation. To reach Worlds, they will have to beat at least one title contender (for this exercise, we’ll say that group is Excel, Rogue, G2, and MAD Lions). They will need to actively take a spot from another team as Vitality are far from what anyone would reasonably call a bonafide title contender.
And in terms of roster quality, here’s how the roster ranks in terms of positional KDA:
- Alphari: 7th
- Haru: 6th
- Perkz: 5th
- Carzzy: 9th
- Labrov: 9th
- Team K:D ratio: 6th
These players are undoubtedly good at League of Legends, but they form an aggressively average, or even below-average, team in the current LEC.
The #LEC Summer standings after Week 5!
1) #RGEWIN (8-3)
-) #MADWIN (8-3)
3) #XLWIN (7-4)
4) #G2WIN (6-5)
-) #VITWIN (6-5)
6) #ASTWIN (5-6)
-) #FNCWIN (5-6)
-) #MSFWIN (5-6)
9) #SKWIN (4-7)
10) #BDSWIN (1-10)— LEC (@LEC) July 23, 2022
And even if they somehow managed to slip into Worlds, unless they made a miracle run to the LEC Finals, they would likely start in the Play-In stage. If this team can’t be the LEC, how are they going to fare against the likes of an RNG or DRX or DWG KIA, who are all great Asian teams who might find themselves also in the Play-In because their leagues have become hyper-competitive during this Summer split?
Can’t beat the good teams
As mentioned previously, Vitality are 1-4 this split against teams with a winning record. While it is seeming as though Vitality may qualify for the playoffs, seeding is going to be vital. Qualify in fifth or sixth and you need to make a heroic lower bracket run, where you will need to beat a title contender knocked out of the upper bracket to even punch a ticket to Worlds. Qualify in fourth and you will have to face the regular season champion in your first playoff series.
a new Star Guardian has arrived 💫 @Odoamne pic.twitter.com/aFs0MTGqbm
— LEC (@LEC) July 23, 2022
Look at this unit. How are you going to be Rogue when they have players like this?
But with playoff seeding being so important, Vitality has a brutal gauntlet to end the season.
- Week 6: Excel & G2
- Week 7: BDS & Astralis
- Week 8: SK Gaming, Fnatic, & Rogue
BDS might be the only sure thing in Vitality’s schedule, and even then BDS beat G2 back in Week 2. Vitality might be lucky to go 9-9 this split, matching their finish from Spring.
So why can’t Vitality beat the teams above them? Well according to Labros “Labrov” Papoutsakis, the team’s support, it’s due to one specific facet of their game.
“We have struggled in the early game,” Labrov told Fragster following Vitality’s match on July 23, “and that means we lose control early and the game ends up getting away from us. So we have been working on our early game so we play better against the top teams like Excel and G2.”
Vitality’s fate hangs in the balance
There are just seven matches left in the LEC regular season before we move to the dreaded best-of-five double-elimination. Vitality must find that change that allows them to correct possibly their best weakness — being unable to beat title-contending teams. If they can figure this out, maybe they will travel to North America this fall. However, if they can’t, they will be watching Worlds from home.
Header: Christian Beiwinkel, Team Vitality