Will Vitality’s LEC “curveball” pay off?

In a recent interview Dexerto, Team Vitality’s League of Legends Head Coach Louis-Victor “Mephisto” Legendre called the signing of young Chinese jungler Zhou “Bo” Yang-Bo a “curveball” that the team is waiting to surprise the LEC with. But is it a curveball that will pay off?

With Team Vitality struggling to find consistency and questions about Bo himself, is this a curveball Vitality can afford

Bo: Vitality’s “curveball”

Speaking with Dexerto’s Meg Kay, Mephisto talked about the signing of substitute jungler Bo and the potential to surprise the LEC by slotting Bo into the lineup at short notice.

“At some point, when the time is right, we will incorporate him into the roster in a suitable way. But I think Bo is gonna be a super curveball that we can throw at our opponents at any time, even the day before a match. 6pm the day before is when you have to say who’s going to be on the starting roster for the following day’s game – so it’s going to be quite fun having people last-minute adapt to us, that’s for sure.”

So who is Bo?

Zhou “Bo” Yang-Bo is a 20-year-old Chinese jungler. He began his professional career with eStar Young in China’s developmental league, the LDL, during the 2020 Summer split. His impressive performance during the team’s fifth-place finish caught the eye of FunPlus Phoenix. FPX signed Bo as their starting jungler for the 2021 Spring split.

The team began the split excellently, starting 10-0 while Bo posted a 5.4 KDA. But that’s when the young jungler’s career hit a major obstacle. Bo was suspended by Riot Games as a result of a match-fixing investigation. While he excelled in the Korean SoloQ during his suspension, it also marked the end of his active professional career.

He remained benched by FunPlus Phoenix after his suspension concluded and remained inactive until Vitality signed him.

Will the “curveball” pay off?

There are two major questions about the strategy that Mephisto revealed to Dexerto that inform whether it will pay off — can Vitality afford to be risky, and is Bo the curveball they claim he is?

Entering Week 4 of the LEC Summer split, Team Vitality have a 4-3 record and sit in sixth place in the standings. Without diving too deep into it, Team Vitality have been aggressively average during this split, and are yet to beat a team with a winning record. With the league looking incredibly competitive as the playoffs draw nearer, can Team Vitality really take the risk of playing Bo? According to the Dexerto interview, the jungler only arrived in Europe on June 30. With the playoff race expected to be intense, is it in Vitality’s best interest to play a “curveball” at all?

And that’s before you examine the curveball himself. Bo has not played professional League of Legends since February 6, 2021. He could be the most talented prospect in the world but 18 months is a long time to not be playing at a professional level of any description. Even with scrimmages and team practices, is Bo really going to be ready to make an impact in late-season LEC play?

A playoff pitch? Or a heartbreaking walk-off?

As we enter the second half of the LEC, the conversation will begin to turn towards the playoffs. With Vitality likely in a fight for one of the lower seeds, will Bo be the piece that secures Team Vitality a place in the playoffs? Or is it a decision that costs Vitality everything?

Only time will tell, but to Bo or not to Bo may be the question that makes or breaks Vitality’s season.

Header: A.Savin, Team Vitality, Riot Games