LEC: European supercrash? Vitality fail to progress to the next stage and their chance at Worlds is in jeopardy

In the European LEC, the top eight to advance to the next stage have already been decided. Yet the big issue is the unprecedented collapse of the European superteam.

If we had to define the current state of Team Vitality in one word, it would be Supermeme. A team that on paper had strong personalities and excellent imports, was considered by many to be a European superteam, and should have been one of the favourites in the league.

The start of the season didn’t look bad at all. Vitality managed to play a fantastic game, they were able to disrupt the strong dominance of G2 Esports and MAD Lions. All this was supported by winning the regular part of the winter split, when the team’s performance fit them as a hot candidate for the winter champion.

Strong importers managed to calm down the unstable team and give it a new dimension. In the jungle, the newly emerging Chinese import Bo caused a literal Bomania with his playmaking skills and dominant play. This scourge of the European jungle has earned a lot of respect.

The top-playing Korean Photon did not look like the prototype of a bright, rising star. Yet his stability and adaptation was what helped the team gain the ground they needed.

Vitality, however, infamously fell at their first chance to slip into the elite four. The team did show strength in their first series against league newcomer Team Heretics, though they struggled at times. However, the series against the well prepared defending champions, KOI Rogue, fully showed that the team still has its darker moments full of mistakes.

The insulted Upset was supposed to lead the team to perfection

Vitality had a lot to make up for after their first brush with reality. Fifth place was a weak patch for the paper favorite. So the team decided to change the markman. Instead of the talented Slovak player Neon, the veteran Upset came in.

The transfer of Upset to Vitality was a very hot topic, especially in the Fnatic camp. Upset’s departure from Fnatic has been the subject of controversy and some discontent within the organization.

Newly installed Fnatic coach Nightshare spoke in an interview afterwards about Upset having higher than normal demands and simply threw a pitchfork, to put it popularly, into the plans. However, the general talk is that Upset simply couldn’t take the replacement position due to the return of Rekkles.

Still, by gaining Upset, Vitality gained more strength to boot. The bot line was now able to accelerate better in the given base conditions. While Vitality was unable to replicate the win in the winter regular season, the fourth place finish and gradually improved lineup, however, gave the team a good starting position.

It was the aforementioned improved chemistry that led the team to great form. The dominant performances in the group stage were rightfully awe-inspiring.

But unfortunately for Vitality, their rapid rise in the stock market was halted by the surprise of the spring. Team BDS. They were able to prepare well for their opponent and a quick 3-0 blew away any hopes of MSI that Vitality was targeting.

A hard sobering

So the plans for the summer split were clear. Attack the top rungs and secure a lock on Worlds qualification. Despite the setbacks, Vitality had a great season.

But reality showed that the team was in absolute disarray. It was as if the stars had lost their rhythm and the direction they had set for themselves. Bo, who had earned legitimate respect during the season, was suddenly a mere fragment of a great player.

Perkz, the great European legend, delivered perhaps the worst split of his career. Photon, the steady pillar of the team, couldn’t add anything extra, and Botlin couldn’t find a way past a clearly Bot-centric base.

While the other opponents were able to at least hint at working with the current base and add something extra. For Vitality, it was a total sleeper on all fronts. Despite the bright moments, the team looked heavy and perhaps even defeated.

If anyone expected the team to pick itself up during the regular season, it must have been bitten hard by the incredible fall of one of the league favorites. The European superteam perfectly experienced the curse of the superteams that we have seen many times in the history of this esport. The 1-8 score speaks for itself and this result shakes up the chances of world qualification.

Is Worlds qualification in jeopardy?

At the end of its season, the LEC has a so-called season finale, where the champions of each split + the top 3 teams based on the rankings for each split(if one of the G2/MAD pair wins the split, then 4 teams advance instead of 3 – author’s note) play for three certain spots at Worlds. The fourth team will play their American counterpart for the last Worlds spot.

Vitality are currently 5th on the ranking with 137 points(50/80/7 for winter/spring/summer). The team is currently playing into the hands of the fact that one of their competitors, Astralis, has already lost their opportunity in the Season Finals due to a ninth place finish and worse results(105 points – 40/50/15).

However, the team can leapfrog both SK Gaming(120 points – 60/30/30*), who finished eighth and were the last team to secure a spot in the next round of the Summer Split. Likewise, Fnatic(60 points – 10/20/30*) or Team Heretics(same points – 20/10/30*) as both teams are experiencing a resurgence of sorts.

In theory, EXCEL (40 points – 5/5/30*) could still enter the game, but they must at least finish third in the Summer Split to leapfrog Vitality. For Fnatic and Heretics, finishing in fifth place is enough.

Whether the superteam gets a chance to contend for Worlds, or their rivals crown their fatal summer split, we’ll see starting July 15. The top eight teams will duke it out for the summer split title and insurance for Worlds qualification.

Source: LEC, Leaguepedia, Kaza LoL