After a tough 2020 LEC Spring Split, Team Vitality’s head coach Hadrien “Duke” Forestier said he is hopeful for the future of the team, especially with the new rookies joining the starting roster for this coming Summer Split.
Duke said his team’s development was put far behind schedule because of the team’s abysmal performance last split. There are a few young players making their LEC debut, like Cantoursna “Nji” An and Labros “Labrov” Papoutsakis. But not every rookie can build synergy with their teammates and flourish right off the bat.
“This roster is full of very talented rookies who definitely have the potential to rise to unexpected highs,” Duke said in a recent Reddit AMA. “From our perspective, we have the potential to reach playoffs, but we will need to create synergy fast to become an actual team.”
Duke said a huge problem the team’s old roster ran into was that they “lacked direction in-game, and struggled to listen to each other.” As a result, the coaching staff is putting a lot more emphasis on out-of-game activities to help build rapport among the teammates.
The 28-year old coach also put some focus on the roster’s veteran top laner, Lucas “Cabochard ” Simon-Meslet—as one of the most experienced members of the team, he will be the bonafide leader of the squad and role model for the rookies of the team.
Vitality has plenty on their plate next season, but we’ve seen many rookies explode onto the European League of Legends scene. Hopefully for the team’s fans, there are more stars ready to be born when the Summer Split begins June 12.
While Vitality tried their best this season, they ended up last after a poor split due to synergy issues and gameplay. They revamped their roster going into the next season but it’s unclear whether they’ll be able to withstand the power of other LEC teams who have been reforming as well. While the top 4 spot is secured by teams such as G2 Esports, Fnatic, Origen and Rogue, the middle of the pack teams are open for Vitality to challenge. They’ll need to heavily improve though to stand a chance so it’s going to be interesting to see them if they have improved as much as needed in the offseason.
Stay tuned for more roster information changes in the next couple of weeks as more teams upgrade their roster going into the Summer Split.