The Royalty of the European LCS: Team Vitality

The games are getting closer than ever before, and while some teams may crack under the pressure, the squad that makes up Team Vitality have proven that while they may not be perfect, they’re giving the rest of the EU LCS a run for their money.

Cabochard

Lucas “Cabochard” Simon-Meslet is no stranger to competitive League of Legends, having spent time competing in various tournaments since 2013. His first appearance in the EU LCS was with former powerhouse Gambit Gaming, and he played a large role in their top 4 finish of that split. While Gambit would later be forced to play in the relegation tournament to decide their fate for 2016, Cabochard and his team were able to retain their place in the LCS. Before the 2016 season began, Cabochard joined up with Team Vitality and has been with them ever since. A versatile top laner, Cabochard has shown an ability to fill whatever role his team may require, making him quite a dangerous lane opponent.

Gilius

Erberk “Gilius” Demir is no stranger to the ins and outs of professional LoL teams, having bounced his way around the scene since 2014. A talented jungler, his career history reads like the resume of a mercenary, often joining teams on short notice to help them out of a tough spot, before leaving again when the job is done. Seemingly not content to stick to one region, Gilius also played for a time in the North American Challenger scene with eUnited before returning to the EU. Somewhat infamous for his social media banter, Gilius looks to prove to all his past teams that not signing him permanently was a mistake, as he helps Vitality go from strength to strength.

Jiizuke

Daniele “Jiizuke” di Mauro is the first Italian player to compete in the European League of Legends Championship Series, and he seems determined to prove that his home region can produce top talent. Having spent some time in the challenger scene, Jiizuke has already made his impact on the EU LCS, helping Vitality claim their position on top of the ladder. An extremely talented mid laner, Jiizuke is quite capable of playing normally sedate champions as assassins, allowing him to get the drop on opponents who mistakenly believe they are safer than they appear.

Minitroupax

Jiizuke is not the only player on Vitality doing their part to showcase an underrepresented region of the EU, with AD Carry Amadeu “Minitroupax” Carvalho being the first Portuguese player to take part in the EU LCS. A solid AD Carry, Minitroupax is more than capable of rising to the occasion and helping to carry his team to victory. Showing an affinity for longer ranch champions, Minitroupax has a playstyle that allows his team to worry less about protecting him from danger and more about setting up engagements, placing his enemies in a position where they have to choose between engaging the front line of Vitality or diving the backline to attempt to reach Minitroupax.

Jactroll

The youngest of the starting line-up, Jakub “Jactroll” Skurzyński may have seen less of the professional circuit than his teammates, but that doesn’t mean he is any less capable. Favouring the beefier, front-line supports, Jactroll knows the path to victory comes with defining your win condition, and working towards that at all costs. More than happy to put his own body on the line to protect his lane partner Minitroupax, Jactroll also maintains a fairly impressive stat-line for someone who frequently puts himself in danger to protect a teammate. If this is the beginning of his career, he should prove to be quite an entertaining support player to watch in the future.

Nothing is ever certain in the world of professional League of Legends, but Vitality have certainly indicated that they are here to win no matter the cost. To see what they’ve faced before, why not check out the recaps of the EU LCS week 3, day 1 and day 2, and check out the official broadcast times to see when all your favourite EU LCS teams will be playing next.