Vitality’s strategy for building a championship LEC superteam and navigating esports roster construction
The Football Manager Approach to Roster Building
Fabien ‘Neo’ Devide, Co-founder and Executive President of Team Vitality, recently detailed the intricate process behind assembling what he envisions as a championship-caliber LEC lineup during an exclusive discussion with Dexerto.
Fabien ‘Neo’ Devide, Vitality’s Co-founder and Executive President, provided exclusive insights into constructing what he believes will become an LEC championship contender during his conversation with Dexerto.
As Neo settled into his strategic planning sessions, he found the experience remarkably similar to playing the popular sports management simulation Football Manager.
In this acclaimed management game, participants assume control of football clubs or national teams, guiding them to sporting excellence. The player transfer system forms the game’s core mechanics, representing one of its most engaging components for virtual managers. Each transfer period presents unlimited possibilities and raises critical questions: Which talent acquisitions will maximize performance? Which roster members should be moved? Is constructing an elite dream team achievable?
These identical strategic considerations dominated Neo’s thinking as Vitality approached the 2021 League of Legends offseason period.
Vitality had struggled significantly during the LEC’s initial three competitive seasons. The dramatic decline from their 2018 World Championship appearance became particularly evident during preparations for the 2021 Summer Split.
The high-profile acquisition of jungler Oskar ‘Selfmade’ Boderek from Fnatic failed to substantially reverse the pessimism that had developed following three consecutive disappointing splits. The prevailing opinion suggested the squad would either spectacularly collapse or miraculously qualify for Worlds, with no middle ground anticipated.
Vitality ultimately placed sixth after being eliminated by eventual finalists Fnatic during the lower bracket’s opening round. While representing definite progress, this outcome remained substantially distant from their competitive aspirations.
Overcoming Organizational Challenges
“My primary objective for 2022 involved developing championship contenders across all our competitive titles,” he explained to Dexerto. “Within League of Legends, this centered on persuading established superstars and proven champions that our organization represented the ideal environment and appropriate home for their talents.
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“When your organization delivers subpar results over multiple years, your competitive reputation inevitably suffers. League professionals typically don’t extensively follow other gaming titles. They might track major CS:GO, Rocket League, or other premier competitions, but they’re not dedicated followers of those scenes.
“When competitive performance falters and your organization loses its appeal, you often must pay financial premiums to create these competitive shortcuts.”
The League of Legends offseason period demands immense resilience and strategic acumen. Even experienced executives like Neo find navigating the transfer market intelligently while avoiding significant pitfalls challenging because “every element remains constantly in flux.” Agreements can collapse during final stages after extensive negotiations, suddenly derailing carefully constructed plans and extinguishing franchise championship hopes.
This scenario precisely unfolded for Vitality in late 2020, when they nearly secured Luka ‘Perkz’ Perković before his eventual move to Cloud9. “We possessed a genuine opportunity to construct a superteam last season,” Neo recalled. “Unfortunately, multiple factors prevented this from materializing.”
These strategic plans were revived in 2021, this time achieving successful execution. By securing Perkz and Barney ‘Alphari’ Morris from North American competitions, while adding consecutive LEC champion Matyáš ‘Carzzy’ Orság from MAD Lions, Vitality achieved their League roster objectives. However, similar to the previous year’s experience, outcomes could have diverged significantly.
The High-Stakes Offseason Experience
“I essentially become an adrenaline enthusiast during this period because it unquestionably represents the year’s most exciting phase,” Neo acknowledged. “Not regarding departing personnel, but concerning individuals who will embody your competitive project for coming seasons.
“The experience proves incredibly stressful because unexpected developments constantly occur. Last season, the Perkz acquisition opportunity emerged extremely late. I needed to secure agreements with all involved parties within approximately 48 hours. Sleep becomes impossible during these critical windows.
“Most negotiation finalizations occur through Discord calls around 4 AM, eliminating proper rest periods. Individuals might express certain positions one day then completely reverse them the following day. No arrangement becomes guaranteed until formal signatures are secured.
“The combination creates simultaneous stress and excitement.”
Given offseason unpredictability, Neo developed multiple contingency strategies. Alternatives to assembling his ideal roster featuring Europe’s premier talents included constructing a lineup with Martin ‘Rekkles’ Larsson – “incorporating a player of his caliber naturally represented a viable option” – and maintaining the 2021 roster core while implementing upgrades “within mid and bot lane positions.”
With each scenario meticulously planned and projected, he entered the transfer market optimistically pursuing optimal outcomes.
“When your organization underperforms while maintaining ambitious goals, you evaluate all possibilities,” he stated. “My offseason responsibility involves creating opportunities. I communicate with most available free agents and players placed on transfer lists or benched. My extensive experience means this wasn’t my initial offseason navigation. After encountering previous failures, you learn to circumvent certain pitfalls and ensure recovery capabilities when adverse situations develop.
“We conducted numerous tryouts, extensive interviews, and believe we performed effectively. Our preparation proved exceptionally thorough. We remained convinced that any outcome remained possible. We could finalize signings during the offseason’s final day or lose bidding competitions with players joining rival organizations. Such scenarios could create disastrous situations.
“When you’re drafting player lists and constructing dream rosters, the experience parallels Football Manager gameplay – similar to assembling PSG’s star-studded lineup. Successfully executing these plans delivers incredible satisfaction. Last season left me exhausted from failure, but this year brings energy from accomplishment. The difference proves significant.
“Our primary plan appeared highly unrealistic initially, but we achieved implementation, making me an extremely satisfied organization leader currently.”
Addressing Criticism and Managing Expectations
The new acquisitions represent ambitious moves, with Vitality transparently displaying their competitive aspirations: Their 2022 lineup announcement described the roster as “the most impressive LEC assembly ever witnessed,” featuring “Europe’s elite competitors.”
The biggest LEC roster ever seen, we gathered the best EU players.
Here comes the Titans #WatchUsFollowUs pic.twitter.com/BE2qEUcKUQ
— Team Vitality 🐝 (@TeamVitality) December 8, 2021
Vitality encountered criticism for aggressively promoting an unproven roster, with detractors highlighting Perkz and Alphari’s relatively underwhelming North American performances. Additionally, European superteam initiatives, including Elements during Season 5 and G2 Esports’ 2021 iteration featuring Rekkles, historically failed to meet elevated expectations.
“What appropriate response exists when assembling such talented rosters?” Neo questioned. “Should I claim, ‘Please allow development time, we don’t expect immediate dominance’? That represents dishonesty. I refuse to embrace hypocrisy.
“I prefer demonstrating substantial ambition rather than stating, ‘We acknowledge superteams’ historical struggles. We’ll maximize efforts, accepting losses as developmental steps’. We’ve employed this approach for multiple seasons.
“We must manage these elevated expectations, representing unfamiliar territory since we’ve never previously faced such pressure. I believe we simply need acceptance. Adaptation will require adjustment periods.
“Alphari participated in Origen’s superteam project, Selfmade contributed to Fnatic’s historically strong lineup that maintains competitive strength. Perhaps Labrov will experience this environment newly, which also explains why I believe we secured superior coaching staff during the offseason. Many observers haven’t fully recognized our coaching acquisitions regarding this aspect.”
However, universal consensus remains elusive. For instance, prominent League personality and Cloud9 coach Nick ‘LS’ De Cesare forecasted Vitality would “experience internal collapse” and not exceed third-place finishes due to personality conflicts.
Perkz humorously dismissed such commentary on Twitter, while Alphari downplayed these concerns.
every day different drama meanwhile my new team already imploding we have to cancel our bootcamp and just go home wtf is going on
— Luka (@Perkz) December 6, 2021
From his perspective, Neo views the Croatian superstar as the unifying element that will consolidate team cohesion.
“Certain analysts suggest Fnatic appear stronger theoretically than our roster, but I disagree,” he stated. “Similar reasoning applies when people mention excessive ego concentrations. I don’t completely concur with this assessment.
“We’ve secured Perkz, a natural leader and charismatic competitor. I consider him the team’s alpha presence. Teammates will follow his guidance unquestioningly. From my viewpoint, simply acquiring Perkz constitutes offseason victory. He possesses exact understanding of victory requirements and personal sacrifice necessities. Recall his G2 contributions, how he transitioned and role-swapped to AD carry ensuring Caps inclusion and legitimate Worlds contention opportunities. He consistently prioritized team and teammate needs.
“I genuinely feel like we’ve achieved victory through Perkz acquisition because his unique profile remains exceptionally rare.”
Vitality’s Global Expansion Strategy
Within Vitality’s organization, excitement levels approach palpable intensity. Earlier in January, the French esports entity announced securing $56 million investment from Rewired.gg spanning the subsequent three years, targeting creation of “European super teams capable of securing esports’ most prestigious championships.”
Substantial effort has been invested to position Vitality as a formidable 2022 competitor, not exclusively within League, but also CS:GO, where multiple Major champions Emil ‘Magisk’ Reif, Peter ‘dupreeh’ Rasmussen and head coach Danny ‘zonic’ Sørensen have joined efforts to restore team dominance.
However, concerns persist that these strategic moves have intensified organizational divisions. Limited resources appear allocated toward other competitive titles like Valorant or Rainbow Six, where Vitality has typically achieved modest results.
According to Neo, this situation will eventually evolve.
“Our current primary emphasis undoubtedly focuses on tier-one competitive titles,” Neo clarified. “CS:GO and League represent the industry’s largest games, requiring our relevance and competitive strength within these domains.
“Most organizational investments and attention will concentrate on these titles. We won’t neglect other competitive scenes. We aim to secure meaningful championships, primarily within League and CS:GO environments. Winning a Six Major undoubtedly represents significant accomplishment and prestigious title, but we must maintain sharp focus on premier competitive games, explaining our aggressive approach within these categories.
“After establishing foundational structures, we’ll definitely pursue excellence across all competitive titles, but we’re tackling challenges sequentially [laughs].
“Currently, League and CS:GO receive priority. We possess the world’s premier CS:GO competitor; therefore aggressive ambition represents logical strategy. League stands as esports’ dominant title in my assessment, explaining our substantial investment.
“I envision Vitality achieving European dominance and securing global third-place positioning.”
Competitive success represents only one organizational dimension, as Neo recognizes. This understanding explains Vitality’s simultaneous focus on branding and marketing initiatives, providing players “expressive platforms” and promoting individual personalities. The objective involves expanding fan communities within France and internationally.
The LEC Spring Split commencement countdown accelerates rapidly. Vitality will debut against defending champions MAD Lions – representing baptismal competition before the eagerly anticipated Fnatic matchup scheduled January 15. These initial contests, while not determining seasonal outcomes, will provide performance benchmarks as the organization seeks to disrupt Europe’s established competitive hierarchy.
The symbolic importance of this moment resonates with Neo. He characterizes this period as initiating “Vitality 2.0” organizational evolution.
“We aspire toward increased globalization and international presence, while preserving French heritage and cultural identity because we take pride in our Parisian origins and headquarters location,” he explained. “We maintain French leadership status, representing significant organizational value.
“Simultaneously, we must pursue competitive excellence, requiring global expansion and participation in premier leagues with elite competitors to optimize championship opportunities.
“This launches an entirely new chapter for European Vitality characterized by substantial ambition.”
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