The issue with the 2022 Vitality Roster
Team Vitality is certainly looking to take the LEC by storm, reinforcing this notion with the official reveal of its roster for the upcoming season. The suspicions were there based on leaks, which sparked a variety of rumors, and these were clearly rooted in truth.
The Roster
So, who is this super team that Team Vitality has managed to put together? Just in case you haven't already heard the news, it consists of Perkz, Alphari, Selfmade, Carzzy, and Labrov.
These are all amazing players, but Alphari and Perkz, who just returned from his succesfull C9 journey arguably have a lot more to prove than the other three. Clearly, Team Vitality it isn't playing around, but this whole shebang may not turn out as well as expected.
The Big Concern
When you hear a series of big names being put together, the initial thought is probably along the lines of “the opponents are not going to know what hit them.” However, if G2 Esports’ 2021 super team was anything to go by, that's not always the case, though they did manage to fund success for their team next year.
G2’s turn of events isn't even the first example of this problem, which you can break downbje into the hype and the personalities.
The Hype
The hype train is undoubtedly one of the biggest challenges in this kind of environment. You already know that the fans expect dominating performances from a team consisting of all these names.
Unfortunately, not everyone is conditioned to deal with that kind of pressure. Bear in mind that even with a fairly good season, if such a team is not winning absolutely everything, it's not seen as a success in the eyes of the hype-fueling public.
What does this mean? Well, for many teams that have found themselves in this situation, they simply crumble under the pressure. That's not to say Team Vitality can’t find itself in the minority that delivers and then some.
The Personalities
This is probably the bigger part of the concern. After all, if a team dynamic is well established, there's no reason why it can't hunker down, shake off the jitters created by public hype, band together, and let the skills do the talking.
The problem here is that it requires personalities that gel well. One of the challenges with high-profile players is often a lack of humility or comradery. The prevailing belief is that Alphari and Perkz in particular are going to be butting heads quite a bit.
Selfmade’s name has also been thrown into the hat, based on how he's believed to see himself.LoL Smurf accounts are a popular choice for players who are looking for a new challenge.
Think about this. Selfmade and Perkz being a jungle and mid, respectively, need to enable their teammates for this whole arrangement to work out. Unfortunately, the jury is still out on the extent to which that's going to happen.
There is no doubt that if all the team members can put the good of the team before themselves, their skills should take them to the top. How likely is that to happen though?
Final Remarks
Team Vitality certainly built anticipation with the way it delayed the announcement, so much so that some fans were underwhelmed.
Now that the cat is out of the bag, can this unit function as a well-oiled machine, or are the hype and the big personalities going to cause an implosion?
