Gaming
The long-awaited League of Legends European Championship is back, along with some of the returning favourites, we’ve also been blessed with ten new rookies who have already established themselves after the opening day of the LEC.
Team Vitality, who had an underwhelming year in 2019, brought in three rookies as well as new coach Hadrien ‘Duke’ Forestier in the hopes of freshening up their roster for the new year.
However, Vitality fell short in their opening game against SK Gaming after pushing back and forth for more than 50 minutes.
There are clearly issues that this new roster needs to work on – something Lucas ‘Cabochard’ Simon-Meslet, one of Vitality’s veteran players, raised after the match.
He told us: “We just didn’t have good macro. There are many, many things we need to work on. We know that already which is why I’m not too worried right now.
“I don’t have expectations in terms of results right now because if you can play well, the results will come. Even if we did win today, I’d still have been disappointed with our macro play which is why I don’t care about the score that much.
“What matters is the form we come into going into playoffs. Right now we’re just building good grounds so we will be able to play well every game and just keeping repeating it.”
Taking a risk with rookies
One of Vitality’s star signings - Aljoša ‘Milica’ Kovandžić faced visa issues so couldn’t compete this weekend. Instead, Lucas ‘Saken’ Fayard subbed in for the mid laner and ended up with 4 kills and 3 deaths on his Cassiopeia.
Despite not being able to have Milica on stage, Cabochard says that his absence wasn’t to blame for Vitality’s loss.
He told us: “We practiced the whole of January and bootcamped with Milica but I think Saken played well – he had good ideas and found some good picks. It was mostly the macro level that was lacking.
“You could say there are risks by having three rookies on the team but it’s definitely compensated by what they bring every time. We all came from different teams so it’s going to take time to try and find our way.”
Having more responsibilities
As one of two veteran players on the team, Cabochard has been given more responsibilities this year and is expected to have a leadership role on top of his obligations as a top laner – something the 22-year-old seems like he’s enjoying.
He told us: “Of course, as one of the veterans on the team, I have to take up more responsibilities now and have a stronger voice.
“When everyone is trying to find their role on the team, I feel like this is something I have to do. I feel like this is my role now and I am enjoying it. It was something I was trying to become more of in 2018 and I feel like I’m getting back into this role this year.”