Team Vitality Team Vitality Europe Rank #8 trexx Nikita Cherednichenko Derke Nikita Sirmitev Kicks Kimmie Laasner Sayf Saif Jibraeel Less Felipe de Loyola Basso announced they have moved Santeri "BONECOLD" Sassi to the bench, leaving the team without an IGL as they begin to rebuild for the VCT 2024 season.
BONECOLD spent over a year under the Golden Hornets, first joining them in the 2022 mid-season shuffle. The former world champion quickly led Vitality to the VRL France trophy in the second half of the year, carrying that momentum all the way to the grand finals of the VRL Finals. Turkey's FUT Esports FUT Esports Europe Rank #7 xeus Doğan Gözgen MrFaliN Furkan Yeğen yetujey Eray Budak AtaKaptan Ata Tan cNed Mehmet Yağız İpek qRaxs Doğukan Balaban eventually took the crown 3-2.
Jokūbas "ceNder" Labutis and BONECOLD were the only two players to carry over to Vitality's 2023 lineup. The team signed OG LDN UTD OG LDN UTD Inactive duo Michał "MOLSI" Łącki and Tomas "Destrian" Linikas, as well as Karel "Twisten" Ašenbrener, for the VCT partnership's debut season this year.
After finding just one win in São Paulo's LOCK//IN, BONECOLD guided Vitality to two top-six finishes in EMEA. The team finished the VCT EMEA regular season isolated in sixth — the final playoffs slot — with a 4-5 record, and exited the playoffs equally in the top six, relegating them to the EMEA LCQ.
BONECOLD is benched for the first time in a year and a half. (Photo by Hara Amorós/Riot Games/LVP)
Referring to BONECOLD, performance coach Marceau "Placido" Lambert stated a "deeper change" was needed in the roster "after a tough year on several levels." Vitality have not made public how extensive their 2024 reconstruction will be.
The news arrives just days before the start of the VCT EMEA LCQ. Uncertainty loomed over Vitality's LCQ participation after Twisten's passing, but the organization revealed on June 21 that Riot Games had granted them permission to withdraw from the qualifier as the team continued to mourn Twisten. About a week later, Riot announced the new EMEA LCQ format.
Team Vitality Team Vitality Europe Rank #8 trexx Nikita Cherednichenko Derke Nikita Sirmitev Kicks Kimmie Laasner Sayf Saif Jibraeel Less Felipe de Loyola Basso 's current active roster is: