Team Vitality vs Splyce

For our fourth match of the day, we have an exciting clash between Splyce and Team Vitality. This is one of the better match-ups that the LEC has to offer, and it is also a fight between two teams that often found themselves fighting for scraps.

That is perhaps the main narrative surrounding this clash. Both Splyce and Vitality never achieved anything worth mentioning. They were always eclipsed by both G2 Esports and Fnatic – the two best and most revered teams in European history. It’s hard to stay competitive against such momentous giants, and to their credit, both Splyce and Vitality managed to stay somewhat relevant over the years. They never actually left a mark – they never won when it mattered the most – but they came close on multiple occasions. Not that “coming close” matters, but the fact that they’re still fighting and challenging for a spot at the top is commendable, to say the least.

And so we find them at the same place we’ve seen them throughout the past – fighting for the playoffs. But while Splyce made noticeable improvements over the last seven months, Vitality regressed. A lot. They worsened in every possible way and are currently a solid mid-tier team at best. That’s evident in their play as well – they’re just not the Vitality of old, the Vitality we all know and love. They’re also making egregious errors at every stage of the game, and while they were never perfect in their execution, this is definitely an all-time low.

Individually they’re also mediocre – at best. Their biggest avenues towards success no longer functioning – Jiizuke is a bottom-tier mid laner right now (performance and stats-wise), Cabochard is unable to carry like he did in the past seeing how the meta shifted, Mowgli is hit or miss (mostly miss), and their bottom lane is staggeringly inconsistent and often straight-out bad. Their level of play goes from “amazing” to “abysmal” in a twinkling of an eye. That’s just the way Vitality works, and while that’s exciting and engaging to the average viewer, it makes betting on (or against them) incredibly hard. Predicting the outcome of any Vitality game is a thankless endeavor.

Splyce, on the other hand, have reached their perhaps most potent and capable form yet. They’re currently one of the best and most capable teams the LEC has to offer. Perhaps most importantly: they have an identity. That is something that most of their peers lack. An idea on how to play the game, a philosophy, a set of rule to adhere to. They’re all on the same page and they have full trust in one another – a simple fact (although incredibly rare) that allows them to engage as one and fight as a unit. They’re deceptively strong and even though we’re still reserved to pronounce them a top-tier contender, they’re definitely getting there.

If they continue playing to their strengths who knows how high they could go. Perhaps they can even overtake Fnatic in the standings – at this rate it’s a perfectly realistic notion.

By all accounts, this is a fantastic skirmish. If it wasn’t for the game following it, this would definitely be the game of the day. But as always, we have to pick a side, and we simply have to go with Splyce on this one. It’s not exactly black and white – especially not against a team of Vitality’s caliber – but they’re definitely one of the best and most talented teams in the region right now, and they’ve found their stride. They still have a long way to go before actually cementing themselves as a bona fide contender and a top-tier LEC team, but they’re darn close. Perhaps even surprisingly so. While they probably won’t blow Vitality out of the water, they definitely have what it takes in order to emerge victorious.

They’re simply better in every stage of the game, and perhaps most importantly – they make fewer mistakes. Regardless of the final outcome, expect fireworks.