Upset joins Perkz and Bo on Vitality for promising 2023 season

And while Fnatic keeps sinking, their former star in Upset led his new team to more wins this weekend than Fnatic has for the entirety of 2023. We are not sure how much Vitality paid for the Upset buyout, but if first impressions are trustworthy, this Vitality squad looks poised to be a contender in the 2023 LEC season.

Vitality sign bot laner Elias “Upset” Lipp

Despite finishing tied for first place during the 2023 LEC Winter Split, Vitality had to make changes. Their performance in the playoffs left a lot to be desired. And most of their woes seemed to start in the bot lane. Despite having a solid performance in the regular split, the playoffs uncovered the sad truth. Bot laner Neon did not perform up to standards, and it cost Vitality a lot of crucial wins. With so much money and hope in this roster following the 2022 fiasco, management was not having it.

Insert Upset here. The superstar bot laner did his best to carry the mess that was Fnatic for the last two years. And when he decided he wasn’t going to put up with the management issues, he found himself on the chopping block. Getting benched for the player you replaced and was considered an upgrade for must have hurt. But Upset handled it like a professional and is now shining in Vitality. 

Upset dominates in week 1 of 2023 LEC Spring Split

And calling it shining would be an understatement. Not only did they win all three games, it wasn’t even close. Vitality passed the eye test and the numbers backed it up. With Upset averaging a 1500 gold lead at 15 minutes, the game becomes much easier for everyone on his side.  To be fair, they played the two worst teams from the previous split and the MAD Lions had a questionable draft. But where credit is due, Vitality looks promising moving forward. 

Vitality 2023 League of Legends roster

Let’s not act like Upset was the savior Vitality needed. They were a good team before this acquisition. They proved it during the Winter Split. But they were flawed and the bot lane had little to no synergy.  Their general manager in charge for the League of Legends squad, Fabien “Neo” Devide , did an interview before the season where he explained the thought process behind the roster construction. Their 2022 roster was a well-documented disaster and he acknowledged it. Instead of going down the same path in 2023 by going for the biggest names available, Vitality had a vision in mind.

It all started when destiny smiled at them and they noticed it. Those who were informed of his antics in the far East knew what Bo could be for Vitality. The others were left questioning the decision. Signing a 20-year-old jungler from China in the middle of the 2022 season in July was a bad move for many. Even more so considering they already had two junglers on payroll, and that’s only for the LEC team.

Vitality’s LFL roster is one of the most dominant forces in the tier two scene, so there’s no shortage of talent. Jungler Selfmade, who is still making a hefty wage despite not playing for a year, was replaced by Korean jungler Haru. Haru came in at the same time as Bo, but he only served as a placeholder until Bo learnt English. If you are wondering who this guy is and why he is so special, we got you covered.

Vitality jungler Bo LPL history

Before coming to Europe on a tourist visa in 2022, the young Chinese prodigy named Zhou “Bo” Yang-Bo had already established a brand in the far East. He started his career with eStar Young in the Chinese  LDL (League of Legends Development League). That’s a secondary league in China for the growth of young players. He played for 7 months until the end of 2020 but soon found the opportunity of his lifetime in the world-renowned team FunPlus Phoenix, popularly known as FPX. The former world champions were coming off a successful season that ended in a major disappointment. The house was cleaned and new talent was infused into the scene. Bo was one of them and he took full advantage of the opportunity.

Despite playing in just 10 games for FPX by February 2021, he was already a name to watch out for. He won all 10 games, spearheading a new team to the best record with his sheer brilliance. And this is the LPL that we are talking about. The most competitive league in the world, with 4 of the last 6 World Champions. LPL players are usually known for their aggressive playstyle. But Bo took this to a new level, despite being a rookie. During the first 10 games they won, he even managed to set a record for the highest kills (16) by any LPL jungler in a single game.

Nobody at the highest level of competition could match his tempo and pace, as he single handedly ended games by the 25-minute mark. But then his dreams were crushed, as his career trajectory went from the stars to the bottom of the ocean.

Vitality Bo matchfixing scandal

Bo had been under investigation for match-fixing by a governing committee, and they finally came forth with a decision. He was suspended for one year from all Riot Games competitions and could never participate in Chinese League of Legends teams. 

According to reports, the event took place while he was an underage player for ‌eStar Young in the LDL, and was forced into the act by other figures. Bo served his suspension and after the ban was lifted he was a free agent. And that’s when Vitality came in and swooped him. They signed him in June 2022, brought him to Europe to get acclimated, and made him learn English for the rest of 2022. Whatever happened with the roster didn’t matter, Bo was their centerpiece moving forward. He quickly proved that the suspension did not deteriorate his skills.

Vitality Bo is unleashed in Europe

The man was always a legend in Ranked Solo Queue, and soon the EUW server felt his wrath. While Vitality was being mocked for failing to qualify for the World Championship despite fielding a super team that included top laner Alphari, Bo was wrecking the entire server. It wasn’t the fact that he reached EUW Challenger with a 72% win rate on a normal account. Not one given out by Riot Games to pro players, which starts out with Master MMR. He did this in less than a month, but what was more telling was the fashion in which he did it. Anyone that had the privilege to be on his team was shaking his head, as analysts were wondering if he would change the region forever.

As the 2022 season ended, all eyes were on Bo. Everyone wanted to see him perform in Europe. Support Kaiser was brought in from the MAD Lions due to his synergy with Elyoya, helping him become one of the best junglers in Europe. With Perkz holding down the mid lane, Vitality were always going to be a contender. Neon was their best bot lane option at the time due to their budget. In the meantime, another quiet move made an even bigger impact. Top laner Photon was brought in from the Korean Challengers League and has been the best at his position in Europe ever since. Is Upset the missing piece in this well oiled machine? Only time will tell. But for now, Vitality are looking like strong favorites to make Europe proud on the international stage.