Vaevictis Esports
 | |
| Short name | VS |
|---|---|
| Divisions | Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Dota 2 League of Legends Overwatch Point Blank |
| Founded | 16 November 2015 |
| Based in | Moscow, Russia |
| Manager | Ksenia "Trianna" Meshcheryakova |
| General manager | Alexey "Madneps" Kholin |
Vaevictis Esports is a Russian esports organization with teams competing in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Dota 2, League of Legends, Overwatch, and Point Blank. In early 2019 the organization received global attention when it became the first organization to sign an all-female League of Legends roster to compete in a top-level professional league.[1] Vaevictis formerly had a League of Legends team competing in the League of Legends Continental League (LCL), the top-level league for the game in the Commonwealth of Independent States,[2] but the team was removed from the league in early 2020 for not having fielded a competitive roster and its subsequent poor performance.[3][4]
League of Legends
History
On 10 February 2019, Vaevictis announced it was signing an all-female roster to compete in the LCL, the first organization to do so in a top-level professional league.[1] The announcement was immediately met with heavy criticism and accusations of it being a publicity stunt, as everyone on the roster mainly played in the support role and barely met the rank requirement to be on a professional team.[5]
Vaevictis' starting roster for the 2019 LCL Spring Split consisted of top laner Diana "TR1GGERED" Ivanchenko, jungler Aida "Merao" Kazaryan, mid laner Elena "VioletFairy" Koval, bot laner Ksenia "Trianna" Meshcheryakova, and support Nataliya "Ankote" Zayko.[6] In late February 2019 Vaevictis announced it was looking for new additions to their roster, and on 28 February top laner Elina "Intgration" Sokolova and bot laner Ekaterina "Hroft" Grishcheneva joined the team, while TR1GGERED and Ankote moved to support and substitute support respectively. On 3 March 2019 Vaevictis lost to Vega Squadron in the shortest match in LCL history, and the ninth shortest overall in competitive League of Legends.[7] Vaevictis ended the 2019 LCL Spring Split in last place with a 0–14 record.[8]
In an interview given on 7 March 2019, Ankote revealed the reason behind the roster changes; she alleged that a toxic team environment and verbal harassment by TR1GGERED led to arguments between her and her teammates, which prompted Vaevictis' management to seek a replacement for either her or TR1GGERED.[9] Ankote apologized to her teammates for her performance in the top lane after roleswapping with TR1GGERED before the roster changes, saying she was not used to the role. According to Ankote, her teammates ridiculed her apology and dismissed it as an excuse.[9] After an investigation, Riot Games Russia issued TR1GGERED a two-game ban on 15 March 2019 for verbal harassment and threatening Ankote on stream.[10][11][12]
A new roster was announced on 7 July 2019. Top laner Anastasiya "HellMa" Pleyko and mid laner Olga "PewPewSolari" Arsenyeva joined Vaevictis, while TR1GGERED, Ankote, Hroft, and Don Hell left. Merao remained on the team, as did Intgration, who switched roles and became a bot laner.[13] On 25 July 2019, head coach Daniel "Remus" Klimanov, who played for Vaevictis prior to their decision to field an all-female team, joined the roster as the new starting mid laner.[14]
In February 2020 it was announced that Vaevictis would be removed from the LCL because the team did not field a competitive roster during the 2019 season. The league's organisers stated, "The results of the 2019 season showed a huge difference in Vaevictis Esports' results compared to other LCL teams, which is an unacceptable level of competitiveness in a franchised league. In this regard, Vaevictis Esports will not participate in the LCL's 2020 season."[3]
References
- ^ a b Heath, Jerome (11 February 2019). "LCL team Vaevictis Esports signs a female roster". Dot Esports. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
- ^ Beard, Grant (16 May 2019). "Unicorns of Love to join the LCL". Daily Esports. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
- ^ a b "Континентальная лига: сезон 2020". LoL Esports RU (in Russian). 10 February 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
- ^ Soba, Carly (18 February 2020). "All-female team Vaevictis removed from LCL due to poor performance". Daily Esports. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
- ^ "All-female Russian LoL team Vaevictis Esports lose 52-2 in the LCL: Is this really about giving women a platform or is it just an unfair publicity stunt?". Esports News UK. 17 February 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
- ^ @VaevictisTeam (10 February 2019). "We're proud to present you Vaevictis eSports roster for LCL Spring 2019!" (Tweet). Retrieved 3 June 2019 – via Twitter.
- ^ "List of Shortest Games". Leaguepedia. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
- ^ "LCL/2019 Season/Spring Season". Leaguepedia. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
- ^ a b "«В сложившейся ситуации не могу молчать». История экс-топлейнера Vaevictis eSports". Cybersport.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 3 June 2019.
- ^ "Дисциплинарное решение: Диана "TR1GGERED" Иванченко". Riot Games Russia (in Russian). 15 March 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
- ^ "Игрока женской команды Vaevictis дисквалифицировали на 2 матча LCL за оскорбления на стриме". Cybersports.ru (in Russian). 15 March 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
- ^ "Riot Games дисквалифицировала игрока Vaevictis eSports за травлю". Cybersport.ru (in Russian). 15 March 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
- ^ @VaevictisTeam (7 July 2019). "LCL summer split roster update!" (Tweet). Retrieved 27 July 2019 – via Twitter.
- ^ @VaevictisTeam (25 July 2019). "We have some roster changes after the first week of LCL" (Tweet). Retrieved 27 July 2019 – via Twitter.
