The Valorant offseason brings changes to every team, and European Team Vitality is no exception. It was recently revealed that ahead of VCT 2025, player Emil "runneR" Trajkovski and two coaches, head coach Harry "Gorilla" Mepham and his assistant Laike "temoc" Lewis, have left the team.
Farewell to the Team
Interestingly, the organization did not announce the end of the collaboration first; instead, we learned about it from the social media posts of the player and coaches. Each of them shared a heartfelt farewell on their Twitter accounts, but the most emotional message came from former head coach Gorilla. He revealed that he had quit university to pursue his dream with Team Vitality and had no regrets.
For 2.5 years, I gave everything to this club. I left university to chase my dream here, and I’m grateful to everyone I worked with and everyone who supported me. It wasn’t easy, and I continue to realize that each year is harder than the last, but I’ve met amazing people and created memories I’ll cherish for life. Ultimately, it was decided that I would be out of the team in 2025. I love this club and always will. Thank you again to everyone, and see you on the other side.
Assistant coach temoc echoed Gorilla's words, thanking him and the organization for the opportunity to test himself at the highest competitive level. Player runneR stated that the year had been quite tough, but despite that, he enjoyed working with his teammates and thanked them and everyone involved for the warm memories.
Well the day came where i say goodbye to @TeamVitality
— runneR (@runneR_vlr) October 7, 2024
I want to thank the whole team and management to the fans who all became a part of my family, im extremely grateful that i was given a chance this year to play with amazing teammates and compete at the highest level.
Performance of Team Vitality
The number of changes in the "Bees" lineup is directly related to the team's performance during VCT 2024, which was not particularly successful. The team placed 5th at the VCT 2024: EMEA Kickoff and 9th-10th at VCT 2024: EMEA Stage 1, missing both Masters events as a result. However, in VCT 2024: EMEA Stage 2, the team managed to bounce back, securing 2nd place. This qualified them for Valorant Champions 2024, but they didn't find much success there, exiting the event in 9th-12th place after failing to progress past the group stage.
Interestingly, none of the three former members have announced their future plans. Neither the player nor the two coaches have expressed intentions to seek new teams, so we can only wait for an official announcement. Perhaps the trio is preparing something together.
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