Third support in three splits for Team Vitality in the LEC: first in Winter with Zdravets "Hylissang" Galabov, then Spring with the risky gamble of bringing in Yasin "Nisqy" Dinçer, who had just role-swapped to support for the occasion, and now Kadir "Fleshy" Kemiksiz, who will play the Summer Split. The Turkish support had already been considered as early as Spring, but visa issues led Vitality to turn to Nisqy instead.

The rest of the roster remains unchanged: Kaan "Naak Nako" Okan continues to be Vitality’s steady presence in the toplane, while the coaching staff maintains its trust in Linas "Lyncas" Nauncikas and Mateusz "Czajek" Czajka. Matyáš "Carzzy" Orság remains the veteran of the lineup and will partner with Fleshy in what will be the support's very first LEC split. Fleshy has previously played at the Tier 1 level during Spring 2023 with Immortals in the LCS, but never in the LEC. His ERL journey includes stints in the TCL with NASR Esports and Papara SuperMassive, followed by time in the LFL with Karmine Corp Blue and most recently Vitality.Bee.

The split of last chances

Fleshy joins a roster and an organization under significant pressure. After Vitality’s tiebreaker loss to Team Heretics at the end of the Spring Split, Fabien "Neo" Devide and Nicolas Maurer, co-founders of the Hive, addressed the community’s concerns during a live stream. “I told the coaches this will be their last chance,” Neo stated. “That if there were no results in Summer, they’d be let go. [...] They’ve had two years to prove themselves. This isn’t discrediting them. They’re competitors, and they’re the first to be disappointed.”

Expectations are high for Vitality this Summer—both from within the organization and from a fanbase that’s demanding results. Meeting those expectations won’t be easy, as the team finds itself in Group 1, alongside the reigning LEC champions Movistar KOI, Winter Split winners Karmine Corp, the unpredictable GIANTX, and newcomers Natus Vincere (NAVI), who took over Rogue’s slot and revamped the roster, adding an extra layer of uncertainty.

While the group’s top two spots seem out of reach for Vitality at this point, their playoff hopes will likely hinge on matchups against GX and NAVI. To stay in the race, they’ll need to secure at least a fourth-place finish—and if things go well, maybe even dream of a second Worlds appearance, six years after their first back in 2018.

A good start for this roster

Even if it doesn’t mean much competitively and came against lower-tier or bottom-table LEC-level teams, Vitality participated in the NNO Cup Season 3 this July and showed promising signs. After securing back-to-back BO3 wins against Polish side StormMedia FMS and D-REX, they faced stiffer competition in the knockout stage. First, a 2-1 win over SK Gaming in BO3, followed by a dominant 3-0 sweep of LFL champions BK ROG Esports, and another clean sweep against SK in the BO5 grand final. While the tournament was mostly friendly and low-stakes, it gave the roster a chance to warm up ahead of the Summer Split — something that might offer a slight edge once they arrive in Berlin.