The French Bees go European!
French team Vitality French Bees has finalized its roster for the upcoming 2024 Season. According to Sheep Esports sources, the team has reached agreements with top laner CrowMac, jungler Karina, mid laner TIFA, bot laner Viki, and support Indifferent. Entering the scene in April of last year, Vitality is one of many organizations investing in the growing female League of Legends scene. After slow results last year, the team now aims to compete for championship titles in upcoming tournaments.
Vitality French Bees 2024 Roster
- Top Lane: Madison "CrowMac" Coutelet
- Jungle: Agnė "Karina" Ivaškevičiūtė
- Mid Lane: Alena "Tifa" Maurer
- Bot Lane: Velouria "Viki" Baty
- Support: Victoria "Indifferent" de la Torre Serna
- Head Coach: "Oneƒor"
Hungry for More
Following recent trends, Vitality opened its female division in April 2023. In close partnership with ALDI, the organization aimed to provide a strong environment to develop the next generation of female esports talents, specifically in France. Unfortunately, despite great infrastructure, the team failed to perform in the tournaments it attended this year.
Attending several French events and tournaments, the team competed throughout the year in various competitions. Receiving direct support from the organization, the French Bees evolved in 2023 with a rigorous coaching staff and access to all of the organization's facilities.
Having competed in tournaments such as the Mastercard Nexus Tour, the Equal Esports Cup, and the PATHFINDERS series, the team struggled to leave a dent in either competition. The team arguably had its best performance at the end of the year in the Coupe des Étoiles, a tournament organized by Webedia in parallel to the LFL Coupe de France. There, the team reached the tournament's semifinals before being defeated by Team GO Aurora in a 2-game match.
Desiring greater success in the female scene, the "French" Bees are now expanding their reach to Europe as they search for talents to rally to their cause in 2024.
A Power Duo
In 2022, jungler Agnė "Karina" Ivaškevičiūtė, previously known as Tigriuke, and mid laner Alena "Tifa" Maurer both joined G2 Hel. Having played together since early 2019, the two players have established themselves as some of Europe's top stars in recent years. Having earned several trophies together, the two have been regarded as the strongest mid-jungle duo that the EMEA region has to offer.
Despite this, the newly formed roster would seemingly reach its ceiling when competing in the GIRLGAMER 2023 World Finals. Swept by South Korean representatives Kingnigatsa, the team decided to make changes to its roster. Soon enough, the news broke that G2H had decided to bench Karina in May 2023, separating the duo for the first time in more than four years.
First competing together under Beşiktaş Esports, and later on Galaxy Racer, the two had been up to that point a duo to be feared in the EMEA region. With Tifa also departing from the team, the former duo has been looking for a new home to compete together.
Re-united, the duo now aims to bring Vitality to new heights and earn the organization its first trophy. Most recently, Karina had a short stint on Team GO Aurora, with whom she won the Coupe des Étoiles, defeating Vitality in the process. On the other end, Tifa recently won the 3rd PATHFINDERS event with G2 Hel, beating her former teammate in the tournament's finals.
Unpredictable Wildcards
Coming in as the team's wildcard players, French top laner Madison "CrowMac" Coutelet and Spanish support Victoria "Indifferent" de la Torre Serna will form the team's two other additions as it heads into the 2024 season. While playing for different teams, the two also competed in large tournaments this year, such as the EEC.
Joining BIG in September 2022, CrowMac has been evolving on the German organization's roster for some time now. Winning the Equal Esports Festival that year and coming in as runner-up in the EEC in 2023, she has established herself as one of the scene's strongest players in her respective position. While CrowMac could not secure any trophies this year, strong performances in all the tournaments she attended have put her on the radar of many teams this off-season. Now ending up in a star-studded lineup with VFB, she hopes to reiterate her past success and truly cement herself among the legends of the EMEA region.
On the other end, Indifferent is a player with a lot to prove. Re-joining the scene with KOI Amethyst this year, the support player has not yet had the chance to taste the same success as some of her teammates have. Prior to 2023, the Spanish player had been on an extended competitive hiatus. Despite this, Indifferent was once one of the female scene's strongest assets. Competing for teams like Movistar Riders, S2V Esports, or even GIANTS, she was previously one of Spain's strongest bot laners. Peaking at 637 LP this year, she is the team's highest-ranked player on the European ladder and aims to prove herself this year on VFB.
Calling the Shots
Rounding up the team's lineup will be none other than the returning bot laner and team captain Velouria "Viki" Baty along with coach "Oneƒor". Together, the two have led the Vitality French Bees during the 2023 season and have helped shape the organization into what it is today.
Known for her time in the Women in Games organization, Viki is today a staple of the female League of Legends scene. An icon of the French scene, the bot laner has been present in the scene ever since 2019. Debuting her career on smaller teams, Viki has now become a trailblazer in her region and is known as the major force behind the French Bees project.
Joining in July 2023, Oneƒor is set to reprise his role with the team in the upcoming competitive season. Working alongside Viki, he has helped the team through 2 PATHFINDERS events, several qualifiers of the EEC, and the Coupe des Étoiles.
Despite not achieving their expected results last year, the two are expected to form a strong infrastructure around a team of talented new players, which is expected to make a dent in the scene next year. Formed with several former champions and promising prospects, Vitality is poised to be among the scene's top teams next year.