Head of Vitality Fabienne «Neo» David gave an interview to the HLTV portal, in which he spoke about the changes in the team and what goals its management sets for the near future.
Back in November last year it became known that three cyber athletes who played key roles in the Astralis team will start the new season in the French organization. David explains that this move was not at all as unexpected as it might seem from the outside: Vitality has always been built as a long-term project that focuses not only on immediate tasks, but also on sustainable development. Therefore, the formation of an international squad was seen as an option from the start: «We wanted to build a cycle of two or three years in length, but because of the coronavirus we had to extend it to allow players to properly prove themselves». In any case, in 2021 this cycle was coming to an end, and it was clear to everyone involved in the project that big changes were coming.
The transition to working with an international team also meant a new strategy. While the organization previously relied on developing young players, it now wants to speed up the process by contracting more experienced players. Interestingly, a similar shift in approach will affect Vitality's divisions dedicated to other disciplines. Neo mentions that keeping the roster composed exclusively of French players was not a completely impossible option, as there are many ambitious players in the local cybersports scene who would have a chance of making it to the majors. However, from a strategic point of view, moving to an international lineup was the obvious solution.