Team Vitality has announced its lineup for the upcoming season of the European League of Legends league LEC. With Luka "Perkz" Perković and Barney "Alphari" Norris, Vitality is bringing two star e-athletes from the North American LCS back to Europe.

"We have a difficult past in League of Legends. Therefore, it was the first step to secure us star players,"says Vitality's e-sports director Fabien "Neo" Devide in an interview with the German Press Agency. "We wanted to be open and proactive in the market should an opportunity arise. That's what happened to Perkz when Cloud9 got in touch.»

In the last spring season of the LEC, the French team had taken the last place, in the summer only just reached the playoffs.

Team Vitality wants to play top in LEC

In addition to Perkz and Alphari, Botlaner Matyáš "Carzzy" Orság, who left MAD Lions after two years with LEC titles at the end of his contract, will join the team. Oskar "Selfmade" Boderek and Labros "Labrov" Papoutsakis will remain with the team.

Some past superteams, such as G2 Esports after the signing of Martin "Rekkles" Larsson, broke down due to the pressure to succeed. "It is important to keep the egos in check. The personalities have to fit together and I think that's what we have in this team, " he says of his teammates.

A difficult year for Perkz in North America

In North America, where he had played for Cloud9 for a year, Perkz did not feel comfortable. "I wanted to be closer to friends and family. It's not the same to travel from Los Angeles as from Berlin, " says the 23-year-old Croatian.

"Also, the way people accepted criticism was different," he says. "It felt more difficult in NA to use my skills. I wanted to do different things in the game than my team, and that caused me pain. I hid it for a long time and convinced myself that it will already work. But that was just a lie to myself.»

Million any amount for Vitalitys Superteam

The fact that Vitality pays transfer fees and salaries in the millions for the team makes Perkz think back to old times. "My first salary was $100 a month. It's already my seventh year playing, and I'm still pretty young in real life. In e-sports years, I feel like I'm 50 years old," he says.

"At that time, I could only have dreamed of getting so much money. It was like I had to pick up every single penny on the floor to be able to buy sweets, so it honors me." Exactly how much Perkz earns in the new team remains a secret. According to reports, he should earn over $ 2 million a year at Cloud9.