Earlier this week, Riot Games Russia announced the departure of Vaevictis from the League of Legends Continental League. Vaevictis had been a target for harassment and controversy for having an entirely female roster, the first of its kind to ever make it to a top-level LoL Esports league, and performing below expectations. 

Jungler Anastasiya "HellMa" Pleyko briefly talked to us about the biggest challenges the team faced while in the league, and why the skill gap between the league teams was so wide, leading the team to a 0-28 record last season.

How was the experience you girls had as members of the League?

It was such a good experience for us. We were so nervous about games at the start, but other players were friendly and it helps us to chill.

Do you mind if I ask why you think the team was underperforming?

Huh, we are just diamond players, when other players were like challenger and above. And it's not about being male or female. You can take five boys from diamond and they will have the same performance, plus, some girls were auto-filled.

“It's not about being male or female [...] take five boys from diamond and they will have the same performance”

Did you face any other gameplay challenges other than the elo difference?

I'm a jungler, but played in the top lane. It was so hard for me. And it's really hard to find high elo girls for a short period of time. TOPLANE GIRLS, WHERE ARE YOU?! *laughs* Since some girls were auto-filled, it was hard to learn a new role. But we were hard working. Watched replays and tried to fix our mistakes. I can say that we got so many haters. It was hard for sure. But it's okay, I understand these people.

When I get invited to a team (in game), some players in soloq trolled me. Just because I'm in a team and “can solo carry”, as they said, but it's not a reason to run it down, come on.

And how was it to deal with the haters? What did it do to you emotionally? Did it affect how you played the game?

It was hard for us, but we knew that we would have haters, so it didn't affect how we played the game. The girls were so cool, we talked about that when someone had emotional problems. We were like sisters, who can talk about everything, it helps everyone in the team. Our fans were cute and sweet, that gave us power, so we didn't give up.

What do you have to say to the fans that support you?

It's really so sweet that we have so many people that support us. Thanks to all of them. We really appreciate it. If someone wants to ask questions or talk with some of us they can always find us on twitch. Or Instagram. I am open to speaking with everyone!

Stay strong and never give up, guys! GL HF