The Oceania representative team PEACE announced Wednesday that two of their players, Yao “Apii” Jian-Jing and Thomas “LeeSA” Ma, will not be able to travel to Europe for the 2021 League of Legends World Championship. In their place, former LEC player Kiss “Vizicsacsi” Tamás will join the team for the tournament.
PEACE’s Apii and LeeSa out of Worlds 2021
Vizicsacsi will replace Apii as the team’s new starting top laner. The team will not need a replacement for substitute jungler LeeSA, as starting jungler Leo “Babip” Romer is still expected to be with the team. Both Chinese players have been with the organization since February of 2021.
“We are extremely saddened to announce that Apii & LeeSA will not be attending Worlds 2021 with the remainder of the PEACE lineup,” the team said in a statement shared directly to Twitter. “Due to the ever changing landscape of the world post-pandemic, we have been put in a situation that did not allow for travel eligibility criteria to be met.”
https://twitter.com/pce_gg/status/1440603272109182980?s=20
The organization announced their signing of Vizicsacsi mere hours later with a short statement and a video clip.
“Please join us in welcoming the replacement top laner for our Worlds 2021 campaign: Vizicsacsi. His addition to the PEACE Worlds roster has been finalized, and he’ll be meeting up with the lads in Iceland,” the statement said.
https://twitter.com/pce_gg/status/1440631968098500616?s=20
Vizicsacsi returns to pro play at Worlds 2021
The former Splyce top laner has been in retirement since late 2019 but recently announced his intention to return to professional play. In 2019, he announced his retirement after his contract with Splyce ran out and did not resurface around pro League of Legends until 2021. He was signed to MAD Lions in August during their playoff run, as a positional coach to their top laners.
Now, he will have a chance to play against MAD Lions on the international stage. PEACE will have to battle through the play-in stage to compete against the No. 1 League of Legends European Championship seed though. His Worlds journey starts in Group A of the Play-in Stage where he will have to finish top four in their group to have a shot at the main event.
