Who is Bo? Everything to know about Team Vitality's explosive League of Legends jungler

A brief discussion regarding Bo, the explosive jungler from Team Vitality (Image via Riot Games)
A brief discussion regarding Bo, the explosive jungler from Team Vitality (Image via Riot Games)

Bo is a name that has become quite popular over the past few months in the European League of Legends community. He is currently the jungler for Team Vitality, which took over the LEC during the opening week.

So, who exactly is Bo, and why are people so hyped about him? Here is a brief look into the pro player's past and his capabilities in the game.


A brief discussion on Team Vitality's new League of Legends jungler, Bo

Zhou "Bo" Yang-Bo is a 20-year-old Chinese League of Legends pro who played in the LPL in 2020 and 2021. His career started with eStar Young, but soon he moved to the world-famous team FunPlus Phoenix, popularly known as FPX.

He was at FPX for only a short period and played 10 games. But they were some of the most explosive matches ever by a jungler, even by LPL standards. LPL players in this role are generally known for their aggressive style.

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Bo, on the other hand, is in a league of his own. He will invade at level 1, kill the enemy, steal their buff and then come back. The habit of ganking lanes early and stacking up so many kills that it becomes impossible to deal with him.

During those 10 games Bo played at FPX, he won all of them and set a record for the highest kills (16) by any LPL jungler in a single game. That record was later broken by Karsa, but it was impressive, considering Bo was a rookie.

Unfortunately, Bo's career at FPX was short-lived, as he received a ban on account of match-fixing on February 2021. He was initially investigated but later confessed to the governing committee.

The scandal occurred while he was at eStar Young in the LDL (League of Legends Development League), a secondary league in China for the growth of young players.

Unfortunately, the match-fixing was not Bo's fault, as he was very young and forced into the deed. It is no secret that esports has several areas that remain shrouded by those who often take advantage of young talented players for the sake of money.

In any case, after Bo's suspension was over, he did not have much to do. Almost a year later, in June 2022, Team Vitality signed Bo as a substitute. But he wasn't ready to join the roster back then, as the team already had a starting jungler, and Bo did not know English.

So from June to December 2022, Bo received English training while getting the hang of the EUW solo queue. It is safe to say that despite Bo's suspension, his skills remained intact as he achieved Rank 1 in the server in just 32 days.

His skills were soon noted by League of Legends streamers, casters, and analysts. Caedrel and Drakos became massive fans of Bo and kept mentioning how the jungler is.

When Team Vitality failed to qualify for League of Legends Worlds 2022, fans said that Bo would fix things once he joins the team. Many expectations were put on Bo's shoulders, and everyone had their eyes on him when the LEC 2023 Winter Split began.

Bo took the stage by storm in the opening week by crushing his competition. The performance almost immediately established him as the best jungler in the LEC alongside Yike and Elyoya.

The hyper-aggressive playstyle Bo developed in the LPL will push other European junglers to step up their game. This approach will help not only Team Vitality but the region as a whole to perform better on the international stage.

It may be too early to speak on Bo's future, but he definitely has the talent to go all the way as one of the greats in League of Legends.