Hopefully Ruxic will get well soon. Great player.
But Kolosha is def. a nice stand-in - also he's Ukrainian which is pretty cool for NAVI.

I've seen BOARS games before (like 2-3) and they are def. good. Tier 2 in Americas, EMEA and Pacific is crazy anyways these days. I bet when it's about mechanics you will find lots of players in Tier 2 that are way better than the 2nd half of each Tier 1 league.

I watch every VCT match anyways when I have time, but why should I be a success fanboy and root for every succesful team instead?! Makes no sense to me.

Yes, Fnatic already beat Liquid. Now FNatic lost... deserved. Bro - are you guys new to Esports?
Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.

Btw.: Fnatic also didn't qualify to the first event last year and the year before.

marteen yesterday had 103 kills after 4 maps... imagine if f0rsakeN would have broken it directly again. :D

The recent days have been crazy in terms of Valorant.

Cope? Where? Do you even know what that means? Fnatic already beat Liquid.

Honestly... GG. We have another chance tomorrow and with Kaajak so underperforming it was def. not Fnatics day.
I'm super happy for marteen and former MOUZ player bipo.

marteen just showed the greatest 48 hours performance of an individual in FPS esports.
106 kills yesterday
126 kills today

232 kills in 2 following matches is next level insanity.

Mentality. 100%. Needs to adapt for where he is staying. Keiko, MiniBoo, crashies, Kaajak all mentioned they don't like Berlin. As a German I can tell you... I feel them. There are bad cities in Europe but Berlin is def. the worst and can be insanely depressing.

They should transfer VCT EMEA to Munich and everything would be solved.

So... on day 1 he breaks the EMEA record and on day 2 he breaks the world record. Like WTF?!

Is marteen human? I mean he was a very good player 2024 and 2025 but since this season I wonder if this dude is actually real.

How can you be THAT consistent when your team is throwing so many rounds?

During Kickoff we can def. say Veqaj is currently better than Chronicle. Dude is playing crazier and crazier!

I meant that regarding starxo stating: "[...] I would beat these losers and I would be MVP [...]"

In regarding to that he got indeed humbled. M8 played great, but he was starting to insult them in October. That's also what I meant before and don't understand.

True. I just don't like that players like starxo spread hate on Twitter and then talk about being chill and relaxed in interviews. I wondered why Lar0k etc. were so pumped against M8... but then I saw starxos Twitter comments.

Glad BBL humbled him.

GG :)

BBL = amazing Valorant
marteen = amazing Valorant

This is the most thrilling EMEA match during Kickoff so far.
Both teams fully into it... like mentally maximum live and both have great shooters and comms.

marteen and Lar0k are incredible.

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees! GG

Now even the most "aim" oriented viewers understand how important IGLing and coaching by players / coaches who understand the game is.

NS will get a lot of teams in trouble. They play even more aggressive than PRX.

But Jemkin is without any doubt one of the best players in the world at the moment. That fella is incredible. I mean... he always was since T2, but he just played not a single bad match this season so far.

I would keep RieNs, benjy and ComeBack and get a new IGL and a new Flex. ComeBack will be insane once his English is good enough and he feels it with the team. benjy is always great when he is motivated and he is a strong team player.

I think Wo0t is insane as a Duelist, but at Heretics he is 2nd Duelist, 2nd Ini, 2nd everything and always needs to fill gaps. He can't really freely roam on his favourite positions. He could do that once... at the Shanghai major 2024 and that's when he played one of the best ever major performances in VCT history (at Champs he wa salso great, but still not Shanghai level). So either sell ComeBack again and keep Wo0t as Duelist or keep ComeBack and let Wo0t search for a new project. ComeBack just needs to find the confidence just as im Tier 2. Some people need/ed more time (Reduxx, ComeBack, Jemkin etc.), some people less (Lar0k, Alfajer, RieNs, N4RRATE, something etc.).

100% happy for MiniBoo!

jaw <3

But Keiko is def. a great smokes player. I hope NRG can sort this out. The Champions curse...

ComeBack aka Ryan Gosling is halfway healthy again and just starts to shoot everyone. xD

Kachoww the next 16 year young Turkish wonderkid...

Yes! The Russian DEMON will prove the haters wrong. :)

Since that one match in July 2025 when LewN destroyed zekken / Sentinels people started to ask themselves when he will become a true menace. I just hope that this season will be great for him because of all that BBL replacing their roster thing (even tho it was kinda obvious someone will sign LewN).

TH and G2 showed 2024 and partially in 2025 that they are very good (and back then they belonged to the best teams) but they simply have these brutal dropoffs, TH always had the higher highs but now also the deeper lows. It's just crazy. RieNs always plays good, but he rest... nah. That's not cool. ComeBack at least has the excuse of still learning English and not really being able to understand all comms, but the rest... no excuses.

GG, what a match

Hiro is currently easily one of the best players in VCT by form.
But still... no one beats Alfajer by entries.

It's called playing Split... xD

Veqaj keeps surprising me. Great player!

Some rounds looked clunky, but Fnatic def. keep improving match by match. Like every year. :)

"Big rockstars..." :D

And he is the best of that squad so far... (beside of seven).

ULF even without their two best players... s0pp and echo.

Beastwei.

f4ngeer vs. vo0kashu :)
Awesome! Was standing up early for APAC / China today... good way to start a Satureday.

RRQ was just playing one of the most beautiful Bind plays I've seen in a looong time. Last really "next level" stunning Bind plays that I remember (because those were majors) were the Fnatic vs. NRG 2023 and Heretics vs. G2 2024 - like just mechanically and meta equivalent awesome playing.

NRG had 1 insane map, MIBR had 2 insane maps. I think both teams have their strong map pools and maps where they still need to work on.

And I think for NRG it would be best to let Keiko on Omen, Brim etc. - he is amazing with those and MIBR def. needs to let zekken play Duelist and maybe put tex on Astra when they need it and then zekken or aspas on Chamber. Dunno.

Can't wait to see what both teams will cook up next.

And replace aspas now, too because he played a bad match? They scrimmed with several players.

Numbers are not everything. Look how strong LEV was with tex in 2024... ;)
aspas said tex is good and I think that's worth more than what haters say.

Btw.: Of course Demon1 is great and I really like him (actually one of my favourite players), but there is a reason why he is not in a team. The vibes / synergy has to fit.

Just give this team some time. aspas, tex and Mazino were insane together in 2024, zekken is great and Verno is great. They just need a bit of time. Humans... no robots.

ComeBack still far away from his full form at T2 but the best at Heretics today. RieNs and Wo0t also play well, but the whole system with Boo's IGLing doesn't back their aggressive playstyle - he is always so slow with his decisions.

I honestly think Heretics might should sign a new IGL for the upcoming season.

You can't but root for BBL. These boys deserve it. The loyality, the passion and still down to earth. Much, much respect for these fellas. Lar0k is just... insane.

I think for now he did the right thing. They were succesful in T2 together and now being loyal and going the T1 journey together is smart. Fnatic is just before a rebuild... crashies won't stay forever in EU and Boaster said he just agreed for another season because if the 3 grandfinals 2025. So... 2027 should be kaajak and Alfajer for sure and Veqaj maybe. They will rebuild at some point. Would be ideal to join then... earn more and be part of a big project.

Btw. FNS said this about Lar0k:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBpDSlelA6c

Incredible young man.

Lar0k = upcoming world star!

I hope he gets so cool with Cojo at some point that he joins Fnatic in future years. :P I know... probably won't happen but I wish he would.

BBL 💪🏻

That Czech duo is insane...

Honestly... what is going on with ComeBack? Yesterday I was watching some T2 stuff from him while having lunch and he destroyed everything. He looked literally insane and when I see him in VCT... his face... he looks depressed. Either it's the new location (winter in Berlin), comms in English or everything together incl. the new experienced mates around him adding indirect pressure. I hope so much he finds a way to deal with all of it. :/ Kinda feel bad for him.

Okay, at least he is smiling today here and then. I just guess he needs to adapt slowly but surely. I'm 100% sure he just needs time.

*Edit: 2nd map he looked amazing :) Keep it up, Ryan Gosling.

GG

al0 looks really good on Controller already, seven looks sharp - super flexible player, qpert great IGLing. NINJA is mechanically really good but he still does the weirdest plays sometimes and I feel like cNed is not really taking it that serious... still I have hopes for them. It's just Kickoff. They have the talent and they are def. the newest team with the least experience and 1:2 against BBL and GX (a team that made PRX look woundable) is actually not bad.

I think they just need to work on their execs. It always looked like a matter of seconds.

The Liquid squad will become very good. They have so much role flexibility.

Kinda true. He should play aggressive Initiator (Fade etc.) and 2nd Duelist maybe Raze or whatever. But yeah, as Ini he was sooo much better.

That was easily one of the best maps fragwise from john in VCT. Really exciting match so far and I'm happy for bang of course...

But also... it seems several bigger teams / players seems to have some issues after the break. Not all but some.

shinnok, rexxtoned, GSR, WanZeru, Yigox, wtex, sh0ut = biggest EMEA U18 talents since ComeBack, Lar0k, f4ngeer, s0pp etc. went to VCT!

I don't defend their Breeze - it was yikes. Where did I mention it? But it's a fact that Alfajer just came out of vacation... same last year. Same last year with PRX struggling during first matches. That's all I meant... like losing to eco rounds which they usually never lose later when they are fully into the grind. Fnatic also showed 2025 that a struggling start means 0,0 with 3 grand finals later and kaajak becoming rookie of the year and the only Duelist playing positive numbers vs. aspas during Champs.

GE looking strong but every year starts the same... PRX and Fnatic doing hella long vacation time and struggle in their first matches. xD Still nothing to worry about.

Mechanically pimmie is def. in the top 5. But of course you need to look at stats for a whole season incl. majors and all that. Let's hope 2026 primmie can play a major.

Bro, primmie is INSANE but look at aspas stats for all VCT years... 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025.

2021 - 2024: Leo #1, aspas#2
since 2025: aspas #1

aspas plays Initiator KAST% numbers as a Duelist. He is the best Duelist to ever touch this game. There was only one Duelist at Champs that played positive umbers against aspas and that was kaajak (12:7 kills).

primmie is insane, but you can't compare him to aspas now. I hope so much FULL SENSE plays at a major this year and primmie can show his skills internationally.

primmiiiiiiiiiiie <3333333