Team Vitality Team Vitality Europe Rank #2 trexx Nikita Cherednichenko Derke Nikita Sirmitev Kicks Kimmie Laasner Sayf Saif Jibraeel Less Felipe de Loyola Basso swept Team Heretics Team Heretics Europe Rank #1 MiniBoo Dominykas Lukaševičius Wo0t Mert Alkan RieNs Enes Ecirli benjyfishy Benjamin David Fish Boo Ričardas Lukaševičius in the VCT 2025 EMEA Kickoff upper bracket, securing the first EMEA slot for Masters Bangkok.

Vitality picked Haven for map one of the series. Both teams opted for the Yoru, but Heretics decided to run Tejo while Sayf returned to his Duelist roots with the Iso pick. The pistol went to Vitality, but then fans of both teams saw one of the rarest and riskiest plays in Valorant history work: a bonus conversion off of a fake Yoru clone from Derke .

Derke fakes being his own Yoru clone to get two kills against Team Heretics.

Heretics followed that play with a thrifty win, but Vitality kept up the pressure on their attack side. Everyone on Vitality was hitting outstanding shots, showing the talent their entire roster has against an experienced team in Heretics. The double Duelist mixed with great utility from trexx and Kicks put lots of pressure on the Heretics players, and it took until the final few rounds of the defense half for Heretics to adjust and win some rounds. Despite the early dominance, Vitality was only up 8-4 at the half.

Winning the second pistol was crucial for Heretics to keep the map within reach, and the team did just that. The bonus looked to be lost, but MiniBoo got four kills defending A site to tie the series 8-8. RieNs was able to outplay Sayf in the Iso ult to lead Heretics to their first lead of the map. Vitality were primed to blow an 8-1 lead, yet they tied the game at 10-10. Kicks and Sayf were the catalysts to bring the map back, as Vitality won Haven 13-10 to take the series lead.

Next up was Abyss, which Vitality chose to capitalize on prior poor performances on the map from Heretics. Also aware of their weaknesses, Heretics swapped their composition by putting Wo0t onto Chamber. Vitality started strong with another pistol win, barely winning the anti-eco round, but converted the bonus off of clean shots from trexx to take an early lead. Vitality started their second map in a row hot, even converting a tough 2v3 to remain perfect on round 10.

trexx and Derke convert a 2v3 to convert their ninth round in a row.

The weakness of Heretics' Abyss was magnified even after the composition changes, as Less was able to lurk mid frequently and get value around the lack of trips from the solo Sentinel of Chamber. Heretics were able to win the final round of the first half to prevent the 13-0, but a lost pistol was the death knell. Vitality won Abyss 13-1 and swept the series to secure their spot at Masters Bangkok and the EMEA Kickoff grand finals.

Team Heretics is still alive in the tournament, but now need to win the lower bracket final to qualify for Masters Bangkok and rematch against Team Vitality. However, to do so, Heretics will need to defeat the winner of the FUT Esports and Team Liquid matchup.