Fnatic Derke praises EG’s Demon1 ahead of VCT Masters Tokyo match

Fnatic star Derke has talked up the talents of Evil Geniuses’ Demon1 ahead of the teams’ upcoming bout at VCT Masters Tokyo.

Fnatic and Evil Geniuses have set up an exciting clash in VCT Masters Tokyo’s upper bracket final after beating Paper Rex and Team Liquid, respectively, on Monday.

It’s a much-anticipated matchup between the most in-form teams of the tournament but also two of the hottest names in Valorant esports right now: Fnatic’s Nikita ‘Derke’ Sirmitev and Max ‘Demon1’ Mazanov.

On the opening day of the event, after EG beat FUT Esports in the group stage, Demon1 made it clear that Fnatic was the team in his sights. “The team I want to play is obviously Fnatic. All the comparisons, Derke versus Demon1, the bald buff and all that,” he said in the press conference. “I want to play Fnatic, definitely. Can’t wait to see them in the playoffs.”

And as his team turns its focus to the upcoming clash, Derke made it clear that the respect is mutual. “Good player, I talked to him yesterday,” Derke told reporters after the match against Paper Rex. “He seems like a really nice guy.

“I wanted to face him when he was playing in the Americas season. I’m really excited for that.”

Derke is currently third on VCT Masters Tokyo’s list of top performers with a VLR rating of 1.27, only behind his teammates Emir ‘Alfajer’ Beder (1.41) and Timofey ‘Chronicle’ Khromov (1.35). Demon1 is a bit further down that list, with an average rating of 1.13.

Fnatic and Evil Geniuses will face each other on June 21 (June 20 in North America), with the winner booking the first spot in the grand final.