Fnatic Valorant make history at VCT EMEA stage 2 finals

Fnatic’s Valorant team has made history by becoming the first team in EMEA franchising to win back-to-back tournaments. 

Fnatic had a rough start to VCT EMEA 2024, missing out on qualification for Masters Madrid early in the year. However, the team bounced back during the main stage, winning the first regional tournament in May to secure their spot in Masters Shanghai.

Despite finishing 7th at the international tournament, Fnatic came in strong for the second stage of VCT EMEA. They made a near-flawless run through the playoff bracket, dropping only two maps in total—one against Karmine Corp in the first round and another against Team Vitality in the grand finals.

Fnatic put the nail in Team Vitality’s coffin on the fourth map of the match, winning with an impressive 13-3 on their opponent’s map pick to become the first team in EMEA to win back-to-back events. 

“Jake [Boaster] said before this year started that we were going to win three trophies,” said Timofey “Chronicle” Khromov in the post-match interview. “We actually won two out of three already, Stage 1, Stage 2… Now Champs are coming.”

The only other team to win both stages was EDward Gaming in VCT China, a powerhouse in its respective region. 

With their victory in VCT EMEA Stage 2, Fnatic secured their third regional trophy, their last win being in 2022 against FPX before the franchising era. 

This victory also marks the first tournament win for substitute Emirhan “hiro” Kat, who joined Fnatic midway through Stage 2 to replace Leo “Leo” Jannesson, who stepped away from competitive play to focus on his health.

Fnatic will join fellow EMEA teams Team Vitality, Team Heretics, and FUT Esports at VCT Champions. The final international event of the year will be held in Seoul, South Korea, at the COEX Artium and INSPIRE Arena. 

EMEA will be looking to take home the second Champions trophy for their region after Acend won the inaugural event in 2021.