Fnatic's roster shuffle pays off as they win Valorant Champions Tour EU Challengers 2

With its new Valorant roster, Fnatic won the EU VCT 2021 Stage 2 Challenger 2 with a 3-1 victory in the grand finals against Team Liquid.

We are the #VCT Stage 2 EU Champions!!GG @LiquidValorant Amazing performance from this fresh roster with just 5 days to prep #AlwaysFnatic pic.twitter.com/4tzbZUki1e

— FNATIC (@FNATIC) April 18, 2021

It has not even been two weeks since Fnatic’s new roster came into existence, following their lackluster performance in previous VCT appearances. But it is clear from this victory that the signings of Nikita “Derke” Sirmitev and Martin “Magnum” Peňkov might have paid off big time for the organization.

Following a slew of disappointing results at the earlier VCT Challengers qualifiers, Fnatic decided to release Kostas “tsack” Theodoropoulos and Muhammad “Moe40” Hariff.

The new Valorant roster for Fnatic in Stage 2 Challengers 2 consisted of:

• Jake “Boaster” Howlett
• Domagoj “Doma” Fancev
• James “Mistic” Orfila
• Nikita “Derke” Sirmitev
• Martin “Magnum” Peňkov
• Jacob “Mini” Harris (Coach)

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Fnatic’s Valorant roster changes paid off big time

Derke is a Jett-aficionado whose Operator skills proved to be an asset to Fnatic. With an earlier iteration of their Valorant roster, Fnatic had to almost always rely on five rifles. But Derke’s Jett-OP combo seemed like just the thing Fnatic needed to add as the X-factor.

At the time of his signing, coach Jacob “Mini” Harris predicted that Derke that his Jett OP will “add an extra dimension to the team.” That prediction came true.

Before Fnatic, Magnum was a relatively unknown player. But his top-tier Sentinel play throughout the tournament seemed solid. With 1 HP Ace in the grand finals on Killjoy, Magnum cemented his name in the history of Valorant Esports as one of the most talented players.

1 HP and a DREAM ACE!@just_magnum is on 🔥🔥 #VCT pic.twitter.com/9Hi2qUSHRK

— FNATIC (@FNATIC) April 18, 2021

Fnatic’s triple duelist lineup in Bind

In the fourth map, Bind, Fnatic pulled off a triple duelist team comp, which became the talk of the town. In addition to the usual picks of Doma on Raze and Derke on Jett, Boaster picked another duelist, Reyna.

Fanatic vs Team Liquid team composition in Bind (Image from Reddit user Adityarp3)

The win only proves Fnatic’s performance as a cohesive unit. They showed immense resiliency and mid-round adaptation on a map that Liquid traditionally dominated.

Strategically speaking, Astra’s presence in the Valorant team allows for far greater flexibility in duelist picks since Astra brings so much utility to the table. She is a hybrid between a Sentinel and a Controller.

Fnatic and Liquid qualify for EMEA Challengers Final

Fnatic has qualified for the Valorant EMEA Challengers Final as the top seed with this victory. Team Liquid has also qualified for the Challengers Final as the runner-up of this tournament.

Both teams will face off against FunPlus Phoenix, Guild Esports, Futbolist, Oxygen Esports, BBL Esports, and Gambit Esports for two spots in EMEA’s Stage 2 Masters.