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Fnatic entered the playoffs of Valorant Champions 2021 after a tantalizing 2-1 victory against Vision Strikers in the Group D winners' fixture on December 3, 2021. Earlier in the group stage, Fnatic defeated Cloud9 Blue in a similar fashion to solidify their playoffs spot.
A squad comprising of Nikita "Derke" Sirmitev, Jake "Boaster" Howlett, Domagoj "doma" Fancev, James "Mistic" Orfila, and Martin "MAGNUM" Penkov represent one of the strongest Valorant rosters from the EMEA region.
In response to questions put forward by Sportskeeda during the post-match press conference, Fnatic's In-Game Leader (IGL) Boaster comments on his teammate's performance after their victory against Vision Strikers.
Fnatic in-game leader (IGL) Boaster comments on Derke's performance against Vision Strikers in Valorant Champions Group Stage
In the post-match press conference, Adarsh J Kumar of Sportskeeda asked Boaster, "We saw Derke dominating opponents on Icebox and Fracture today, similar to the match against Cloud9 Blue. How good is he as a Duelist?"
"Well, I've been saying for a while now that Derke is one of the best Duelists in the game. I think he's one of the best players in the game as well. You just have to facilitate him, and he just has to kinda feel it. You put those two things together, and he is gonna be popping off. That's what he's doing."
A laborious victory on Icebox (13-10) gave Fnatic the advantage heading into Haven. However, on conceding the 2nd map to the South Korean side, Fnatic was forced to battle it out on Fracture (13-6), Valorant's latest addition to the competitive map pool.
Following up on the previous question, Sportskeeda asked, "How does Derke compare with the other Duelists we've seen so far in the tournament, namely TenZ, leaf, and d3ffo?"
"I can't really compare him with the other players you mentioned because I've never actually played with them. But from my experience of playing with Derke, you need to facilitate him well, and if he knows what he's doing, you don't have to worry about his aim. His decision-making is instantaneous as well. It's like when we first trialed him. He dropped a 30-bomb and surprised us by showing how good he is. Ever since then, it's been a match made in heaven."
Derke is an 18-year-old former CS: GO player who made the switch to Valorant at the start of 2021. He was added to Fnatic's roster along with Magnum after the European team released tsack and moe40. Taking on the role of a Duelist, Derke has been pivotal to Fnatic's performance at Valorant Champions Berlin 2021.
Primarily seen as Jett or Raze, Derke dominated Cloud9 Blue with a score of 74/54/16 in all three maps Fnatic played against them in the opening fixture of the group stages. Against Vision Strikers, Derke dropped 61/40/12 across all three maps, with a whopping Average Combat Score (ACS) of 376 in the decider played on Fracture.
Fnatic has qualified for the quarter-finals of the tournament and awaits the results of the remaining teams joining them for their fixtures to be decided. Playoffs are scheduled to begin on December 8, 2021, after the group stages conclude on December 7.
