The international stage continues to deliver heartbreak and heroics, as
Fnatic clawed their way past Pacific’s top seed, Rex Regum Qeon, in a tense 2-1 lower bracket showdown at the
2025 VALORANT Masters Toronto. Despite a close series from start to finish, the EMEA titans stood tall in the end, keeping their tournament hopes alive.
Their next challenge? None other than Sentinels, in what promises to be a blockbuster lower bracket clash. In an exclusive interview, Fnatic’s newest recruit
Kajetan “kaajak” Haremski joins Sheep Esports to talk about the hard-fought victory, stepping into the spotlight with one of Europe’s most iconic teams, and the dreams that continue to drive him forward.
After dropping the second map on Haven, what was going through your mind heading into map 3 on Ascent?
Kajetan "kaajak" Haremski: "I was looking forward to playing on Ascent, I know that we're pretty good on that map. In the same game, we just got out-shot. We just couldn't do anything. There are probably some things we could have fixed, especially in our defenses, but the problem on Haven was bigger than that. We didn't know how to adapt, and we couldn't find a solution.
We’ve seen first seeds struggle early on, but now Fnatic seems to be ramping up and showing the form we expect. That said, there were still some shaky moments—especially in post-plant situations. Would you say Fnatic is now fully in motion and ready for the lower bracket run?
kaajak: We're not fully there yet. We aren’t at the level we were at during the VCT EMEA Finals, for example. That was our prime. Right now, we are scaling with every single map we play. It’s just the first seed curse, you know? I was pretty happy at first that we earned that first seed, but as you can see, every single one of them lost. It’s really important in VALORANT that you get the momentum, and teams from the Swiss Stage got it from playing before us. It was harder to play against Gen.G, for example. We are capable of winning the whole tournament—I still believe.
You came into this year as a promising rookie, but few could have expected you'd perform this well now. How does it feel to have grown this much?
kaajak: It feels so insane. During the off-season, I was nervous and stressed about filling Derke's shoes. The changes to the coaching staff shook up a lot of things, and I feel more comfortable filling my role now. It's just so nice to be on this Fnatic roster. Coming into this tournament, I've been feeling really confident in what I do and our team. After these first two matches, I can tell I still have things to improve on, though. Having things to improve is a really nice.
What’s the main thing you still want to improve in your game right now?
kaajak: I’d say how I’m positioning after openings and how I play in the mid-round. I’d add that I want to work on making more proactive moves and calling shots too.
Just a couple of years ago, you were still playing in Poland under Zero Tenacity, and then Apeks. You've moved to Berlin, and now you're here on the big stage in Toronto. As a young player, did you ever imagine back then that you’d be here—with fans chanting your name?
kaajak: To be honest, two years ago, when I was still in high school, I was just playing for fun. I treated VALORANT as a hobby. When I was done with high school, I didn’t know what would happen, but then I got my first contract. After that, I went on to play for Apeks, and from there, I guess you could say that I scaled. Today, I’m here, and well, the dream would be to win the Masters Toronto. Winning the VCT EMEA was already a big goal of mine, which I had set for myself—and we accomplished it already in Stage 1.
There’s been a lot of adaptation since we arrived here, as it’s my first international event. Adjusting your sleep schedule, the jetlag, having much more intense practice sessions with a lot of matches in a row—it’s much different than usual, and I’m not used to it, but I think I’m doing pretty good.
You joked on Twitter that if you win Toronto, you’ll shave your head. Are you actually going to follow through?
kaajak: Well, I already said it, so I have to do it.
Crashies mentioned that the vibes on Fnatic are immaculate right now. How’s the team feeling—especially after shaking off the jitters from the Gen.G match?
kaajak: Yes, the vibes are amazing. Even when we lost to Gen.G, no one was angry, tilted, or frustrated. I mean, obviously there might have been a little frustration since we lost, but no one was accusing one another or blaming the loss on each other. The energy and vibe we have on stage is really good. It can always get better, but today, everything was really stable—unlike our match against Gen.G where we had some really high highs and low lows.
Do you feel fully confident heading into your next lower bracket match, where you'll face either Sentinels or PRX?
kaajak: I would prefer to play against Sentinels next. It’s a better matchup for us, in my opinion. I don’t mind Paper Rex, but their playstyle is weird, so I’d rather have Sentinels. Both teams are beatable.
We also spoke to Jawgemo, who believes EMEA hasn’t looked strong lately, especially with the Swiss stage results. What’s your take on the region's current strength?
kaajak: The EMEA region is in a really weird spot currently. At the beginning of the season, I thought our region would be really strong—with all the new rosters being formed and all these new players coming in. I played in Tier 2, so I was invested in the players there, and I knew which of them were good or not when some got called up to Tier 1 teams.
There are a lot of roster changes happening now, so maybe some teams will come back stronger in Stage 2. As for this event, I was especially surprised by how quickly Heretics got eliminated. Even in my Pick’Ems, I had predicted them going 2-0, so it felt a bit weird. For Team Liquid, they of course had their whole situation with nAts having to be replaced due to visa issues—it was a bit unlucky.
If you beat your next opponent, there's a chance you'll face G2. What do you think of G2 as a potential opponent?
kaajak: They are a really strong opponent. We expected that we’d face them in the Grand Finals, but I guess we’ll have to put on a show in the lower bracket instead.
Credit: Stefan Wisnoski/Riot Games
You can’t face G2 in the Finals, but do you think you might get a chance for revenge against Gen.G there?
kaajak: Yeah, I’d say Gen.G might win the upper bracket. (Note: The Wolves train begged to differ)
With yesterday’s match running late due to tech issues, you didn’t have much time to prepare. Now that you have a day off before your next lower bracket match, what’s the plan to get ready?
kaajak: We haven’t locked in our plans yet, but I think we should take the off day to rest a bit. We’ll have a small practice session, work on a few things, and see how it goes.
Is there anything you’d like to say to Fnatic fans before we wrap up?
kaajak: Thank you all for cheering for us. I hope you’re going to cheer for us in every match of the tournament and beyond because we really appreciate your support. Thank you again.
Header Photo Credit: Stefan Wisnoski/Riot Games
