From September 12 to October 5, the Champions — VALORANT’s World Championship — will take place in Paris. To mark the occasion, Sheep Esports is presenting one of the 16 qualified teams each day, leading up to the start of the tournament. This Tuesday, the countdown continues with the introduction of FNATIC, the 3rd seed of VCT EMEA.

Following a disappointing end to 2024, Fnatic overhauled their line-up during the offseason. They parted ways with star Duelist Nikita “Derke” Sirmite, who had been with the team for a long time, and moved Swedish Initiator Leo “Leo” Jannesson to the bench for a health issue. In an effort to rejuvenate the squad, the British organisation recruited Polish prodigy Kajetan “kaajak” Haremski from the Ascension circuit, as well as North American veteran Austin “crashies” Roberts, to bolster their support firepower. It took the revamped line-up some time to gel, and they failed to qualify for the Masters event in Bangkok early in the season. However, Fnatic soon found their footing in VCT EMEA Stage 1, dominating the competition.

Two defeats in international finals

Fueled by improved synergy, Fnatic dominated the first split, ultimately sweeping Team Heretics in the playoff grand final to secure the number one seed for Masters Toronto. At that Masters event, the Back and Orange squad continued to impress, reaching the grand final before narrowly losing to Pacific champions Paper Rex. Weeks later, they made another deep run at the Esports World Cup, finishing second after a heartbreaking reverse sweep loss in a seven-map thriller against Team Heretics. Despite these near misses on the international stage, Fnatic’s consistency throughout the season earned them enough points to secure a Champions 2025 berth as the first team from EMEA to qualify.

A setback in Stage 2 and the path to the Champs. Stage 2 told a different story. Seeded into the upper bracket, Fnatic began the playoffs with a 1–2 loss to BBL Esports on 21 August, sliding into the lower bracket. The next day, they recovered to defeat Karmine Corp 2–1. However, their run ended in Lower Round 2 on 24 August when GIANTX swept them 0–2. Nevertheless, the split provided valuable experience with newer looks and tempo shifts, and highlighted how narrow the margins are heading into Paris as the top seed for the Champions.

A favorable map pool

In VCT EMEA Stage 1, Lotus is the map with the highest win rate for Fnatic, with four wins and one loss (80%), and was consistently integral to their series planning, often being paired with Split as a reliable opener or closer. On the international stage, Icebox proved to be the comfort zone; they annihilated Wolves 13–4 on Icebox in the Toronto lower final and opted for the same map again in the grand final against Paper Rex, highlighting their growing level with it.

However, one issue for Paris is that Icebox was removed from the competitive map pool in Patch 11.04 on 19 August, with Abyss returning in its place. Expect Boaster’s crew to double down on the Split/Lotus backbone while fast-tracking Abyss protocols to offset the loss of Icebox. Haven and Ascent remained situational but serviceable, while Pearl was frequently vetoed.

Fnatic is also the only team in the world to have competed in every edition of VALORANT Champions to date. However, they have not won the ultimate prize yet. Their best international result in 2023 was fourth place at Champions 2023, and their worst in 2024 was fifth–sixth place, far from the expectations set by their dominance in 2023. Their repeated failure to win at VALORANT's most prestigious event has led to speculation about a "Champions curse" haunting Fnatic. With a renewed roster and momentum from their successes in 2025, the British squad will be determined to finally break that curse in Paris on their fifth attempt.

Rising star kaajak is leading the charge

One big reason for Fnatic’s renewed title hopes is the emergence of kaajak as a top-tier Duelist. The 21-year-old Pole is making his first appearance at Champions after proving himself in the tier-two scene. He was a standout in the 2024 Ascension League, helping Apeks win the promotion tournament before being signed by Fnatic. In his debut season at the elite level, kaajak has already performed well under pressure, achieving an impressive 73 kills with a +40 K/D and a rating of 1.70 in the EMEA Stage 1 finals, a 3–0 victory for Fnatic.

Notably, he often opts for off-meta agent picks, Yoru is his signature choice, an agent he has played in over half of Fnatic’s maps this summer, catching opponents off guard. Far from being intimidated by LAN environments, kaajak has shown that he thrives on the big stage, a promising sign as he aims to lead Fnatic to victory in the Champions tournament.

Fnatic roster heading into Champions 2025