In this second week of VALORANT VCT EMEA Stage 2, Bartosz “Unfake” Bernacki talks about the start of the split and his debut in Tier 1 following his first victory in a crushing defeat against FUT. He discusses his arrival at the hive and his move from Joblife (Challengers France) to Team Vitality (VCT EMEA).

How did you feel after your first win? And how would you describe the match outcome and your team’s overall performance?

Bartosz “Unfake” Bernacki: "We played FUT today and won 2–0. Honestly, the feeling is amazing. I really needed this win, especially since it was only my second match with the team. My first game didn’t go well at all. It was a tough one for me. I didn’t feel comfortable during the game; I was trying to stay focused, but it was difficult to maintain that focus across everything happening.

Today, though, I genuinely felt at home. It was a quick 2–0, which I hadn’t expected beforehand, but we just snowballed them. I think we won every pistol round, or at least four out of the possible ones. I’m not entirely sure about the one on Lotus, but we definitely started strong. On Haven, we secured the bonus round early on and kept the momentum going. We built up our ultimates quickly and the match progressed very smoothly from there.

What was your mindset going into this game against FUT?

Unfake: My mindset was simply to perform at my best. Honestly, I wanted a 2–0 win because I felt we needed a confidence boost after the loss against GiantX. We made it happen, and I’m genuinely proud of everyone on the team. I’m really happy with today’s victory.

How did you manage to deliver such a dominant performance across both maps? What was the strategy coming into this match?

Unfake: It went that smoothly primarily because of our economy and ultimates. We won all the pistols, which set the tone for both maps. On Lotus, the key round was when Kicks clutched a 1v3 in round three. In my opinion, the third round in VALORANT is one of the most important rounds. We won the pistol, he clutched that 1v3, and then we converted the bonus round. After that, the game became much easier.

Once we secured the bonus, I already had the sense that the rest of the match would be smooth because our economy was solid. We started building ultimates, and we just kept snowballing. Everyone was hitting their shots today. Of course, we still made a few small mistakes, but far fewer than we did in the match against GX, which we lost 0–2. When we rewatched that series, it was clear that some of the rounds we dropped shouldn’t have been lost. We missed clutches and made avoidable errors. But today, we were ready. While I’ll still rewatch the match to be sure, based on the scoreboard alone, it didn’t feel like we made many mistakes, and I’m really happy with that.

We saw a very good level of play today. Do you think what we saw today reflects the true level of Vitality? And at what percentage would you say the team is currently performing?

Unfake: This isn’t our peak yet. We still have a few things to refine. I’ll keep those details to myself for now, but we’ve been working hard on specific maps, especially those we struggled with against GX. If I had to quantify it, I’d say we’re performing at about 80% of our full potential. Today’s game against FUT felt like an 80% performance, not 100%. But we’re gradually getting there, and I’m hopeful that we’ll eventually reach our full capacity. Once we do, I believe we can become a truly formidable team.

You were revealed as Vitality’s new In Game Leader and Initiator. Going into today’s match, how did you approach your role within the team, and what do you consider your responsibilities in Vitality’s strategic structure?

Unfake: We started on defense on Haven, and it was a quick stomp. I didn’t have to do much because Derke was also doing a lot of the calling on defense. I made some small calls early in the rounds, but overall, he handled it really well.

On attack, we didn’t even play that many rounds. We won the pistol again and then followed it up with just one bonus round before finishing the map. So I didn’t need to overthink anything in that first game.

On Lotus, it was kind of funny because the pattern repeated itself: we won the pistol, then the bonus, and we just kept snowballing. I felt like my macro-calling on Lotus wasn’t perfect. I was aware of that in the moment. But because we were playing with such confidence, I didn’t feel the need to be hyper-precise with macro decisions. We were just executing together as a team, and it worked. We won the rounds. There are some small micro aspects, especially around the C site, that could’ve been cleaner, but overall, I’m very happy with how we played today.

You’ve previously played on the French and European scenes, notably with Joblife. How have those earlier experiences prepared you for the level of competition in VCT with Vitality?

Unfake: My time with Joblife was amazing. We had a big fanbase, and that helped prepare me for the VCT environment. I got used to interacting with fans, being visible in the scene, and understanding what it's like to play at a professional level. A lot of Tier 2 orgs don’t have much of a following, so playing for Joblife gave me a unique kind of experience that not everyone gets in Tier 2.

In terms of the team, I felt I developed significantly while there. I played under two great coaches, Skazz and Larsson. Larsson, as the head coach, taught me a lot, and I’ll always be grateful for that. He prepared me really well for what came next.

I also learned a lot from my teammates, particularly from players like Starxo (Patryk Kopczyński), who had Tier 1 experience. He helped me refine smaller aspects of my game. Back then, even at Joblife, I believed I was ready for Tier 1.

How did the opportunity to switch to VCT come about? Can you share any insight into how the transfer happened?

Unfake: I remember it was during a pretty hectic time between the second and third splits. Larsson, my coach at the time, either told me directly or sent me a message. I can’t remember exactly. He let me know that Vitality wanted to trial me and asked if I was interested. Of course, I said yes immediately. This was the opportunity I had been waiting for since the game’s launch.

I went for the trial, and I’m extremely grateful to both Joblife and Larsson for allowing it, because it was a difficult situation for them. I was their IGL, and we were also trialing new players ourselves. So it was a balancing act, one day I was preparing for my Vitality trial, and the next I was reviewing prospects for Joblife.

The first trial with Vitality went well. To be honest, I went in with no expectations. I just played my game and didn’t put pressure on myself, and it worked. After two days, they invited me for a second trial. I was hyped. I’d received great feedback from both the coaches and players. Derke even messaged me to say I had done well, which boosted my confidence. That kind of feedback means a lot; it builds you up as a player.

In the second round of trials, we performed well again. Eventually, they told me I was their first option, but they still needed to agree on transfer terms with Joblife. Fortunately, everything worked out, and here I am now.

Since joining the team, what have you learned from playing alongside experienced players like former world champion Less and Derke, who’s had several successful seasons with FNATIC?

Unfake: Honestly, it’s incredible playing with them. Right now, I feel like they have more knowledge than I do, especially when it comes to macro-level decisions. That’s invaluable, both on and off the server. I can ask them about anything I don’t understand, why a certain play is bad, why another is good, and they’re always willing to explain.

Just because I’ve reached Tier 1 doesn’t mean I can’t keep improving. And day by day, I’m learning more because of them. They help me grow.

In-game, there are times I don’t even need to think. I might make the initial call at the beginning of a round, and then Derke finds a gap in the defense and takes over the call, that’s my job done. Same with Less: sometimes we’re split across the map, and he’ll tell me, “Unfake A, let’s finish A.” I trust him 100%. I don’t question the call, I just follow it. And it’s working out really well for us."