UNFAKE to start for Team Vitality at VCT EMEA Kickoff

Bartosz "UNFAKE" Bernacki is set to play for Team Vitality during the VCT EMEA Kickoff, as announced by the organization, replacing Ștefan "Sayonara" Mîtcu. The young Moldovan player will reportedly not have turned 18 by the start of the season—the minimum age required to compete in Tier 1—and must therefore sit out the first matches of 2026. Having been on the French organization's bench since late September, UNFAKE is expected to continue, at least temporarily, with the club he first joined last June for VCT EMEA 2025 Stage 2.

Sayonara arrived in early 2025, joining Team Vitality at the same time as Clément "CyvOph" Millard. However, he was unable to compete in the VCT immediately due to age restrictions, remaining active instead with DVM in Challengers France. After that project ended following the club's exclusion from the league, "The Hive" picked up the roster under the VIT.Revolution tag for Stage 2 only. Following that period, Sayonara only returned to competition during Project Blender, the largest offseason tournament, where Team Vitality secured a top 3 finish behind GIANTX and Eternal Fire.

Sayonara will be replaced for the duration of the Kickoff by UNFAKE. A longtime veteran of the Spanish league with Team Queso, the Polish player later moved to France, joining Zerance and then Joblife in early 2025. In a project built to reach Ascension, JL won the first split of Challengers France before struggling in EMEA and finishing Top 5-6 in Stage 2. Subsequently, Team Vitality recruited him to play VCT Stage 2 in place of Saif "Sayf" Jibraeel. After a strong start to the season, the French club attempted to qualify for Champions Paris but fell short, ending their final split of the year in 7th-8th place, far from the points needed to qualify for Worlds. The Polish player was eventually moved to the bench in favor of Sayonara for Project Blender.

In the wake of this disappointment, Team Vitality has completely overhauled its roster for the 2026 season. Nikita “Derke” Sirmitev is the only player truly remaining from the previous core, alongside Sayonara (entering VCT) and UNFAKE (returning to the active lineup). To complete the squad, The Hive went on to recruit Timofey “Chronicle” Khromov from Fnatic, as well as the duo Dawid “PROFEK” Święć and Elias “Jamppi” Olkkonen from BBL Esports.