According to sources close to
Sheep Esports,
Benjamin “Scuttt” Hutchinson is expected to join
Team Vitality as assistant coach for the 2026
VALORANT VCT EMEA season.
Philipp “Szed” Schickor, however
, is set to remain with
Fnatic in his capacity as performance coach. Collectively, these developments would constitute a measured adjustment for Vitality while reinforcing stability at Fnatic ahead of the next competitive cycle.
Scuttt has served as Fnatic’s assistant coach since March 2025, following a brief tenure as an analyst with BBL Esports earlier that year. Szed joined Fnatic during the 2025 season as performance coach and has remained embedded within the staff. The pair were part of Fnatic’s 2025 run, which featured the VCT EMEA Stage 1 title and three subsequent international finals with Masters Toronto, the Esports World Cup, and Champions Paris. Each of these events concluded with a second-place finish.
For Vitality, the addition of Scuttt would inject an assistant coach with fresh tier-one experience in a leading European program, with the potential to sharpen practice methodology and opponent scouting without disrupting core systems. Scuttt will now work alongside Head Coach Gregor "PAL" Morton, as previously reported by Sheep Esports. For Fnatic, retaining Szed and Milan "Milan" de Meij preserves the performance architecture and cultural baseline established in 2025, indicating a preference for stability around the roster and coaching group.
In both cases, the coaching frameworks are coalescing. With those foundations in place, roster construction can proceed with greater precision as the 2026 season draws near.
