Sources: REBORN lineup have reached a verbal agreement with Fire Flux Esports ahead of VCT EMEA Stage 2

Recently qualified for the VCT EMEA Stage 2 Play-In, the Turkish mix team REBORN has reportedly reached a verbal agreement with Fire Flux Esports to join the Turkish organization, according to sources close to Sheep Esports. Active in VALORANT since 2021, Fire Flux Esports would therefore make its Tier 1 debut on August 5 in the Play-In, the new stage of Riot Games' official FPS circuit that offers a path to qualify for Champions Shanghai.

Earlier this year, the roster was signed by S2G Esports, but the five players were released in March due to the organization's financial issues, which led to the closure of its VALORANT and League of Legends divisions. After finishing second in the first split of VCL Türkiye, Mehmet Batu "batujnax" Özaslan, formerly of Apeks in VCT EMEA, and his teammates failed to make it out of the group stage at Challengers EMEA, leaving them without an organization.

That setback only seemed to motivate the Turkish players. They went on to win VCL Türkiye Stage 2 before claiming the second Challengers EMEA title of the season, defeating NAVI Junior in the grand final. Their run was even more impressive considering they had already beaten another European Tier 2 powerhouse, Enterprise Esports, during the group stage. Enterprise also secured qualification for the VCT EMEA Stage 2 Play-In.

At the third and final Challengers EMEA event of the season, REBORN continued their strong form. Their only defeat came against Enterprise Esports in the upper bracket final, but by then they had already secured their spot in the VCT EMEA Stage 2 Play-In, Riot Games' new promotion system introduced for the 2026 season. After defeating Joblife, the third team to qualify alongside them, the Turkish mix reached another grand final but once again fell to Enterprise.

As a result, REBORN, Enterprise Esports and Joblife, alongside Eintracht Frankfurt, which qualified through the Last Chance Qualifier held afterward, will compete at the Riot Arena in Berlin starting on August 5. In the Play-In, the four Challengers teams will face the lowest-ranked VCT EMEA teams based on the Stage 2 group stage standings. Following a double-elimination Best-of-3 bracket, only four of the 12 participating teams will advance to the VCT EMEA Playoffs, the final stage on the road to Champions Shanghai.

For REBORN, finishing in the top two of the Play-In would secure a place in the upper bracket of the playoffs, while finishing third or fourth would mean starting in the lower bracket with no room for error. Even then, only the top two teams at the end of VCT EMEA Stage 2 will qualify for the World Championship, making the road to Champions an extremely difficult one.

For Fire Flux, which fielded its own roster in VCL Türkiye this season, the move represents an opportunity to gain the exposure that comes with competing in VCT EMEA, far beyond the audience of the domestic league. Depending on the results of the Play-In and Stage 2, the organization could join Eternal Fire, PCIFIC Esports, BBL Esports, and FUT Esports, potentially bringing the number of Turkish organizations competing in VCT EMEA Stage 2 to five. Fire Flux narrowly missed qualification through the EMEA Last Chance Qualifier, where the team was eliminated in the quarterfinals, and the roster has since been released.