Sources: shinnok completes CGN Esports roster for 2027

After a busy season with FOKUS in Challengers DACH, Viktor Zsombor "shinnok" Maglóczki is set to sign with CGN Esports for the 2027 VALORANT Champions Tour season, sources tell Sheep Esports. The German organization, which has been active in the game since early 2021, was not selected as a partner for VCT EMEA, as Sheep Esports recently reported, but appears to have finalized its five-man roster ahead of the upcoming season.

In addition to shinnok, the club has reportedly reached an agreement with Maikls "SerialKiller" Ždanov for the upcoming season. The new duo is expected to join a trio that has been with the club since the start of the 2026 season, consisting of Vincent "Vince" Kranz, Berkant "Wolfen" Joshkun, and Samed "samed" Topbas, with the latter has also renewed its contract with CGN through the end of 2027. The roster should therefore officially be in action as early as November, when the first Open Qualifiers for the VCT EMEA Kickoff get underway.

It is worth noting that the five players are already playing together in smaller European tournaments. This September, they won THE POKAL 2026, an offseason tournament reserved for the DACH region (Germany, Switzerland, and Austria), as well as Spike Series: Pulse #5, where they notably defeated BRATAN MIX in the grand final, a lineup featuring players who have either played or are still active in VCT EMEA, such as Denis-Stefan "kozzy" Aionitoaei, Patryk "paTiTek" Fabrowski, and Domagoj "Doma" Fancev.

Having entered competitive VALORANT in late 2023, the Hungarian Duelist/Initiator has been steadily rising through the ranks with each season as he approaches his 19th birthday. With Metizport, he notably made his first appearances in VCL North//East in 2025, as well as securing his first qualification for Challengers EMEA. Still in 2025, he had a brief stint with CGN during the EMEA qualifier for Monsters Reloaded, which they won to qualify for the LAN. In Istanbul, shinnok and CGN managed to defeat Gentle Mates, who were then active in VCT EMEA, before losing the final 3-2 to FUT Esports, another Tier 1 team.

He would ultimately break out fully in 2026 with FOKUS, notably competing in the VALORANT EMEA Clash, where they defeated UCAM before suffering losses to Team Vitality and Beşiktaş Esports, finishing in 9th-12th place in his first experience at the highest level of the VALORANT Champions Tour. After finishing third and then second in the two VCL DACH Stages, the German club went on to compete in both Challengers EMEA events, securing Top 5-8 finishes on both occasions. That result allowed them to participate in Stage 3, the qualifying tournament for the VCT EMEA Stage 2 Play-In.

Against the best teams in European Tier 2 VALORANT, FOKUS achieved its best result by coming within one series of direct qualification for the Play-In, losing 2-1 to Joblife in the deciding match. Qualifying for the Last Chance Qualifier after that, FOKUS could not find its spark, falling in the first round of the playoffs against Eintracht Frankfurt, another German club from the DACH league. In that tournament, shinnok stood out as one of the top performers, placing among the top five players in rating according to specialist website VLR.gg.