Following a slew of disappointing results at the qualifiers for the upcoming VALORANT Iceland LAN, Fnatic decided to release both Kostas “tsack” Theodoropoulos and Muhammad “Moe40” Hariff from their roster. To replace the two, Fnatic has signed Nikita “Derke” Sirmitev and Martin “Magnum” Peňkov, hoping to give the team the push they need to qualify for Iceland.
Who are Fnatic’s latest recruits?
Derke is a Finnish player who primarily plays Jett and is a star OPer in the CIS region. Before these roster changes, no one on Fnatic played Jett consistently, and the team almost always ran a five rifle setup. Coach Jacob “mini” Harris said Derke’s ability to Jett OP will “add an extra dimension to the team” and evolve the team’s in-game strategy. Harris went on to say that he “would not be surprised if we are soon talking about Derke as one of the best players in the world.” With Derke Jett OPing, Fnatic will transition to a double duelist team composition, with Domagoj “Doma” Fancev playing Raze in 90% of his matches.
Magnum may be a relatively unknown player, but he has the potential to be a top-tier sentinel player. Fnatic coach mini described him as an “intelligent and vocal player that is quick to suggest creative solutions in-game.” Due to his non-established name, Magnum has a lot to prove, but with his great aim and First-Strike experience, he will play an essential role in boosting Fnatic’s chances of qualification.
Fnatic signed SUMN FC’s roster over two months ago, after the roster placed second in First Strike: Europe. But since then, the team has struggled heavily during VCT, failing to qualify for Challengers One. While Fnatic may not have needed to make these changes, Fnatic’s team director, CoJo, thinks “the team has a very high ceiling and has the ability to qualify for Iceland,” and in the end, that is the goal for all the teams right now.
The Fnatic VALORANT roster now consists of:
- Jake “Boaster” Howlett
- Domagoj “Doma” Fancev
- James “Mistic” Orfila
- Nikita “Derke” Sirmitev
- Martin “Magnum” Peňkov
- Jacob “Mini” Harris (Coach)
