Two London-based esports organisations have finished in the top three in the latest European Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) competition this weekend.
Fnatic win Valorant VCT as Guild Esports finish third, to cement their position among the very best Valorant esports teams that Europe has to offer.
Fnatic defeated FunPlusPhoenix 3-0 in the grand final this afternoon, with 15-13 on Split, 13-5 on Icebox and 15-13 on Haven.
They defeated Guild 2-0 a couple of days prior, before Guild fell to FunPlus Phoenix 3-0 in the lower bracket final.
Prior to this weekend, Guild and Fnatic and FunPlus Phoenix had already qualified for the Stage 2 Masters LAN in Copenhagen, which runs from July 10th to 24th 2022 and features some of the best Valorant teams from around the world.
It was a stellar performance from the black and orange in this latest VCT EMEA tournament, with Fnatic having gone 5-0 in the group stage in Group A. Guild, meanwhile, finished top of Group B with a 4-1 scoreline.
‘I’ve got a taste of winning now, we’re coming for you Copenhagen’ – Boaster
Fnatic’s British team captain Boaster celebrated today with some rapid twerking and mock machine gun firing after the win, once again showing his energetic personality and charisma which has earnt him many fans across the globe:
It was a relief for Fnatic’s in-game leader Boaster, who had finished second at Valorant First Strike back in the day, and second at VCT Masters Iceland last year. But today, they got the W.
Boaster said on the broadcast after the win: “It feels really good [to win this title]. I had thought maybe I was born to be a second-place Andy, but it doesn’t look like it, does it! Today we got our first first-place, I’ve got a taste of winning now, a taste so sweet, so delish.
“So Copenhagen, we’re coming in, and hopefully we’ll win.
“I didn’t feel as much pressure today, I was actually quite chill, all things considered.”
He also spoke about calling a pause, going to the toilet, coming back late and missing the start of the round, as well as some of the strategies he utilised with his team in today’s final.
“We just play our comps, we practice and talk about every scenario,” Boaster added. “We have the protocols. Sometimes the rounds get a bit lost and confused, but we have the firepower and that’s also what you need.”
Back in April, Fnatic announced a new role for Boaster as they made changes to their Valorant roster, letting BraveAF and Magnum go.
They then signed Enzo and Alfajer last month, rounding out Fnatic’s Valorant roster to consist of Boaster, Mistic, Derke, Alfajer and Enzo.
UK and Ireland talent at VCT EMEA Stage 2 Challengers
Aside from these two UK orgs Fnatic and Guild doing well in the tournament, there was also a handful of UK talent taking part. Fnatic have Boaster and Mistic, Team Liquid have soulcas, Guild have Russ and Fokus have YaBoiLewis. He helped them reach Stage 2 Challengers via the VCT Challengers Promotion tournament.
UK esports organisation OG LDN UTD also took part – they finished fifth in Group A. LDN UTD and OG Esports announced their Valorant partnership last month.
And then there’s the casting talent. The VCT EMEA Stage 2 Challengers featured British broadcast talent including Yinsu Collins, Iain Chambers, Tombizz, Pansy, hypoc, Dinko and Yorkshire’s RyanCentral, as well as Ireland’s Mitchman and British observer xilv among others from other territories.
This meant that nine out of 18 on the English broadcast talent line-up were from the UK and Ireland.
Fnatic, Guild and others now look ahead to the Valorant Masters Stage 2 LAN in Copenhagen in July.
Why UK talent is shining in Valorant compared to CSGO – Fnatic head coach mini explains
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
