A number of changes are being made to Fnatic’s Valorant roster for 2025.
Russian-Finnish star Valorant player Nikita ‘Derke’ Sirmitev (pictured, centre) could be leaving Fnatic – he’s exploring options elsewhere as the off-season begins.
The duelist posted a tweet earlier today saying: “Let the off season begin. Restricted free agent, open to [playing in] EMEA, NA and APAC [regions]. Highly motivated and dedicated to win.”
Fnatic’s UK Assistant Coach Jacob ‘mini’ Harris responded: “Couldn’t have done the past few years without you. Will be rooting for you wherever you choose to go.”
Fnatic’s Valorant Team Director Colin ‘CoJo’ Johnson added: “We’ve had a lot of discussions and reviews internally since Champions has ended, looking at all possibilities.
“We decided that it’s best to allow Derke to explore his opportunities while we explore what the future of FNC Valorant can look like. I’m confident in a positive outcome for both parties no matter what happens. Anyone interested in Derke – feel free to reach out at [email protected] to discuss!”
The news got Fnatic fans talking on social media, with Derke’s teammate and UK player Boaster trending on Twitter.
Fans spoke about the possibility of Derke leaving and how it would be a huge loss for Fnatic, in this post on the Fnatic subreddit and this one on the Valorant competitive subreddit.
Derke first joined Fnatic back in 2021, not long after Boaster joined, making them the longest-serving Valorant players at Fnatic so far.
Update (September 3rd 2024): Fnatic have now let go of hiro.
He said: “Thanks to Fnatic for everything, I will always apreciate the whole experience and the opportunity that was given to me. I’m proud to have been able to lift a trophy with this team and i really enjoyed my time with Fnatic.”
Doma‘s contract has also ended:
And UK assistant coach mini is taking a break from coaching in 2025:
The news comes after the conclusion of the top-tier world championship, Valorant Champions 2024, which was won by Chinese org EDG. They defeated EMEA org Team Heretics 3-2, with Heretics’ UK player Benjyfishy narrowly missing out on a major trophy.
Fnatic exited Valorant Champions 2024 in the lower bracket quarter finals, with a 2-1 loss to Sentinels.
Fnatic have had a bit of a rollercoaster year in Valorant, failing to qualify for Masters Madrid and win a trophy at Masters Shanghai and Champions. They did, however, win back-to-back VCT EMEA tournaments in 2024.
Now they face the difficult process of finding the winning formula and final roster for 2025.
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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.
