Check out the teams that are set to participate in the VCT 2024: EMEA Kickoff
With the year 2023 ending, every Valorant fan is waiting for the VCT 2024 season to start. Unlike last year’s single kickoff event featuring teams from three regions, Riot Games is shaking things up by organizing three separate events to kick off the season, one for each region.
The EMEA Kickoff event is scheduled to start on 20th February 2024, a slight delay compared to the other two regions beginning three days earlier. We have 11 teams participating this season, expanding from the original 10. Gentle Mates will debut in the Franchise League after winning the EMEA Ascension.
VCT 2024: EMEA Kickoff Teams
The 11 teams in the EMEA kickoff event hail from different European and CIS countries, including the UK, Turkey, France, Ukraine, and Spain. Here’s the complete details on all the teams and what we can expect from them in the upcoming season:
FNATIC
- Timofey “Chronicle” Khromov
- Jake “Boaster” Howlett
- Nikita “Derke” Sirmitev
- Leo “Leo” Jannesson
- Emir “Alfajer” Beder
- Chris “Elmabuddy” Tebbit (Head Coach)
2023 was a dream year for FNATIC. Boaster and Co could not have asked for a better season, winning two of the three international events. The only downside of the season for them was not winning the Valorant Champions, which they will surely make their primary mission to win in the upcoming season.
Following such a massive success, it was heavily speculated that FNATIC would not make any changes to the roster. It proved to be right so far. The team has the best players in the world in every role. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, it is highly probable that we will see this roster continue to dominate the Valorant scene in VCT 2024 as well.
GIANTX
- Adolfo “Fit1nho” Gallego
- Aaro “hoody” Peltokangas
- Žygimantas “nukkye” Chmieliauskas
- Kirill “Cloud” Nehozhin
- Igor “Redgar” Vlasov
- Daniil “pipsoN” Meshcheryakov (Coach)
GIANTX, who went by the name of Giants Gaming last season, had a moderately successful but inconsistent season. After an early exit in the LOCK//IN event, they had an average result in the VCT EMEA League Stage, failing to qualify for the Masters Tokyo. They finally showed their mettle in the EMEA LCQ, winning the whole thing without dropping a single map.
Despite the success in the LCQ, the Giants failed in Valorant Champions 2023. In preparation for the 2024 season, the LCQ winners recruited the esteemed former IGL of Gambit Esports, Redgar, to lead their team. The rest of the roster is set to remain the same.
Karmine Corp
- Martin “MAGNUM” Penkov
- Tomás “tomaszy” Machado
- Marshall “N4RRATE” Massey
- Martin “marteen” Pátek
- Ryad “sh1n” Ensaad
- Andrey “ENGH” Sholokhov (Head coach)
There was hardly a team in the Franchise leagues that went through as much criticism as Karmine Corp did last season. Despite fielding a promising roster, KCorp had a disastrous run in all the events in which they participated.
Alongside the bad results, the team went through turmoil in the squad as well. One of the team members, newzera, left the org in the middle of an event, forcing the coach to play as a substitute for the rest of the tournament. For the VCT 2024, the French Org revamped the whole roster, bringing in four new players while keeping only Sh1n from the old team.
KOI
- Patryk “starxo” Kopczynski
- Jose “koldamenta” Luis Aranguren
- Bogdan “sheydos” Naumov
- Nikita “trexx” Cherednichenko
- Berkant “Wolfen” Joshkun
- André “BARBARR” Möller (Head coach)
Another roster with huge potential that could not live up to the expectations. From mechanical skills to experience, the KOI squad had it all, and that is why when they came 2nd last in the EMEA League stage and later failed to qualify for the Valorant Champions, it came as quite a shock.
Although there were initial rumors of some roster changes, like Sayf joining KOI, those soon proved to be false. It seems so far that the KOI squad will be unchanged for the second consecutive season.
NAVI
- Kyrylo “ANGE1” Karasov
- Andrey “Shao” Kiprsky
- Pontus “Zyppan” Eek
- Dmitry “SUYGETSU” Ilyushin
- Ardis “ardiis” Svarenieks
- Erik “d00mbr0s” Sandgren (Head coach)
If there was ever a team in EMEA that had the ability to match FNATIC in terms of both mechanical and tactical gameplay, it was NAVI. Regarded not just within EMEA but among the top 3 globally, NAVI’s potential seemed limitless. However, there are no doubts that they had the potential to achieve much more than they actually did last year. Barely managing to snatch a podium spot is not what you expect from a team of NAVI’s caliber.
Going into VCT 2024, there will be only one and yet significant change in the NAVI roster. ardiis from NRG Esports will join his former teammates from FPX and replace cNed in the team.
Team Heretics
- Ričardas “Boo” Lukaševičius
- Dominykas “MiniBoo” Lukaševičius
- Mert “Wo0t” Alkan
- Enes “RieNs” Ecirli
- Benjy “benjyfishy” David Fish
- Patryk “paTiTek” Fabrowski (sub)
- Neil “neilzinho” Finlay (Head coach)
Team Heretics has a combined record of 2-9 in all the three events they participated in last season. This record alone can give you an idea of how the year went for the Spanish Org.
You cannot put on shambolic results repeatedly and expect the team to stay together. For the 2024 season, we will be looking at an entirely new roster of Team Heretics. Retaining boo and benjyfishy from the previous lineup, they’ve infused fresh talent by bringing in two promising Turkish newcomers, reIns and Woots, alongside a Lithuanian youngster, miniboo.
Team Liquid
- Enzo “Enzo” Mestari
- Elias “Jamppi” Olkkonen
- Ayaz “nAts” Akhmetshin
- James “Mistic” Orfila
- Georgio “Keiko” Sanassy
- Emil “eMIL” Sandgren (Head coach)
Team Liquid is one of the few teams from last season that lived up to the expectations. nAts and Co had a consistent showing throughout the season. The season’s highlight for them had to be beating FNATIC to claim the crown of the VCT EMEA Championship.
Despite the success, Team Liquid are still bringing new talent to the squad. Dropping soulcas, redgar, and Sayf, they signed the Apeks core- keiko and Mistic and former FNATIC player Enzo.
Team Vitality
- Tomas “Destrian” Linikas
- Kimmie “Kicks” Laasner
- Emil “runneR” Trajkovski
- Jokūbas “ceNder” Labutis
- Saif “Sayf” Jibraeel
- Salah “salah” Barakat (Head coach)
Team Vitality showed much promise last season, having qualified for the VCT EMEA Playoffs. However, their season was over early due to the tragic event of their star-duelist Twisten passing away.
For the VCT 2024 season, the roster remains unchanged except for the spot of Twisten, which will be filled by former Liquid player Sayf.
BBL Esports
- Efe “Elite” Teber
- Ali “AsLanM4shadoW” Osman Balta
- Melih “pAura” Karaduran
- Eren “Brave” Kasırga
- Kaan “reazy” Ürpek
- Doğukan “QutionerX” Dural
- Arda “Epic” Yıldız (Head coach)
BBL Esports’ run throughout the 2023 season was basically an underdog story. They were no favorite to win any event, and so the mid-table finishes hardly raised any eyebrows. Still, the Turks had their moments here and there when they toppled some prominent teams with their aggressive playstyle.
BBL Esports, too, are going to make significant changes to their roster for next year. Keeping Brave, AsLanM4shadoW, and QutionerX, the Istanbul-based org is bringing in four new faces. It will be interesting to see what their playing 5 will be once the season starts.
FUT Esports
- Furkan “MrFaliN” Yeğen
- Eray “yetujey” Budak
- Ata “AtaKaptan” Tan
- Mehmet “cNed” Yağız İpek
- Doğukan “qRaxs” Balaban
- Eray “Gais” Sarikaya (Head coach)
FUT Esports solidified its status as one of the best EMEA teams last season. Their notable achievements, including podium placement in VCT EMEA, established them as a force to be reckoned with on the global stage. It will not be far-fetched to expect even better results from the Turks in the upcoming year as they made a substantial roster upgrade, acquiring cNed, the prodigious 19-year-old from NAVI.
Gentle Mates
- Beyazıt “beyAz” Körpe
- Logan “logaN” Corti
- Nathan “nataNk” Bocqueho
- Jonathan “TakaS” Paupard
- Wailers “Wailers” Locart
- Kévin “Ex6TenZ” Droolans (Head Coach)
Gentle Mates pulled off a surprise win in the VCT EMEA Ascension, earning their spot in the Franchise league. They beat the odds against Apeks in the Grand Final by putting on a masterclass performance. As the Ascension winners are keeping the roster untouched, time will tell how they match up with the big boys in the VCT 2024 EMEA Kickoff.
Keep an eye on ESTNN’s Valorant section for detailed coverage of VCT events.