What Fnatic's early exit from Masters: Reykjavík revealed about their gameplay

Visibly weaker without Andrey “BraveAF” Gorchakov and star player Nikita “Derke” Sirmitev, Fnatic entered Masters: Reykjavík with a mixed bag of emotions ranging from doubt to hope about how things would pan out.

Russian player BraveAF was definitely out of the first international event of the year in the VALORANT Champions Tour. However, Fnatic held hope for Derke being able to play after he received a negative COVID test following a positive and was able to travel to Iceland.

Unfortunately, it was revealed on the day of their first match that Derke would be unable to join Fnatic on stage for the start of Masters: Reykjavík.

Fnatic had just eight days to prepare for Reykjavík with their new players Enzo “Fearoth” Mestari and Joona “H1ber” Parviainen to try to make a run at the event. It wasn’t enough time though as they lost two group stage matches and got eliminated from the tournament.

Although Fnatic were quick to note that their early exit had nothing to do with their substitutes' performances, Derke’s absence revealed a number of issues in the team’s systems.

“As a team, we sometimes feel panicked when we lose momentum, and having two subs added to that,” Martin "Magnum" Peňkov said. “In some rounds, we weren’t actually in the rounds. It was like we were tunnel-visioned on something else.”

Fnatic looked uncharacteristically uncoordinated throughout Masters. For Fnatic head coach Jacob “mini” Harris, he was honest about the team’s reliance on Derke and his impact on the team.

Derke is Fnatic's star duelist. Photo credit: Riot Games

“It’s no secret that we rely on a system and we rely on Derke sometimes to get us out of sticky situations,” mini said. “He’s one of the best players in the world and I feel f---ing terrible that he is in the hotel room right now.”

Since joining Fnatic on April 8, 2021, Derke has been one of the team’s star talents on agents like Jett and Raze and is often one of the top performers in the team’s games. This is something that mini could not ignore.

“I don’t blame anyone sitting here for that, but it’s a sad reality that one of the best players in the world is trying hard to get out of quarantine right now and he can’t play,” mini said.

This series of unfortunate events has left Fnatic winless and out Masters: Reykjavík in 11th-12th place. Yet, even after a tough loss to ZETA DIVISION 2-0 in the elimination match, Fnatic in-game leader Jake “Boaster” Howlett noticed a new level of confidence from their opponents.

“Honestly, they stepped up to the challenge and I think that was the most admirable thing.” Boaster admitted. “They didn’t show the same kind of fear and hesitation like before, and they really stepped up and proved why they deserved to be here.”

ZETA DIVISION entered Masters: Reykjavík as one of the underdogs at the event, especially after their loss to DRX. On Tuesday, however, the underdogs unleashed a new level of play that had not been seen, and it was one that instilled a mix of positive emotions from ZETA DIVISION teammates Koji “Laz” Ushida and Tomoaki “crow” Maruoka.

“This win is one that we have been waiting on for the longest time,” both players said. “After the loss in Berlin, a win is something that we have been longing for. We were hoping that as soon as we got our first [international] series win, it would be much easier on us.”

Photo credit: Riot Games

ZETA Division will move forward into the decider match against Ninjas in Pyjamas where they have an opportunity to go farther than any other Japanese team has gone at an international VALORANT event, the top eight.

As for Fnatic, they will watch their Group A counterparts battle for that second slot out of Group A. Now that they are out of Masters, they will have time, as well as the 125 points collected for qualifying for the event, to think about their next course of action as a team.

For mini, that first step comes from one centralized goal around effort.

“I think it just comes down to hard work to be quite honest,” mini said. “This was a reality check of what will happen if we do not have Derke in our system, and I think it is up to the individuals to put in that hard work and for myself to figure out a system as a coach to help facilitate my players’ growth.”

The match between ZETA DIVISION and Ninjas in Pyjamas will be played Wednesday at approximately 4 p.m. ET following the conclusion of the Group B decider match between OpTic Gaming and XERXIA.

Lead photo credit: Riot Games