Following an early exit from the 2022 VCT Masters event in Reykjavík, Fnatic has made some significant changes to its competitive VALORANT roster. The organization is parting ways with both Martin “Magnum” Peňkov and Andrew “BraveAF” Gorchakov as it looks to retool its roster.
BraveAF joined Fnatic as a trial player at the start of 2022. But after this month ends, the team will not be continuing his contract. The 26-year-old was recently suspended by the team after messages were leaked in which he was supposedly showing support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But Fnatic said this decision “is not a direct result of BraveAF’s recent suspension.”
“As we continued to evaluate how we could maintain BraveAF’s place in the roster, we realized more and more that unfortunately, his position was untenable,” team director Colin Johnson said. “This is due to a lack of clarity around being able to come to future boot camps, live events and even our ability to continue to pay him due to political restrictions.”
Magnum, on the other hand, has been with Fnatic since April 2021 and has been a key part of the roster through a handful of major events, like last year’s VCT Masters in Reykjavík and at Champions. But the team has reconsidered his place on the roster after reviewing his recent performances and decided that they “need to add more consistent firepower.”
As a result, Fnatic is moving Boaster to a support role on the team, while Mistic will be taking over the flex role. Meanwhile, trials for the free roster slots have already started, and in the coming weeks, fans should be getting an update from the organization.
