Heading into the 2024 VCT EMEA Kickoff event, few folks who are familiar with pro VALORANT expected Team Heretics to even be in the top half of its region. But the young roster has silenced the doubters and booked a trip to Masters Madrid without dropping a map yet.
All three of Heretics’ wins so far in the EMEA Kickoff have been won by a 2-0 margin, and all three have been mightily impressive. After defeating former VALORANT world champion cNed and the Turkish superteam on FUT, Heretics dominated Karmine Corp with 13-4 wins on both Split and Lotus. In the Kickoff playoffs, they faced their greatest challenge yet in the NAVI roster reunited with Ardiis. After surviving their map choice of Sunset in overtime, Heretics crushed the former Masters Copenhagen winners on their own pick of Breeze.
Before the season started, prominent analysts like the members of Plat Chat and Thinking Man’s VALORANT had Heretics ranked toward the bottom of their respective power rankings due to the lack of experience on the team and the fact they’d be competing with a substitute. Regarding the lack of experience, only in-game leader Boo played throughout the 2023 VCT season as benjyfishy joined late last year for just a single match at the LCQ.
While Boo brought most of the VCT experience, it’s his little brother MiniBoo who has impressed the most as he leads all players at the event in ACS, damage per round, and first kills per round. He’s also second in K/D and kills per round behind last year’s EMEA MVP Alfajer.
Given the expectations for this team heading into the season, Heretics are well ahead of schedule. They still have the opportunity to claim three championship points with a win in the Kickoff finals, and they will certainly be home crowd favorites at Masters Madrid.
