After a series of teases and hints posted on the organisations social media pages went live yesterday, it has led most of the world into thinking that Fnatic may be joining the European Valorant scene.
The first tweet was very basic and just teased a Valorant announcement. The second was where the European connection came into play. Fnatic tweeted a short video that showed them following the Valorant Champions Tour: EU page on Twitter. It doesn’t get more obvious than that.
The team
It remains to be seen who the organisation will recruit for their entry into the European Valorant scene. Fnatic is a London based organisation and it may suit them well to recruit an org-less team that is already competing in Valorant tournaments. SUMN FC has a majority UK player base with a couple from Croatia and Greece. If they want home grown talent that has a real chance at breaking the top spot in Europe, SUMN FC could be a great choice. They finished second in the EU Valorant: First Strike tournament and are rated 4th overall in Europe with a rating of 1811.
They could also begin by recruiting free agents, but if a large organisation like Fnatic waited this long to get into the Valorant scene, I think that the smart money would bet on them selecting an already established team without an organisation backing them and providing them with increased support, training, and funding.
The Champions Tour
The tweet showing Fnatic following the Champions Tour EU page is a definite hint that they are planning to get serious about the esport in Europe. If they are not invited to the event itself, they will have to battle it out with other teams in the open qualifiers for the event. If they manage to get through the open qualifiers and perform well in the subsequent closed qualifiers, they will manage to get an invitation to participate in the Valorant Masters events.
The Masters, or Majors for other esports, are some of the top tournaments for each region that takes part in Valorant competitive scene. Masters will be held in three months: March, June, and September. After the Masters events, there will be a “last-chance qualifier” for Champions, the premiere VALORANT tournament in December. The Valorant Champions Tour is the biggest event of the Valorant competitive calendar, and the winners will be crowned global champion.
Read also: Valorant EU power rankings
Their future in the esport
Despite their size and funding, Fnatic will have a long hard journey breaking into the Valorant competitive scene. They are just getting into an esport that some teams have already been competing in for at least a year. One of the best Valorant teams in the world are currently competing in Europe. G2 Esports, the Berlin based esports organisation, toppled Fnatic’s dominance in League of Legends and currently reign supreme in the European Valorant scene. Only time will tell if Fnatic are planning to take back the throne. Keep your eyes peeled on their Twitter account, they are planning the reveal later today.
