Report: FNATIC set eyes on cNed

Europe is still struggling with the number of professional esports organizations being involved in the VALORANT competitive scene. Besides the announcements from G2 Esports and Ninjas in Pyjamas, we haven’t heard much about the other top organizations from the region announcing their roster for the Riot Games’ tactical shooter. There are two examples of the organizations that despite not having their own divisions in VALORANT just yet, they are active on the scene by hosting the tournaments. The first one is Team Vitality, who last weekend ran The Vitality European Open , part of the Riot’s Ignition Series, and another one is FNATIC, who, even though they haven’t done much in the scene since the full release of VALORANT, hosted the Fnatic Proving Grounds at the beginning of May, during the closed beta phase. The latter is being said to be actively looking for the players to complete their VALORANT squad.

According to sources close to the player and those of the Turkish news page, Invade, FNATIC have been trying out several players in the recent weeks, and have a noticeable interest in the Turkish player Mehmet Yağız “cNed” İpek. cNed became a sensation in the community thanks to his outstanding performance in the Twitch Rivals: VALORANT Launch Showdown - EU #2 where he managed to get 6 eliminations in a round as a part of Team wtcN and finished the tournament in second place. Most recently, we saw that young, 18-year-old player in the qualifiers for The Vitality European Open where he participated with BBL Esports, as well as in other smaller tournaments which he has taken part in alongside other Turkish players.

Similar to many other individuals entering the scene, Mehmet Yağız “cNed” İpek transitioned to VALORANT from CS:GO, but he also had a short episode in another FPS title, Rainbow Six: Siege. He never played on a professional level on either of these titles but has been praised for his skill during his CS:GO days, mostly among members of the Turkish community.

If the rumors come true, cNed would be the first Turkish player to be signed to a tier 1 organization from Europe. Seeing him playing mostly with the players from his own country, questions arise about his possible teammates: Would FNATIC consider a full Turkish roster? Or would an international squad still be possible? Knowing that FNATIC have their roots in Sweden, there’s the possibility of them having interest in one of the full-Swedish rosters that are dominant on the European scene right now, such as FABRIKEN or bonk, who are lead by the former Ninjas in Pyjamas player, Malkolm “bonkar” Rench.

No matter how this story will end, it’s great to see another big name on the European scene being interested in creating their own squad. FNATIC has been on our list of the Major organizations yet to pick up VALORANT rosters, and hopefully, soon we will hear soon about their team, and if they'll be the next ones to dominate the scene.