"Boaster and I complement each other very nicely" - crashies on his second year with Fnatic

Fnatic solidified themselves as one of the best teams in the world in 2025, being inches away from lifting trophies at VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - Masters Toronto 2025 and VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - Valorant Champions. The American veteran Austin "crashies" Roberts played a key role in the revitalisation of the European powerhouse after their lackluster 2024 season, providing an immense amount of in and out of game support as well as heatstopping clutches. Re-signing with Fnatic coming into the 2026 season, crashies spoke to us about the team’s modification having brought in a new addition in Sylvain "Veqaj" Pattyn, reflects on the offseason, and the efforts every member of the team is exacting in their attempt to qualify to the first event of the year, VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - Masters Santiago 2026.

This exclusive interview with THESPIKE came off the back of a statement 2-0 win against Team Vitality, jokingly referred to as “Fnatic Academy” due to former Fnatic star players Nikita "Derke" Sirmitev and Timofey "Chronicle" Khromov’s additions to the hive. Despite these changes, Fnatic extended their undefeated eight game win streak against Vitality.

This victory advanced Fnatic to the Middle Final, where they were unfortunately unable to close out a tight series against Gentle Mates, before falling to Team Liquid in the Lower Final. As a result, Fnatic were eliminated from VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - EMEA Kickoff and contention for Santiago.

VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - EMEA Kickoff

Fnatic

2

X

0

Team Vitality

Middle Round 5, Best of 3 - February 13, 2026 - 1:00PM

13

Abyss

5

13

Bind

8

Fnatic

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

Alfajer

1.42

284

40/21/13

+19

1.90

94.8%

195.5

31%

88%

7

1

Veqaj

1.33

241

36/19/15

+17

1.89

77.4%

152.8

30%

43%

3

4

kaajak

1.12

236

33/26/7

+7

1.27

81.4%

144.4

27%

69%

11

5

crashies

0.94

186

26/21/7

+5

1.24

67.5%

121.4

29%

50%

2

2

Boaster

0.69

108

15/22/18

-7

0.68

79.0%

61.7

30%

0%

0

4

Team Vitality

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

Derke

1.10

236

30/31/12

-1

0.97

69.8%

151.7

26%

31%

4

9

PROFEK

0.88

175

25/29/8

-4

0.86

72.2%

119.1

38%

33%

1

2

Chronicle

0.78

173

21/28/10

-7

0.75

63.9%

118.3

22%

50%

5

5

UNFAKE

0.60

124

17/32/4

-15

0.53

57.1%

82.5

35%

80%

4

1

Jamppi

0.47

114

16/32/2

-16

0.50

51.2%

76.8

39%

25%

2

6

THESPIKE: 2-0 against Vitality. To the familiar faces across the stage, is there anything you want to say right now?

crashies: We talked a lot of trash in the server and we kind of showed it today. It's always fun playing ex-teammates and friends that you've been through a lot together. So yeah, it was a fun game for us. Maybe not for them, but for us it was pretty fun.

THESPIKE: I saw you standing up and really giving it throughout the match. What were you saying to Chronicle specifically?

crashies: To be honest, that's probably the only person I didn't say anything to because I have a lot of respect for him. It was mostly the four others because I don't really know them that well. But yeah, we were definitely giving it to them today for sure.

THESPIKE: Watching you guys grow all of last year, it seemed like you guys were almost like family. How has that transition been into this year with all the roster construction from the off-season? What makes the team different coming into this year?

crashies: I wouldn't say there's really much difference from a different player and a different assistant coach that we got. We try to keep that same family bond between us and just try to harbor a good culture with each other. I think we're just really close with each other. Like I said, we try and keep it the same recipe as last year.

THESPIKE: How about in terms of the team's ideology or how the team is approaching the season specifically?

crashies: I would say the difference is just trying to figure out the meta with Veqaj because he's our new player. I think it's hard to figure out what a person is very comfortable at early on in the season, but he's shown he could play a lot of different agents. So far he's played KAY/O, he's played Viper, and in the off-season we had him on Killjoy and a bunch of different stuff. So we've been trying to just see what he's good at and what he likes to play.

And for the core four players that stayed, I would just say we're still trying to bring out the best in all of us. Trying to bring the same stuff that worked last year into this year, but also with a different twist as well.

THESPIKE: Obviously Veqaj is a really big talking point for Fnatic this year. What's he like off the server as a friend and as a teammate?

crashies: He's fit in pretty well, I would say, and very fast. He's very personable and he just gets along with us and respects us very well, which creates a very nice environment where we can give him criticism, even if it's not about the game.

He's just a joy to be with. We go out to dinner, we go out to different activities together, and he's just good vibes all the time. Like there's never really a day where he's negative or things like that.

THESPIKE: That's so nice to hear. You also mentioned how the four remaining players are trying to bring the most out of each other. Heading into your second year with Fnatic with a roster change, do you think your role on the team has changed at all?

crashies: I wouldn't say it's changed much. I would say it's only probably changed for the better because now I know how to make a team succeed and what I need to help Jake "Boaster" Howlett or what the other players might struggle with. I think I'm more comfortable at saying things that he might need help with, whereas last year I didn't really know how to say it sometimes because I wasn't fully comfortable with him until the later half of the year.

I think whenever you continue another year with teammates and people that you've shared a lot of experiences with, you just have a lot of respect for each other. So I would just say I'm the secondary voice, the secondary leader to help Jake facilitate everything and just keep the boys grounded.

THESPIKE: What do you specifically help Boaster with?

crashies: Yeah, so if he's ever struggling, I'm very good friends with him where I can tell if he's struggling because he's not a guy that will just say he needs help. But I'm very good at getting a read on him, and if he needs help with a call in-game or a solution for a problem, I'm very good at just offering it to him and then he'll be like, "Oh yeah, that's a good adjustment or solution."

Other than that, it's mainly just controlling the other side of the map that he isn't on because most of the time he's on Astra by himself. So it's kind of up to the pack to orchestrate what's going on, which is my main job.

THESPIKE: That was quite a big debate last year in terms of how the IGL should be a pack IGL rather than a lurking IGL. Do you think your role bridges the two together?

crashies: Yeah, I would say we complement each other very nicely. He gives me space and I give him space and we just know how to make the perfect recipe.

THESPIKE: Looking back at the off-season, you mentioned how it felt really short just because you guys made it all the way to the finals of Paris. How was your Christmas? What were you up to?

crashies: Honestly, Christmas feels like so long ago. I was just back in the States and just relaxing. I tried to not really think about VALORANT much and just focus on living my life. And yeah, like you said, the off-season for us felt like it went by so fast because we went to the Champs Finals and then off-season immediately hits. We were just busy in the off-season grinding, so for Christmas I just had to relax and took a lot of time for myself and really reflected on the year because it was such an important year for me.

I want to do this for as long as I can and I enjoy it. It's so much fun. I love competing. I've loved competing ever since I was a kid.

THESPIKE: You mentioned being in Europe for so long. How's Berlin treating you now? Are you settling in well?

crashies: Yeah, so this is my second year in Europe. I feel like I kind of know what to expect now. The first time was kind of new to me, so I had no clue what was going on. But this time around, I feel like I know what to expect. I'll try and do stuff where it's not always VALORANT focused, or we'll go out with the team. Berlin's whatever in my opinion. It's just very cold, so it's snowing and stuff. And for me who grew up in California, it's a bit rough.

THESPIKE: What would qualifying to Santiago mean to you?

crashies: We've had this conversation a lot with our team and stuff. I think qualifying for Santiago would just be special because we've shown that we can qualify for another international event while also making roster changes and being consistent in a new year. It would just mean all of our hard work that we put into this moment would all come together. I think qualifying for events is very hard to do and I think it's such a special opportunity when you are able to qualify.

THESPIKE: Thank you so much, crashies.

Despite their best efforts, Fnatic failed to qualify for Masters Santiago. Now, the fan-favorites will take a month to regroup and return stronger for VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - EMEA Stage 1.

Tune into THESPIKE.GG for more exclusive VCT player interviews.