Fnatic and Heretics eliminated as Tier 2 teams dominate EMEA Play-Ins

VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - EMEA Stage 2 is turned upside down as two of the top Tier 1 teams are sent home by Tier 2 teams in Friday’s matches. Previous Stage 1 champions, Team Heretics, couldn’t find an answer against Eintracht Frankfurt and were denied another EMEA title.

Another heartbreaking loss came to Fnatic, who got stomped by the Tier 2 team Joblife. With two of the most accomplished teams gone from Stage 2, there will be two Tier 2 teams guaranteed in the Playoffs.

Previous Stage 1 winners eliminated

To start the day off, Team Heretics faced Eintracht Frankfurt. Both had survived one round of elimination games, but it was time for one to be sent home. As Heretics came into Stage 2 as the reigning champions of VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - EMEA Stage 1, hopes were high that they could continue their regional domination. However, things started looking shaky for Heretics immediately in the Group Stage.

Things didn’t get better in the Play-Ins, and everything truly fell apart for them in the game against Eintracht Frankfurt. Constantly losing opening battles and throwing away leads put them in an uphill battle. Eintracht Frankfurt took down their second Tier 1 team 2-0 and is now one match away from qualifying for the Playoffs.

Heretics are now leaving Stage 2 without a ticket to Champions Shanghai, missing their second international event this year.

The player having the toughest time on Heretics during the match was Martynas "Koshmaras" Namikas, who ended at the bottom of the leaderboard. When THESPIKE spoke to Koshmaras after the game, he was disappointed in his own performance.

“I couldn’t find myself and perform as I usually do.”

VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - EMEA Stage 2

Eintracht Frankfurt

2

X

0

Team Heretics

Lower Bracket Round 3 of 6, Best of 3 - August 14, 2026 - 3:00PM

13

Lotus

11

13

Haven

7

Eintracht Frankfurt

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

azury

1.48

262

41/23/20

+18

1.78

88.8%

166.1

27%

60%

3

2

Fizzy

1.18

211

34/30/19

+4

1.13

70.4%

133.9

22%

56%

5

4

Jamelinho213

0.99

197

32/33/11

-1

0.97

79.6%

140.0

23%

43%

6

8

musashi

0.96

174

26/31/18

-5

0.84

75.0%

112.8

17%

67%

4

2

MONSTEERR

0.95

205

30/34/11

-4

0.88

66.3%

149.6

34%

50%

5

5

Team Heretics

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

Wo0t

1.15

251

39/31/5

+8

1.26

82.5%

153.4

30%

71%

10

4

RieNs

1.14

238

35/36/17

-1

0.97

72.9%

162.5

46%

50%

3

3

Boo

1.00

192

30/32/12

-2

0.94

75.4%

120.8

38%

33%

3

6

benjyfishy

0.93

179

29/29/10

0

1.00

77.5%

115.1

41%

50%

3

3

Koshmaras

0.64

133

18/35/15

-17

0.51

72.1%

93.2

24%

20%

2

8

Fnatic at their worst ever

Not only did Heretics have to say goodbye to a Champions spot. Fan-favourites Fnatic were also bested by a Tier 2 team and eliminated from Stage 2. They faced Joblife, a squad stacked with former VCT players like Bartosz "UNFAKE" Bernacki, Maks "kamyk" Rychlewski, and Domagoj "Doma" Fancev. But the individual with the most impact against Fnatic was the Danish player Mohammad "Pa1ze" Khatib.

His fearless playstyle and crisp aim unraveled the Tier 1 squad, who looked lost as Joblife took the series 2-0.

This is without a doubt the worst VCT season for Fnatic in its history. Bombing out of Stage 2 means the org will have missed all of the international events this year. That has never happened before, and the team will miss Champions for the first time ever.

Going from being one of the best teams in the region to not making a single international event is highly disappointing for the squad. Having to deal with sick players and stand-ins seems to have been too much to handle, as Fnatic is entering an early offseason.

Stand-in player Kirill "Cloud" Nehozhin spoke to THESPIKE after the game:

“It’s just disappointing I guess. We did put a lot of work into it, a lot of effort, changes, passion. It just didn’t work.”

VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - EMEA Stage 2

Joblife

2

X

0

Fnatic

Lower Bracket Round 3 of 6, Best of 3 - August 14, 2026 - 5:30PM

13

Lotus

11

13

Breeze

8

Joblife

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

Pa1ze

1.53

329

49/35/13

+14

1.40

80.1%

215.0

32%

67%

16

8

kamyk

1.49

279

46/29/16

+17

1.59

73.8%

180.1

45%

50%

2

2

runneR

0.85

171

29/31/8

-2

0.94

58.3%

108.6

16%

30%

3

7

Doma

0.83

166

26/30/11

-4

0.87

82.4%

114.0

25%

67%

4

2

UNFAKE

0.72

138

22/29/12

-7

0.76

69.3%

99.5

30%

0%

0

1

Fnatic

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

crashies

1.19

231

37/33/13

+4

1.12

64.9%

141.2

34%

40%

2

3

Alfajer

1.07

223

36/37/6

-1

0.97

62.2%

146.4

27%

58%

7

5

kaajak

1.04

217

32/38/15

-6

0.84

68.8%

156.0

32%

40%

8

12

Cloud

0.92

182

27/31/18

-4

0.87

74.7%

125.8

26%

33%

2

4

Boaster

0.77

129

22/33/18

-11

0.67

72.9%

94.0

37%

50%

1

1

Four Tier 1 teams eliminated

With both Heretics and Fnatic out of Stage 2, two spots are open in the Playoffs for Tier 2 teams to fill. With this being the first time Tier 2 teams are being included in the race to Champions, their success rate is through the roof. With today’s matches included, four Tier 1 teams have been sent home by Tier 2 teams in the Play-Ins.

Joblife and Eintracht Frankfurt continue their journey and will play again on August 16 against the losers of the upper bracket. They still have one match to win to get to the Playoffs.

Stay tuned to THESPIKE.GG for interviews with your favorite Tier 1 and 2 players.

Featured image source: Michał Konkol/Riot Games.