Fnatic reportedly signs new VALORANT head coach after lackluster 2025 Kickoff performance

After a lackluster showing at VCT 2025 - EMEA Kickoff, Fnatic might be making some major changes to its coaching staff to bolster its efforts for the rest of the competitive year. The popular European organization is supposedly moving forward with a new head coach and assistant coach, marking a new beginning for a roster that is trying to bounce back following an early exit in the first big VALORANT event of the year.

According to Sheep Esports' Alejandro Gomis, Fnatic is reportedly promoting coach Milan "Milan" de Meij to the head coach position, while also picking up former Natus Vincere head coach Erik "d00mbr0s" Sandgren as the new assistant coach for the team. Both coaches have worked for a plethora of different teams across a significant amount of time, and should help push the roster into a new direction by providing them with a familiar face at the helm, and an experienced coach at his side as well. Since the roster has already worked with Milan, there shouldn't be a massive shift in expectations, but they will need to adjust to Sandgren's own philosophies and ideas, especially if they wish to maintain their reputation as Europe's most powerful VALORANT team.

No room for mediocrity

Over the last few years, both Milan and Sandgren have built up a formidable resume among a handful of teams. Sandgren, for example, worked with FunPlus Phoenix during their time in EMEA, before they began competing in China. Milan, on the other hand, has more of a championship-level pedigree, boasting a massive victory at VCT 2021 - VALORANT Champions 2021 with Project V - Endboss Clash as team analyst. Although they haven't seen much success in recent times, these coaches will be working with one of the best rosters in EMEA, and should be able to find some level of consistency before the start of the season. They do, however, have a significant amount of weight on their shoulders, since they must live up to the expectations that many people will have for a team of this caliber.

Besides their undesirable performances on-stage, the team is still adjusting to the absence of their superstar initiator Leo "Leo" Jannesson, who has been sidelined due to health problems. The 21-year-old was an essential member of the Fnatic battle plan, but now, they must march on forward without him. Additionally, team director Colin "CoJo" Johnson has said that Leo will most likely miss the start of Stage One, which means that they will have to play with former NRG player Austin "crashies" Roberts for the foreseeable future. There isn't a timeline for Leo's return, and with his contract ending this year, Fnatic will also have to deal with extending his deal beyond 2025 when that issue rears its head soon.

Lock in for Stage One

Looking ahead, Fnatic has about a month until the start of Stage One, which is ample time to find the system that works for this iteration of the team. There is, however, plenty of pressure to succeed, because it will not be acceptable for the organization to miss two straight international events in a row. If you want to stay updated on Fnatic's current situation in EMEA, stay tuned to THESPIKE.GG.