FUT Esports and Team Vitality punch their tickets to VALORANT Masters London

Today’s two upper semifinal matches determined the first two EMEA teams to earn a spot at Masters London. Kicking things off with a Turkish derby, FUT Esports proved themselves as the best Turkish team in the matchup against Eternal Fire. The action didn’t stop there, as two fan favorites, Team Vitality and Fnatic, faced off in an epic showdown. In the end, Team Vitality punched their ticket to London.

Tumultuous Turkish derby

The first match of the day, between FUT and Eternal Fire, was far from smooth for either team. Starting strong, Eternal Fire crushed their opponents on their map pick, Pearl, with Ömür "echo" Serkan Şenol stepping up in a big way and securing his first ace in the VCT. Eternal Fire took Pearl 13-5.

Despite coming in hot on the second map, Ascent, Eternal Fire quickly cooled off as FUT ran away with the scoreline. On their own map pick, FUT showed they were far from done in the series, executing flawless attacking rounds to take the map 13-4.

After two dominant performances from either side, the teams headed to Split. Eternal Fire came out with a strong defense and grabbed an early lead, ending the half up 8-4. But FUT clawed their way back to even the score, eventually taking the map 13-11 and securing the first EMEA ticket to London. The last time FUT appeared on the global stage was at VCT 2024 - Champions 2024. Now, over a year later, they return to the big stage.

VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - EMEA Stage 1

FUT Esports

2

X

1

Eternal Fire

Upper Bracket Semi Final, Best of 3 - May 8, 2026 - 3:00PM

5

Pearl

13

13

Ascent

4

13

Split

11

FUT Esports

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

s0pp

1.38

283

59/49/17

+10

1.20

79.3%

175.6

22%

71%

17

7

sociablEE

1.35

236

52/36/29

+16

1.44

80.3%

149.1

28%

50%

3

3

KROSTALY

1.04

188

39/43/26

-4

0.91

73.3%

118.7

30%

57%

8

6

yetujey

0.87

157

35/34/16

+1

1.03

81.7%

92.5

22%

60%

3

2

xeus

0.75

171

34/45/12

-11

0.76

74.8%

107.9

26%

36%

4

7

Eternal Fire

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

echo

1.20

232

49/42/21

+7

1.17

77.7%

150.4

37%

33%

5

10

Favian

1.06

222

47/47/15

0

1.00

73.1%

153.7

32%

35%

6

11

audaz

1.04

184

38/48/28

-10

0.79

76.2%

116.2

20%

100%

3

0

Izzy

0.91

195

39/42/9

-3

0.93

71.2%

119.4

26%

47%

8

9

nekky

0.88

171

34/40/25

-6

0.85

67.2%

119.3

25%

29%

2

5

Two favourites clash

The second matchup featured Team Vitality and Fnatic. Throughout their history, Fnatic had won every head-to-head matchup against Vitality and looked to keep the streak alive to secure their spot in London.

However, Vitality quickly took control of Breeze, making Fnatic look completely lost on their own map pick. Nikita "Derke" Sirmitev dismantled his former squad, picking players off one by one with the Outlaw. After a dominant 9-3 half, Vitality quickly closed out the first map 13-4.

Fnatic looked to turn things around on Haven with a pistol-round win and a converted bonus round. But after an 9-3 half, Fnatic lost control of the map. Confident executes from Team Vitality evened the score and pushed the game into overtime. Their stronger defense ultimately helped Vitality close out the map and the series 15-13.

In a post match interview, in-game leader Elias "Jamppi" Olkkonen spoke about his first international qualification since 2023:

Last year, we were so close with BBL, with PAL and PROFEK, and that hurt a lot. Now qualifying, it’s just amazing [...] I’m so happy.

VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - EMEA Stage 1

Fnatic

0

X

2

Team Vitality

Upper Bracket Semi Final, Best of 3 - May 8, 2026 - 6:00PM

4

Breeze

13

13

Haven

15

Fnatic

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

Alfajer

1.13

248

37/35/5

+2

1.06

68.1%

154.3

39%

71%

10

4

kaajak

0.99

230

37/39/5

-2

0.95

56.8%

152.0

38%

47%

7

8

CyvOph

0.86

168

25/31/16

-6

0.81

72.8%

114.6

30%

0%

0

4

Boaster

0.59

124

18/37/17

-19

0.49

58.6%

89.1

26%

33%

2

4

crashies

0.58

137

19/34/10

-15

0.56

55.7%

107.4

33%

67%

4

2

Team Vitality

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

Derke

1.35

275

41/25/8

+16

1.64

75.7%

167.6

27%

43%

6

8

Sayonara

1.15

208

39/25/8

+14

1.56

87.0%

140.2

39%

75%

3

1

PROFEK

1.13

226

35/27/16

+8

1.30

83.4%

160.5

28%

71%

5

2

Jamppi

1.07

201

30/29/19

+1

1.03

77.5%

127.9

27%

60%

6

4

Chronicle

0.87

187

30/30/7

0

1.00

68.6%

126.1

20%

20%

2

8

One spot remaining

Thanks to today’s wins, FUT and Vitality will return to the international stage after more than a year away.

With two of the three EMEA spots for Masters London now secured, only one place remains. After today's losses, Fnatic and Eternal Fire will continue their journey in the lower bracket, where though competition like Team Liquid and Team Heretics are already waiting. The lower bracket will decide who advances to the lower final and claims the last ticket to Masters London.

For all things VCT-related, make sure to stay tuned to THESPIKE.GG as we continue to update you with the freshest game and esports news.

Featured image cred: Michał Konkol/Riot Games