GX Flickless: "I suspect it is going to be a wild offseason"

Karel "Flickless" Ivo Maeckelbergh spoke to THESPIKE after GIANTX’s VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - EMEA Stage 2 loss against Fnatic to discuss the series, the team’s though year, his career alongside Miłosz "westside" Tomasz Duda, and much more.

VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - EMEA Stage 2

GIANTX

0

X

2

Fnatic

Lower Bracket Round 2 of 6, Best of 3 - August 13, 2026 - 6:15PM

6

Sunset

13

6

Split

13

GIANTX

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

westside

0.97

227

30/30/3

0

1.00

60.5%

147.6

42%

23%

3

10

Jesse

0.87

177

22/29/11

-7

0.76

63.2%

114.1

36%

67%

2

1

neT

0.73

190

22/32/6

-10

0.69

65.8%

131.2

32%

25%

2

6

ara

0.56

139

17/34/6

-17

0.50

63.2%

99.4

16%

25%

2

6

Flickless

0.53

123

17/30/3

-13

0.57

63.2%

83.6

34%

0%

0

6

Fnatic

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

Alfajer

1.70

327

45/22/10

+23

2.05

84.2%

201.5

37%

88%

15

2

kaajak

1.29

244

37/23/4

+14

1.61

84.2%

164.7

31%

70%

7

3

crashies

1.19

219

32/21/9

+11

1.52

84.2%

146.4

26%

50%

2

2

Cloud

0.99

182

26/24/10

+2

1.08

84.2%

123.4

25%

80%

4

1

Boaster

0.77

117

15/18/22

-3

0.83

79.0%

81.3

25%

50%

1

1

GIANTX eliminated by Fnatic

THESPIKE: What are your first thoughts on the series?

Flickless: "Honestly, I think Fnatic adapted well compared to their last games. They changed their whole playstyle and even swapped Kirill "Cloud" Nehozhin back to his favorite role. I think it was a good move, and they were just too strong for us today."

THESPIKE: This loss means you have no more games in the stage. What are you going to focus on for the rest of the season? Do you want to rest or start preparing for next season already?

Flickless: "It is hard to say. It kind of depends on what happens next, honestly, because I do not really know myself yet. I did not expect to lose today.

I think first, this offseason will be about reuniting with my family for a bit, since I have been away from them for a long time. After that, it is back to the grind, and we will see what comes."

Reflecting on a tough year and Westside

THESPIKE: You have played with westside for a long time, and everyone talks about you two together as a duo. What does he mean to you as a teammate? Would you want to keep playing with him, or would you consider trying something new?

Flickless: "I would obviously love to keep playing with him. I think westside is probably the best shooter in EMEA. On a good day, he can be really, really good.

He also switched roles, from playing Sentinel only to also playing Duelist, and I think he adapted well to that. As a team, though, we adapted late to that change, especially early in the year during Kickoff. That is part of why we struggled.

So yeah, I would love to keep playing with westside, but these things are not really in our control."

I suspect it is going to be a wild offseason, so I do not really know what will happen.

Tier 2 closing the gap

THESPIKE: We spoke to Michael "neT" Bernet about the fact that you did not really have time to improve. Cihan "musz3kk" Göçer was expected to play, then he did not, Adam "Jesse" Čtvrtníček came in, you took over as IGL, and neT joined the team. It was basically a completely new roster in the last split of the year, which meant you were unlikely to keep up.

This year's format was also different, since we saw Challenger teams entering the Play-In Stage angry, ready to prove they belong. Others say Tier 2 has always been closer to Tier 1 than people think, and we just had not had the chance to see it against the best teams. Wadir "WADDLE" Taraki said Tier 2 teams are just as good as Tier 1 teams.

What is your take on that?

Flickless: "I kind of agree with waddle. I think the top Tier 2 teams are really close, or sometimes even better. Rosters like Enterprise Esports or Eintracht Frankfurt have stayed together for a long time, and all of them want to prove themselves on the stage. So for sure, they are super motivated to show it.

I do not think the skill gap is that big. What they are showing right now is impressive, they are proving they can do real damage to teams, and even beat them. There is definitely enough talent in EMEA, and I think they are really close to VCT level players."

From UCAM to Berlin

THESPIKE: Before Tier 1, you competed for UCAM Esports in Spain. How big was the shift in terms of competitiveness and team culture?

Flickless: "In terms of gameplay, everything felt so much faster compared to my time at UCAM. If you do not make a decision fast in Tier 1, you are done, you will lose. That is probably the biggest shift going from Tier 2 to Tier 1, you need to make fast and correct decisions, or you get punished instantly.

Culturally, being here in Berlin means you are together every single day. You live together, you are in the office constantly. It is intense, but it is great for grinding and improving.

Everything also feels more personal. If someone has an issue with a teammate online, sometimes you never even notice it. Here in Berlin, if something is bothering someone, you see it right away, so you can fix problems instantly instead of letting them build up. That is one of the things that is a lot better, in my opinion."

Gentle Mates' last minute roster change

THESPIKE: In Round 1 of Play-Ins, you played against Eintracht Frankfurt in your first game and you got the win. Then you played FUT Esports and lost.

We also saw teams like Gentle Mates, who were expected to make a good run at Play-Ins and reach the playoffs, falling 0-2 to Tier 2 teams pretty easily. Gentle Mates also shook things up right before Play-Ins by benching Taranvir "bipo" Singh and promoting Joona "H1BER" Parviainen from Tier 2.

What did you think about that move? Could they have waited?

Flickless: "They probably could have, but if they felt it was needed, that is up to them. I cannot really say whether it was a good move or a bad one, they know more than we do about their own situation.

Personally, I am not a fan of these last minute changes, but if a team feels it is necessary, they need to do it. I think the management and players know better than us if it was actually needed."

Predicting the rest of the event

THESPIKE: Now that you are out, you will probably follow the rest of the competition. Who do you think will win the whole thing?

Flickless: "I think there are a couple of strong candidates. Personally, I would hope Fnatic bring it home and make it to Shanghai, since they beat us, and I respect them a lot as a team. But if I had to give it to someone, I would give it to Team Vitality."

THESPIKE: Do you see a Tier 2 team making it out of Play-Ins?

Flickless: "Yes, I do. I think there can actually be two. I think Enterprise is super strong, and Fire Flux Esports, you can never doubt them.

Those two teams, I think they are really likely to make it out. Then I think Joblife, I said this in an interview before too, has a strong team, but it also depends a lot on Mohammad "Pa1ze" Khatib. If he has a really good day, he can carry them.

It is similar with Eintracht. They have a solid roster, but it depends a lot on Jamelinho213. He is a player who can really pop off, we saw it against us, he was farming us on Ascent with Outlaw and everything. If you cannot stop him, these players will shine, because they are hungry to prove themselves.

All of these matches are also happening back to back, day after day, which is an advantage for teams with players who really want to show themselves. So I think all four teams can make it out, but if I had to pick one team, I would say Enterprise or Fireflux."

With this loss, GIANTX are officially out of the VCT EMEA Stage 2 Play-Ins, and their competitive year is over. A rebuild looks likely, with many contracts set to expire at the end of 2026. Fnatic, on the other hand, keep their dream of reaching VALORANT Champions Shanghai alive, though they will still need to win six matches in a row to qualify for the event.

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.

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