“I couldn't find myself”: Koshmaras opens up after Heretics' elimination

As VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - EMEA Stage 2 Play-Ins continue, viewers have seen several VCT teams fall to VCL players looking to punch their ticket to Champions Shanghai. One of the Tier 1 teams whose hopes have been crushed is Team Heretics as they were eliminated from Stage 2 by Eintracht Frankfurt.

After earning the regional EMEA title in VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - EMEA Stage 1, the tides shifted, and Heretics quickly lost their footing in Stage 2. When things started to go south, eyes turned to Duelist player Martynas "Koshmaras" Namikas, who has had a tough time on the server lately.

Koshmaras spoke to THESPIKE after the recent loss and was highly disappointed in his own performance.

“I couldn't find myself, like I didn't perform as I normally would.”

Sent home by a Tier 2 team

It was quite a shock to see Heretics fall flat in the Play-Ins, considering they took home the EMEA trophy only two months ago. In a previous interview with THESPIKE, Benjyfishy explained that it felt like something was missing from the Heretics squad. But what exactly that was remained unclear.

The same goes for Koshmaras, who had a hard time pinpointing what went wrong against Eintracht Frankfurt beyond the fact that they simply didn’t play like their usual selves.

“I think everyone is hungry for the win, but I don't know. We didn't play the best game on our side. The Tier 2 teams, they've been together for a long time. Like, I know they've been together for over a year or something like that. So of course they're a good team already. And they're really hungry, it's their time to show off.

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

Not because of the agent picks

When Koshmaras joined Heretics in April 2026, he was completely new to the VCT. While he had an impressive debut on the stage, being new to the top tier of competition and lacking experience could be a reason why Koshmaras has struggled in Stage 2.

For him, there’s not much more to work on than playing the game and learning with time.

“I guess just making less mistakes. It just comes with experience. So I don't really know, just working through the games and experiencing the game.“

Koshmaras' best agent has always been Neon. However, after joining Heretics, he has been trying out new agents to help the team run optimal compositions that fit the meta. For example, he usually plays Omen on Lotus, which he also did in the match against Eintracht Frankfurt.

While analysts might point to the agent picks as a problem, Koshmaras is adamant that he can play any agent at the same level as Neon.

“I'm fine with Omen. I can play a lot of agents so I mean I'm comfortable. But I guess, as I said, I couldn't find myself so it wasn't great.”

A learning experience

During his first VCT season, Koshmaras has already earned his first EMEA Champions title. While things didn’t work out on the international stage at Masters London or in Stage 2, the player has a bright future ahead of him.

Surrounded by experienced players on the team, he has learned how to improve every day. One player, in particular, has helped him more than the others.

“Definitely Ričardas "Boo" Lukaševičius as he's the IGL. I mean, we play like his game, you know,. He gives his vision and I learned the most from him and the coaches. It's nice having someone from a small country like that in your team, but if he wasn't Lithuanian, it wouldn't change anything.”

Going from Tier 2 to Tier 1 brought a lot of changes for the Duelist player, and he noticed some major differences between his previous teams and Heretics.

“The communication, I think it was a big jump. And the pressure, of course I'm playing on stage, not at home. And yeah, just playing against other good players, experienced players.

Two year contract

Koshmaras is the only player on Heretics with a contract that runs through 2028. The rest of the squad's contracts expire in 2026. With the organization out of all tournaments for the rest of the year, its offseason rebuild could start soon.

While Koshmaras doesn’t know what the future will look like at the moment, he hopes the boys will run it back again.

“I mean, generally I have no clue. Of course I would love everyone to stay. I think it's a great team. They are all experienced, they're all insane. But yeah, I don't really have a clue yet.”

A last message to the fans

Many fans will have to watch the rest of Stage 2 and Champions Shanghai without having Heretics to root for. Koshmaras has one last message for the Heretics fans.

“Thank you for supporting us. Of course, keep supporting Heretics and hopefully the next seasons are stronger.”

For more interviews with your favourite players, stay tuned to THESPIKE.GG.

Featured image source: Riot Games.