“If we play our best, we’re unbeatable” - neilzinho on redemption and Team Heretics’ current rise

Right after taking down Team Vitality, Team Heretics Head Coach, Neil "neilzinho" Finlay, sat down with THESPIKE to reflect on the team’s major success during the last month.

neilzinho has been at the helm of Team Heretics since November 2022, navigating the team through many ups and downs. But recently, the squad has been on an incredible upward swing, currently on an 8-match win streak.

I tell them every day, you’re gonna lose eventually, don't be scared of losing. The win streak is not going to go on forever. As long as we keep playing to our level we will beat every team in the world.

Comebacks kings

In the match against Vitality, Team Heretics showcased their resilience with two comebacks—a trend we’ve seen in many of Team Heretics' latest games. Even though they secured the match 2-0, it was by no means an easy feat.

I think it's something weber and I have instilled in everyone's mind, that it's never over till it's over. We tell them: 'I don't care if you got one round or no rounds, you're good enough to win.'

Devastating results in Toronto

In VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - EMEA Stage 1, Team Heretics came out as runners-up after a tough loss to Fnatic in the Grand Final. Expectations were high going in to VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - Masters Toronto 2025, but those hopes soon crumbled as Team Heretics were one of the first teams to be eliminated in the Swiss Stage.

neilzinho opens up about the struggles the team has had throughout the year:

I think we’ve had a rough year in general. We didn’t really prepare the best in the off-season, we tested a lot of new things that didn't work. So it took some hard conversations and some hard truths and I had to remind the boys how good they are.

Big win over FNATIC in EWC

Shortly after Masters Toronto, the EWC VALORANT - Esports World Cup 2025 took place in Riyadh. Heretics’ journey started rough with a 13-4 loss to NRG, but they quickly turned it around and bounced back to reach the playoffs. There, they battled tooth and nail to face Fnatic the Grand Final. Down 0-2 in maps, things looked bleak for Heretics, but once more they rallied and completed another comeback to secure the dub. However, neilzinho is far from confident, saying the team's challenges are far from over.

We’ve learned so much from EWC and the comeback but it's going to be tested again. There will be a dip soon and we need to prepare ourselves for it. It will kind of just slap us in the face. It's really hard to predict when it's gonna happen.

Building a stronger mentality

So far in VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - EMEA Stage 2, Team Heretics have been paving the way for a flawless run in the Group Stage. neilzinho has set his sights on that perfect 5-0 score. He thinks the team’s mentality is a key part of their recent success. For him, a strong team culture is fundamental, and something you have to work on every day:

If we had this mental resilience that we have now in the Champions Grand Final last year, there is no way we would lose that final. I used to be in construction before and that industry had a lot of mental health issues, and I see a lot of similarities in esports. So I think having a good culture and working on that every single day is super important.

Shanghai do-over

Following the announcement that Champions 2026 will be held in Shanghai, neilzinho expressed his excitement. Team Heretics came in second place in VCT 2024 - Masters Shanghai in 2024 and he looks back on the tournament with fond memories.

Looking closer ahead, he has a good feeling going into the end of the season and VALORANT Champions Tour 2025:

I genuinely believe that if we play our best we are unbeatable. Looking at how everyone's playing right now, I don't see the dip coming any time soon.

Featured image credit: Stefan Wisnoski/Riot Games