“In terms of teamplay, we played absolutely awful” - Chronicle after loss against Eternal Fire

Time and time again, Team Vitality is labeled a superteam in EMEA. However, they’ve yet to prove they deserve that title, as the squad has struggled to find its footing in both Kickoff and Stage 1. That became even more apparent when Vitality faced Eternal Fire in Week 3 of VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - EMEA Stage 1. The series turned into a massive upset, with Eternal Fire (previously ULF Esports) crushing the favorites 2–0.

When Timofey "Chronicle" Khromov left Fnatic for Vitality in the 2025 offseason, expectations skyrocketed. The flex player has a reputation few can match, and signing him meant immediate pressure to deliver wins. THESPIKE had the opportunity to speak with Chronicle after the loss to Eternal Fire, and the Russian player was anything but satisfied.

I think in terms of teamplay, we played absolutely awful today.

VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - EMEA Stage 1

Eternal Fire

2

X

0

Team Vitality

Group Omega, Best of 3 - April 16, 2026 - 3:00PM

13

Bind

11

13

Lotus

6

Eternal Fire

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

Favian

1.31

253

41/26/13

+15

1.58

81.1%

164.0

32%

33%

1

2

Izzy

1.23

269

41/30/4

+11

1.37

69.1%

164.5

34%

50%

10

10

audaz

1.06

182

27/23/23

+4

1.17

83.2%

125.7

39%

25%

1

3

echo

0.99

218

33/31/8

+2

1.06

70.2%

135.3

27%

42%

5

7

nekky

0.88

177

25/27/10

-2

0.93

73.8%

118.4

31%

75%

3

1

Team Vitality

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

Jamppi

0.92

180

27/34/13

-7

0.79

72.8%

112.2

20%

50%

3

3

Sayonara

0.90

204

30/33/10

-3

0.91

67.0%

152.4

30%

33%

3

6

PROFEK

0.88

173

26/29/14

-3

0.90

76.4%

115.4

21%

71%

5

2

Chronicle

0.87

201

26/33/10

-7

0.79

67.5%

136.0

25%

60%

3

2

Derke

0.81

169

27/38/8

-11

0.71

65.5%

111.0

24%

56%

9

7

Fundamental issues

During the match, Vitality looked nothing like the experienced roster they’re supposed to be. Eternal Fire steamrolled them, securing key entries and looking far more in sync. According to Chronicle, the team’s fundamentals were the biggest issue, a serious concern at this stage.

We acknowledge that we have current issues in like, double peeks, and with some coordination, but we're still failing to fix those issues. Because individually I think everyone was able to shoot well, like people were hitting shots when it's needed. And like, I don't think we were also pressured or something like that. We were just like playing awfully today and it shows exactly right now.

Chronicle added that these same issues were behind their loss to Fnatic the previous week. Despite efforts to fix them, things appear to be trending in the wrong direction. When asked about preparation against Eternal Fire, he said the team was ready, but their execution fell apart.

We knew how they will build their execs rounds, like, around each utility with those, for example, Vyse mollies, maybe some pushes from both sides. One thing is knowing what the opponent can do and second thing is how you execute well against it. Today we just executed so poorly and it looked like they were just beating children.

Falling behind

Having these kinds of issues this deep into Stage 1 is a worrying sign for Vitality’s future. While other teams are building their identities step by step, Vitality seems to be slipping. After two losses where they failed to adapt or improve, it’s back to the drawing board.

First of all, we're obviously going to look through it, try to find out what exactly was the issue or where we could balance out our energy in communication or how we can enhance our abilities to play together because again, that was the biggest problem for us today. And yeah, I mean, just hoping we will do well in the next match.

After a full rebuild in the offseason, Vitality also made a roster change ahead of Stage 1, bringing in Ștefan "Sayonara" Mîtcu after he turned 18 and became eligible to compete in VCT. Roster changes naturally impact team synergy, but Chronicle doesn’t see that as an excuse for their recent performances. After the tough loss, he had a message for the fans:

The whole core was made from scratch since the offseason and we also had to swap players back and forth. Obviously, it's not giving us a lot of stability in that. But I'm also not asking for more time. We obviously have to deliver it right now, otherwise what's the point of playing this year? That's how I see it. So just maybe a message to the fans, just keep cheering and rooting for us and we will try our best and also my team will try our best to actually fix those issues and become better.

Impressed by Sayonara

When discussing the team’s newest addition, Chronicle had high praise for Sayonara. Despite the recent losses, the rookie has shown promise.

He's a smart player. He proved that he is consistently good and he understands his job pretty well. Like, you don't really need to babysit him, for example, as you might expect from a rookie. Like, no, he is already in the game and he understands his responsibilities, his duties, and he is doing it almost 100%, if not 100%. We still have to teach him, of course, some of the stuff that is important.

Chronicle’s journey on Vitality

Chronicle’s move to Vitality was one of the biggest roster changes of the EMEA offseason. While he couldn’t share full details, he highlighted the organization’s strong support system as a key factor in his decision.

I think the way the org supports players and gives them opportunities overall, like conditions to play the game and actually enjoy it comfortably, it's pretty cool. Also when you have such a short connection with, for example, all the management of the org. I mean overall it's just pretty fun time playing under this name. I mean honestly, I wish I could say more, but then it means I have to talk a lot more than I should.

With only one win so far, fans haven’t seen the full impact Chronicle is known for. He blames part of that on the current meta. As a primary Sentinel and Controller player, he has fewer opportunities to lurk, especially with fast executes and double Duelist comps putting him in tough spots. The Neon meta is not doing players as himself any favors either.

Still, he remains confident in his individual performance:

I feel and I know that I'm pretty good but yeah obviously like for example in these stage one matches like two out of three games kind of I finished with a negative rating. So for people obviously it might make a confusion like how he can say for example that he's feeling good when like he played two not the best matches for example. But for me again it's more about how we play as a team and what we are doing together. In my opinion, I'm doing good, I'm doing good for the team. I'm trying my best to help them to perform better.

Negative in groups

With the loss to Eternal Fire, Vitality now sits at 1–2 in Group Omega. That puts real pressure on the squad, as they may need to win their remaining matches to secure a playoff spot. Despite the setback, Chronicle isn’t overly concerned about their chances of making playoffs, or even qualifying for Masters London.

I think there is still not that much stress coming around about it, that we are negative in the group because again one match away will be in the initial and maybe too much the way after and we will be already positive. But for London, obviously, in order to qualify, we might need to do better in terms of our team play. Again, as I kept reminding in this interview for 10 minutes, I think. Yeah, we obviously need to improve in order to qualify.

Next week, Vitality faces BBL Esports, who also hold a 1–2 record. Time is running out, and Vitality needs results fast, otherwise, a trip to London could slip through their fingers.

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

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