Musashi on Eintracht Frankfurt's form: "We have been beating everyone in scrims"

Alessio "musashi" Xhaferi spoke to THESPIKE after Eintracht Frankfurt’s VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - EMEA Stage 2 win against Team Heretics to discuss the incredible win, his long career in tier 2, though and bright moments, and much more.

The win against Team Heretics

THESPIKE: How do you feel after that series?

Musashi: "Bro, I am feeling really great, I am still shaking a bit, I do not know if you can see it, probably not. I am really happy, because I was saying it before the tournament, they are the team that has been beating us so much in practice. I was thinking, "I would not want to play against them."

Then we played them, and we played our best game. All of us were talking so much, so happy, and we really wanted to win."

THESPIKE: You just went out, played your game, and they could not do anything about it. Did you feel any pressure going in, or did you just get the momentum right away?

Musashi: "Not really. Our recent results have been really good, we have been beating everyone in scrims. I will admit these guys are a bit tough for us, but we have also been really good in practice, and we showed it in the qualifiers and against Gentle Mates too. When we play well, when we talk to each other, when we try to win, we can replicate that level."

Once we won the first round, it felt like we were on our home ground. These maps are great for us, and it just felt incredible.

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

Tier 2 and the road to Tier 1

THESPIKE: You usually play online, since Tier 2 teams do not often play on stage, so this is a different environment, and a lot of teams collapse once they get there. That is clearly not your case.

You were also seen as the underdog between the two teams, since you came through Play Ins rather than qualifying directly. So expectations were probably lower coming in, but every Tier 2 team has been defeating expectations, which is honestly insane.

You have spent a lot of time in Tier 2 without ever getting a real shot at Tier 1, and there are a lot of players in the same situation.

Do you think that is a problem with the ecosystem itself, or do you think there has been something missing on your end to make that jump?

Musashi: "I definitely think the ecosystem is not great. Franchising makes it hard to get in. You need to be picked specifically, they need your role, they need your skill set, they have to like you, and you have to perform well when trialing. You also cannot qualify with your own team, right now we cannot even qualify.

So I do not like how the system works when it comes to getting picked up. At the same time, I was probably not good enough during some of my trials. I had a few this year, and I did not do great, so of course I did not get picked. I am still improving in my role."

THESPIKE: So it sounds like a mix of both. Inside your team, Ondřej "MONSTEERR" Petrů is really the only one who has had anything close to a Tier 1 shot, though his stint with KOI was so short. The rest of the roster has never touched the Tier 1 scene, and some players are extremely young, like Jamelinho213, who is only 16.

You have had a longer career already, several years now, and never getting that shot can be mentally hard, making you wonder if you are actually good enough.

How did you manage to stay consistent to reach this point?

Musashi: "Honestly, those thoughts definitely come up, especially when you keep dropping out of tournaments. This year, up until now, and even last year, we always fell short. We would do well in the group stage and then fail in the playoffs.

I was thinking, "Damn, am I actually good enough?" I knew I was good before, but doubts still crept in. After we dropped out of one tournament, before we even reached Challengers, something clicked in us. Everyone started trying so hard to win, I was saying it to them a lot too, and it became so much fun to play together.

We all started grinding ranked a lot, really trying to win and prove ourselves, because we know how good we are. I even had a bit of a resurgence myself, four of us were on the front page of the leaderboard at the same time, even while we were on a break. We really want to win, and that hunger is real."

Hunger, momentum, and Tier 2 teams rising over Tier 1 ones

THESPIKE: You are hungry, and that is something Tier 1 players have been noticing too, since Tier 2 teams came into this tournament with a lot of hunger. You just want to win and prove you always deserved to be there, even without getting your shot before. That is probably a big factor here.

A lot of people have said that top Tier 2 has always been close to Tier 1 in EMEA, even if we never really see how scrims go between the two. You told me you have been doing well in scrims too, and I was speaking with Karel "Flickless" Ivo Maeckelbergh yesterday, who said every Tier 2 team could realistically make it out of Play Ins and into the playoff stage.

Musashi: "I agree with that."

THESPIKE: You already faced Gentle Mates and now Heretics, but you dropped the series against GIANTX.

In that first series , did you feel some real pressure for the first time?

Musashi: "Yeah, 100 percent. The first map especially, we were really bad. I cannot speak for everyone, but we were playing scared, dying alone everywhere, not really playing our own game.

After that game, we told each other, "Come on, we are here to have fun, there is no pressure on us, we know that." Then on Ascent, we saw what Jamelinho was doing, and Sunset is still a new map for us, so we made a lot of mistakes there too. I also think GX was not a great first matchup for us, because they play really structured, and in Tier 2 nobody really plays like that. So we had to adjust to the stage and to the Tier 1 playstyle.

We struggled in that first game, but I think we finally get it now."

THESPIKE: Who do you think you’ll face next?

Musashi: "Honestly, I have no idea. I think FUT Esports is the better team on average, but if Eternal Fire is shooting well, they can beat them too. I really have no clue, it could be anyone."

Goals for the rest of the stage

THESPIKE: You are already getting results, but the job is not done yet. What is your realistic goal for this VCT EMEA stint? Do you think you can get a shot at Champions?

Musashi: "Going to Champions would be unbelievable. Right now, these teams are near the bottom of Tier 1, that is why Team Vitality and Team Liquid feel like bigger obstacles to face. But we are just taking it one step at a time, trying to win every single game. We do not look too far ahead or start saying, "We will be in Shanghai soon."

THESPIKE: Both of them still went to international events this year. As much as I can see, VALORANT really is a game that relies on momentum and current form as a team, so never say never. The future is looking bright for you right now. I do not want to jinx it, but it looks insane.

Which team would you be most excited to face in this VCT EMEA run?

Musashi: "There are two answers, honestly. BBL Esports, I really like them a lot. When we are pranking each other, they are so nice and so funny, so I would love to play them just for that."

As for who I would want to beat the most, I think it would be Vitality, if they are still left in the tournament.

THESPIKE: Last curiosity before we wrap up, I saw your name is actually Alessio, and that you are German and Albanian. Is there an Italian connection behind that name?

Musashi: "I can tell you kind of how it went. My parents were basically still arguing about my name, I think I was already born at that point, and they still had not decided.

Then my uncle walked into the room and said, "Guys, what about Alessio?" And that is how it happened. Albania and Italy are pretty close, geographically and culturally, so there has always been that connection, especially through my dad's side. But yeah, that is basically how it went."

Sky is the limit for this Eintracht roster as they look to make it all the way from Challengers to VALORANT Champions.

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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