Report: FunPlus Phoenix to enter VALORANT, sign FABRIKEN and PartyParrots members

According to a report published today by esports blogger HaloofThoughts, Chinese esports organization FunPlus Phoenix are set to enter the European VALORANT scene, and sign members from the recently disbanded SKADE and PartyParrots rosters.

FunPlus Phoenix will be best known for their League of Legends roster, which went from a relatively unassuming Chinese team to the dominant world champions. They’ve been looking to broaden their horizons globally as of late, initially trying to acquire the European CS:GO roster of Heroic before settling on Bad News Bears in North America. This sets a precedent for further global investment, now into VALORANT.

European fans have long theorized what it could look like if European heavyweights FABRIKEN and PartyParrots merged, and it looks like these wishes will be coming true. The complete reported roster for FunPlus Phoenix is Pontus "Zyppan" Eek, Tobias "ShadoW" Flodström, and Johan "Meddo" Renbjörk Lundborg from FABRIKEN, along with Kirill "ANGE1" Karasiow and Andrey "Shao" Kiprsky from PartyParrots.

Initially, the combo of Zyppan and Shao stands out. The two have each been some of Europe’s most deadly players, and if they can find chemistry, FunPlus Phoenix could be incredibly exciting. The main issue will likely be language problems - with 3 Swedish players and 2 CIS players, the language differences will have to be overcome for FunPlus Phoenix to be truly competitive. But if they can make it work, FunPlus Phoenix has the potential to challenge the likes of G2 Esports at the top of European competition.

FunPlus Phoenix's reported roster is:

Pontus "Zyppan" Eek Tobias "ShadoW" Flodström Johan "Meddo" Lundborg Kirill "ANGE1" Karasiow Andrey "Shao" Kiprsky