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    4. Team Heretics out of EMEA Kickoff without ticket to Santiago

    Team Heretics out of EMEA Kickoff without ticket to Santiago

    Written By Gry Nanker Content Writer
    Last UpdatedFebruary 12, 2026 at 08:00PM
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    A fan favorites’ journey in VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - EMEA Kickoff has come to an end. The pressure was too much, and Team Heretics is out of Kickoff after falling to Team Liquid in the lower bracket. Heretics are now out of the race for a spot at VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - Masters Santiago 2026. It's a familiar start to the year, as they also missed VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 - Masters Bangkok 2025 at the beginning of 2025.

    Two rough Kickoff journeys

    Both Liquid and Heretics had rough starts to their VCT EMEA Kickoff campaigns, each dropping their first two matches. Team Heretics opened with a loss to Natus Vincere, followed by another defeat against GIANTX that sent them to the lower bracket. There, they found new energy, taking down Karmine Corp and getting their revenge on NAVI. However, Team Heretics' Kickoff journey came to an abrupt end as Liquid crushed their hopes with a decisive 2-0 victory.

    VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - EMEA Kickoff VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - EMEA Kickoff
    Team Heretics
    Team Heretics
    0
    X
    2
    Team Liquid
    Team Liquid
    Lower Round 6, Best of 3 - February 12, 2026 - 5:00PM
    Team Heretics11
    Abyss
    Team Liquid13
    Team Heretics3
    Bind
    Team Liquid13
    Team HereticsTeam Heretics
    player
    Rating
    ACS
    K/D/A
    +/-
    K/D
    KAST
    ADR
    HS%
    FBSR
    FB
    FD
    United Kingdom benjyfishy
    VetoViper
    0.99
    209
    31/34/6
    -3
    0.91
    62.5%
    142.7
    41%
    70%
    7
    3
    Turkey RieNs
    SovaGekko
    0.83
    173
    25/31/8
    -6
    0.81
    64.6%
    121.6
    42%
    40%
    2
    3
    Turkey Wo0t
    WaylayFade
    0.73
    170
    23/31/5
    -8
    0.74
    68.8%
    112.9
    36%
    50%
    5
    5
    Lithuania Boo
    AstraBrimstone
    0.72
    149
    20/28/16
    -8
    0.71
    63.5%
    103.9
    29%
    25%
    1
    3
    Turkey ComeBack
    YoruWaylay
    0.66
    144
    20/32/5
    -12
    0.63
    67.7%
    91.2
    30%
    70%
    7
    3
    Team LiquidTeam Liquid
    player
    Rating
    ACS
    K/D/A
    +/-
    K/D
    KAST
    ADR
    HS%
    FBSR
    FB
    FD
    Lithuania MiniBoo
    WaylayNeon
    1.44
    284
    39/25/10
    +14
    1.56
    85.4%
    178.7
    35%
    45%
    5
    6
    Poland kamo
    YoruWaylay
    1.41
    273
    41/30/13
    +11
    1.37
    85.4%
    192.9
    45%
    42%
    5
    7
    Russian Federation nAts
    CypherViper
    1.30
    258
    36/24/6
    +12
    1.50
    88.5%
    165.8
    28%
    50%
    3
    3
    Singapore wayne
    OmenBrimstone
    0.81
    139
    19/23/18
    -4
    0.83
    79.2%
    94.6
    45%
    38%
    3
    5
    Russian Federation purp0
    SovaSkye
    0.79
    143
    21/22/10
    -1
    0.95
    75.0%
    105.5
    40%
    50%
    1
    1

    Fighting for Survival

    The match started on Abyss, a map both teams were winless on going into the matchup. The winds quickly shifted in Heretics’ favor as they took the pistol and bonus round conversion. But Liquid responded in the fourth round with a Kamil "kamo" Frąckowiak sheriff ace, and the map became a tight contest all the way through the second half. Team Liquid took the map with a 13-11 victory.

    Bind started with a bang as Ayaz "nAts" Akhmetshin clutched a 1v3 in the pistol round. That set Liquid on an unstoppable path, pushing the scoreline to 10-0 before Heretics could find an answer. With an 11-1 half in Liquid’s favor, it was impossible for Heretics to regain control. Dominykas "MiniBoo" Lukaševičius together with nAts carried Liquid to a 13-3 win, taking the series 2-0.

    No Masters Santiago

    With this loss, Team Heretics will be heading home from Kickoff without a ticket to Masters Santiago. Missing out on the first international event of 2026 will be heartbreaking. The team will now have weeks of preparation ahead of VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - EMEA Stage 1. Team Liquid, meanwhile, will continue to fight their way through the lower bracket in hopes of securing that final Masters spot.

    For more VCT news, stay tuned to THESPIKE.GG.

    Gry Nanker

    After earning a bachelor's degree in journalism and media creation and working as a journalist for two years, Gry set her sights on her true goal: becoming an esports journalist. Although she's relatively new to esports writing, the scene itself is far from unfamiliar. After spending a few years dominating in CS:GO, she dove into VALORANT when it launched—and her passion for the game has never faded. Now, Gry is part of the content team at THESPIKEGG, where she'll conduct interviews and write a variety of articles.

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