“I’m not like the old me” - ReiNs opens up after Heretics crash out of Masters London

One of the top seeds coming into VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - Masters London 2026 was Team Heretics. The team completed a full 180 during VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - EMEA Stage 1, starting with some rough losses before turning things around and eventually winning the EMEA regional title. The squad also captured the crowd's hearts with British player Benjy "benjyfishy" David Fish on the roster.

As the first seed, Heretics skipped the Swiss Stage and instead began their journey directly in the playoffs. Their opening match ended in a loss to regional rivals Team Vitality, sending them straight to the lower bracket. Looking to keep their Masters run alive, Heretics then faced Leviatán, one of the strongest teams from the Americas. However, they couldn’t keep up and were eliminated from the event.

After the match, THESPIKE spoke to Heretics player Enes "RieNs" Ecirli about the team's elimination and his own performance this season.

Right now I'm really sad. We didn't play our best at all. We actually played really bad, especially in the Vitality game. But in the Leviatan game, we tried our best.

Simply outplayed

The match against LEV was a roller coaster filled with twists and turns. LEV crushed Heretics on Split with a 13-3 scoreline, immediately shaking Heretics' confidence. Even though Heretics fought back and won Lotus, the decider ultimately went LEV's way, and Heretics exited Masters London without winning a match.

In the post-match press conference, Heretics coach Neil "neilzinho" Finlay stated that the loss had nothing to do with mentality and that LEV simply played the better game. ReiNs agreed.

I think they were just better honestly, like they did well individually as a team and we couldn't like actually fight back in split especially. I think after Split I felt a bit shocked that it was just like, tt didn't feel like we played the game at all, you know, it's just 1-0 instantly.”

Top seed curse?

One topic that is frequently discussed is the so-called "top seed curse." Earning a region's top seed sends a team directly to the playoffs, while Swiss Stage teams get the opportunity to warm up and build momentum before the bracket stage.

Fans often see top-seeded teams lose their opening playoff match to teams that came through Swiss, leading to discussions about whether skipping the Swiss Stage is actually a disadvantage.

While ReiNs believes there could be benefits to carrying momentum from Stage 1 into an international event, he doesn't see it as an excuse for poor results.

We would have the momentum better because we just won EMEA and then we're in a good shape. And then I think we would have played faster. I think it would be a bit better, but it shouldn't be an excuse, you know. Like we're a high-level team and it shouldn't be our excuse to just say “oh we won EMEA and we start like from playoffs and then like we didn't have momentum” or anything. I don't see this as an excuse for myself at least.

THESPIKE: Did you lose something in your game between Stage 1 and now, or do you feel like you played the same way?

I mean obviously we didn't play the same because I think if we would have played the same it would be way different results. I felt like we lost a bit of confidence and especially against Vitality when they kind of smashed us, you know. And we didn't play the game with confidence I would say individually and like as a team.

His own performance lacking

Fans who have followed VCT EMEA for the past few years know ReiNs for his ability to clutch rounds and consistently find multikills. Recently, however, that version of ReiNs hasn't appeared as often on the server.

THESPIKE asked the Turkish player about his individual performance in 2026 so far, and he didn't go easy on himself.

I think in general, since the season started, like this 2026, I'm not like [the] old me, you know, I think in 2024 and 2025, I was way better individually. But I think in Stage one, after we changed the player and we worked again as a team really hard, my performance just increased [...] but in London, so far, two games, I was kinda bad. I was actually so bad. And it doesn't make me happy, of course. And that's one of the reasons why I'm actually so sad. Because I care about my individual performance as well.

According to ReiNs, one reason he's not playing at the same level as before is the current meta. As an Initiator player, he feels the double-duelist meta doesn't suit his playstyle, and he's hopeful that upcoming buffs to Initiators and Sentinels will help.

I think it's a bit harder with the current meta to play initiators. So, I mean, I will touch on the next update, kinda, because there will be a buff for initiators and sentinels, which makes me happier because maybe there will be no double-duality meta anymore, which I kinda hate. I mean, that's also not an excuse, but I don't know what's wrong with me right now, but I will just try to fix it.

Takes inspiration from other players

One way ReiNs works to improve is by studying other Initiator players and finding new ideas he can incorporate into his own game. Masters London provides the perfect opportunity to do exactly that.

I used to watch a lot of pro players in my role and I learned a lot. That's what I'm gonna do, I guess, because there are actually really good players here. Obviously, this is like Masters and there's top tier teams from every region and their players are also like individually insane players. So I feel like I can learn anything from anyone, you know? So it's good to watch them and I think that's how I'm gonna prepare for stage two, I guess.

Time for a team talk

Crashing out of Masters London as the top seed without a single win is a massive blow for Heretics. While ReiNs isn't entirely sure what the team's focus will be moving forward, he's confident in the people around him and believes trust remains one of Heretics' greatest strengths.

Whatever they decide is the best. And I will just trust them. I think that's our strength as a team. We like each other a lot and we trust each other a lot. So, yeah, that's what we're going to focus on.

For more VCT interviews with your favourite players from Masters London, stay tuned to THESPIKE.GG.

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