VIT PROFEK on Team Vitality's team atmosphere: "Chaotic, funny, and drunk"

Dawid "PROFEK" Święć spoke with THESPIKE after their VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - EMEA Stage 2 win against Gentle Mates to discuss the series, Team Vitality's happy atmosphere, their struggles when momentum falls off, and much more.

The victory against Gentle Mates

THESPIKE: What are your first feelings after the match?

PROFEK: "It feels good to win, of course. They are a pretty insane team, I would say. We had never played against them before, so this was our first time. We knew what to expect, but when you play a team like that for the first time, it feels a little different. We were not ready for some of the things they were doing.

Overall, I am pretty happy because I won against my former teammate Patrik "Minny" Hušek, so that obviously feels good. But big respect to them, because I think all of them are insane players.

THESPIKE: We also saw your coach telling the team to calm down because you were feeling too stressed. Did you actually feel pressure during the series? Were you stressed, or was it something else?

PROFEK: "I cannot speak for everyone, but for me, I did not feel pressure. I do not think we felt pressure, because we have played a lot of games like that. But I think that is his way of calming us down in terms of communication, because when the score gets closer, we tend to communicate a bit too much. We want to make sure everything is perfect, and sometimes we lose because of that. I take Martin "marteen" Pátek clutch on myself."

They have five insane players, so anyone can clutch. That just shows how good of a team they are, because it is not easy to do that.

THESPIKE: Do you think momentum really affects you as a team?

PROFEK: "I think it depends from game to game. In this series, for example, on Split, when we got momentum, we were just rolling them. On Ascent, when we lost that momentum, things got complicated.

But I also think on Ascent they caught us off guard in a few rounds, maybe three rounds in total. They won those rounds, then snowballed, and got the momentum back. Still, going 6-6 on Ascent, we were very happy to win that game. So yes, I think it depends from game to game."

VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - EMEA Stage 2

Team Vitality

2

X

1

Gentle Mates

Group Alpha, Best of 3 - July 29, 2026 - 5:20PM

14

Haven

16

13

Split

7

13

Ascent

9

Team Vitality

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

Derke

1.34

274

69/48/20

+21

1.44

82.3%

192.0

28%

57%

13

10

Sayonara

1.19

219

57/42/22

+15

1.36

78.9%

146.3

26%

77%

10

3

Jamppi

1.01

209

51/54/18

-3

0.94

74.2%

137.2

29%

58%

11

8

PROFEK

0.96

153

42/43/34

-1

0.98

83.4%

105.5

24%

50%

1

1

Chronicle

0.90

186

45/48/19

-3

0.94

72.7%

128.0

27%

43%

6

8

Gentle Mates

player

Rating

ACS

K/D/A

+/-

K/D

KAST

ADR

HS%

FBSR

FB

FD

marteen

1.28

260

64/53/21

+11

1.21

81.9%

183.3

39%

53%

10

9

Minny

0.88

199

48/57/10

-9

0.84

75.1%

123.5

30%

44%

14

18

bipo

0.80

178

44/54/13

-10

0.81

66.0%

121.4

36%

50%

3

3

starxo

0.78

172

44/53/13

-9

0.83

68.7%

112.8

26%

15%

2

11

Proxh

0.73

131

35/49/24

-14

0.71

72.4%

93.4

32%

67%

2

1

Team atmosphere and personalities

THESPIKE: We know your squad is very loud and very emotional. You can hear it from outside, and when you win rounds, we see Timofey "Chronicle" Khromov standing up and shouting things we cannot exactly make out. Then the camera cuts to you, and you are a bit quieter, usually just laughing and sitting there. You came into this team with a lot of big names. Did you expect them to be so happy and expressive?

PROFEK: "Going into a team with big names, I knew they were going to be better than me in many ways, and that they would help me a lot. So I try to do what I can for the team.

If I see people standing up and being that happy, I do not think you can have five players standing and being that hyped all at once. I have always been calm, but I think in this team I am even calmer, because when people are getting that excited, sometimes we have a lot of energy in the team. If I added to that, I do not think it would be a good thing."

THESPIKE: You are not the only quiet one, because Ștefan "Sayonara" Mîtcu joined the team recently too. How has the team changed with him coming in? You are no longer the young one, he is now the rookie, the kid who has to be helped by all of you. How is he doing? Is he doing well?

PROFEK: "For sure he is doing well. We wanted him to be comfortable in the team, and I think we achieved that. We can see it in the game too. That was our main focus, to make him comfortable, just like Nikita "Derke" Sirmitev, because they are our star players.

Of course, the others need to sacrifice in order for them to be comfortable on the map. So far, with Sayonara, it has been really nice. I have known him for years, even before Vitality, so we have a really good connection. Sometimes that also shows in the server. Me and Sayonara can just pop off in 2v4 or 2v5 situations."

THESPIKE: To finish the topic of the game and the team atmosphere, I would like you to describe it in three words. How would you sum the team atmosphere at Vitality?

PROFEK: "Chaotic, funny, and drunk."

Playing on stage

THESPIKE: You made it to VALORANT Champions Tour 2026 - Masters London 2026 and had a good run there. It was an international event, with a big crowd, a lot of fans, a lot of noise, and a lot of pressure. How much did you learn from playing in front of a crowd like that? How much did it help you become more comfortable on stage and deal with pressure?

PROFEK: "For me, I do not feel pressure when I see people, so it works a bit differently. I actually enjoy it when there are a lot of people, and I play much better when the crowd is bigger.

So I would not say it was about learning, but it was one of the best experiences I have ever had in my career. Seeing so many people was amazing, and I hope we can make it to Champions, because I know fans from China are already sending me a lot of messages. I want to see them and feel their support, because I can imagine it will be insane."

THESPIKE: Did you see the group stage matches in China? The venues are huge, and the crowds are unbelievable. It is insane.

PROFEK: "I am so jealous. I swear, when I watch China, it looks so nice. I think we can compare the group stage in China to Masters London final week, because there are so many people. So I can imagine it is really fun for everyone."

Travel and schedule

THESPIKE: When road shows happen in other games, we get the chance to see different venues and visit other countries. We thought the Gentle Mates fans were insane. Would you like VCT to travel more around Europe, maybe with fewer play days but bigger crowds and more fans?

PROFEK: "Going around the world is one of the reasons why I do this job, to see people and actually enjoy it. When you travel and play in front of a new crowd, it is so much fun. For example, in Paris it was different compared to London, so I can imagine that if we go to Barcelona, it will be different again. If we go to China, it will also be different.

I have high hopes for China, and I think it can be the best event if we qualify, at least in terms of crowd. When I watch the group stage, I can already imagine what will happen in Champions."

THESPIKE: You have played both Masters and EWC - Esports World Cup 2026, and there was a lot of talk about the tight schedule, with many matches, a lot of travel, and not much time to prepare. Did you actually feel tired after all those events, or were you still hyped coming into Stage 2?

PROFEK: "For sure, there is a level of tiredness. Traveling and playing with almost no break takes a toll. You only get, what, four days after London, and that's it.

But it is my job, so you need to tank it and keep going. I am not the kind of person who says, “I need two weeks off, I am tired.” I just want to keep going, because I love it."

THESPIKE: To wrap it up, one last question. We do not really know much about your early career, and there have not been many interviews about you. When did you realize you could actually become a pro player? When was the moment you thought, “Okay, I can get there”?

PROFEK: "Never, to be honest. The way I became a pro player was pretty random. Back in the day, I was just playing on my PlayStation, and that was it. VALORANT was my first FPS game with mouse and keyboard.

When COVID started, I began playing VALORANT for a bit, but I never thought I would go pro. After maybe one year, I somehow played a few tier 3 tournaments, and I thought, 'Yeah, this is pretty fun. I would like to get better and play in a stronger team.' So I started grinding. Then I got picked up by a tier 2 team, and my first trip with the team was to Slovenia. From that moment, I thought, “Yeah, I want to be better. I want to do what I need for the team.”

That is how it started. I never had in my mind, 'I want to be the best.' I just wanted to be a good player and support my team, because with the role I play, I will never be the superstar when I have Sayonara and Derke, right? Even in BBL Esports, I think I sacrificed a lot in terms of making other people comfortable, and that is what I want to do. That is what I am good at, I would say, and not many people have that. I just want to be a good player and do what I can to support my team."

Team Vitality are now tied with FUT Esports at the top of Group Alpha. The two teams will face off for first place on August 1, but BBL are also still in the race. Depending on their result against Gentle Mates, all three teams could still finish first in the group.

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