Team Heretics have won a grand final, beating Fnatic to become EWC VALORANT champions

Team Heretics have finally ended their grand final curse, winning at the sixth attempt to become inaugural EWC VALORANT champions in a sensational 3-2 reverse sweep against Fnatic.

Team Heretics are EWC VALORANT winners

Finally, after five doses of grand final heartbreak over the last year-and-a-half, Team Heretics have gotten one over the line. They are Esports World Cup winners.

A final matchup with Fnatic saw Los Niños unsurprisingly go in as underdogs. Fnatic were fresh from their runners-up finish at Masters Toronto — a tournament that was disastrous for Heretics — and had won this matchup in the last two occurrences, including the 3-0 EMEA Stage 1 final.

The opening two maps looked like more of the same. Blowouts from Fnatic saw them take a 2-0 series lead, in which TH only managed a measly 5 combined round wins. A Fnatic title seemed inevitable heading into map three.

But then Team Heretics woke up on Icebox. Led by an inspired Wo0T, the side finally managed to string rounds together. The teams were level at half time, before Heretics took control on defence. Despite Fnatic picking up a few late rounds to keep things tight, their opponents did eventually close out at 13-11 finish.

Even at 2-1, a Fnatic win felt likely. It looked it too when they were 9-3 up at the halfway mark. However, this time it was their attack side that turned the tide for Heretics. A stunning back half saw them take 10 out of the final 11 rounds to complete a turnaround, secure a 13-10 map win and move on to a fifth game.

Finally, after turning the series on its head, Team Heretics found an all-important map win that would, at last, see them become champions. On Ascent, Los Niños clinched a 13-10 victory, making them map, series, and championship winners.

Wo0t crowned EWC VALORANT MVP

By far the key factor in Team Heretics’ historic grand final comeback was Wo0t. The Turkish player was in inspired form during the series, crucially the difference-maker in his side’s first two map wins that set up the comeback, and finished the series with a 70/74/27 KDA and 186 ACS.

Wo0t’s efforts not only saw him become an Esports World Cup champion, but his tournament MVP title also earned him a cool $10k.

Fnatic still searching for return to global success

For Fnatic, another global grand final defeat within a matter of weeks will be heartbreaking. The side is perennially compared to its two-time global winning peak era of 2023. A new global title would finally see the side break out from under that shadow.

This final was an ideal chance to do that, against a familiar opponent whom Fnatic had handily beaten in their last two matchups, including the one that saw the Black and Orange crowned EMEA Stage 1 champions.

While, for now, they’ll still be licking their wounds, the side should be able to take confidence from two great global tournament runs. As long as the losses do not dent their confidence too much, then the side will be confident that they’ve a shot at making another deep run, maybe winning a title, at VALORANT Champions late this year.