Four important questions ahead of VCT EMEA Kickoff 2026

At long last, the 2026 competitive season is beginning, ringing in another VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) campaign. With Americas having been the first region to begin, EMEA is not far behind as VCT EMEA Kickoff is about to get started. But ahead of the event, and following a turbulent off season, a number of questions stand out, from which answers will hopefully appear as the tournament progresses.

How will Fnatic cope in without Chronicle?

There’s no getting around the fact that Chronicle’s departure is a huge loss for Fnatic. The three-time Masters champion is undoubtedly one of the game’s greatest and would be a miss for any team, let alone one losing him to a rival who had also snatched another such star.

When the side lost Derke, they had a minor miracle in replacing him with kaajak, who has already proved to be one of the league’s best and an incredible raw aimer. Expecting them to replace Chronicle in a similar manner was always going to be an impossible ask.

His replacement, Veqaj, looked okay in the off season, with some notable performances as Fnatic finished runners-up in the SOOP League. However, he can’t be expected to be a like-for-like replacement, and Fnatic can’t be expected to continue challenging internationally as they did in 2025, albeit without clinching a title.

If Fnatic do manage to become global contenders this year then that will be a massive achievement for the side.

Will this Vitality superteam work?

The argument could be made that this Team Vitality squad, unlike last year’s, is in fact not actually a superteam. After all, they’ve arguably only two star names, and hot prospect Sayonara is unable to play before his 18th birthday, with UNFAKE returning in his place. But the combination of superstars, cemented tier one talent, and a coach who’s shown to get the best from his players is difficult to label otherwise.

It wouldn’t be the first time Vitality fielded a superteam, having won Kickoff last year with an exciting roster that initially looked set for greatness. But things derailed, changes were made, more changes were made, and ultimately their season ended on a whimper.

At first glance, this year’s roster appears to be more thoughtfully put together. Derke and Chronicle are obvious strong points, but having PAL lead with his former BBL duo of Jamppi and PROFEK brings a core of known quantities and veteran experience. Such is the solid basis on which the roster was built that it feels highly unlikely that the types of constant changes seen last year will be repeated again in 2026, even if the lineup doesn’t hit the ground running.

Can Team Heretics get back to their glory days?

The common sentiment following Team Heretics’ second-place curse era was that once one final went their way, the floodgates would open and titles would start streaming through. So after Los Niños finally won a final at the Esports World Cup, and particularly given the manner of their reverse-sweep over Fnatic, it felt that that time had finally come.

But after the EWC, Heretics’ season fell flat. Fifth-sixth in Stage 2 was a poor finish by their standard, and an uninspired Champs run earned them the same finish.

It was no surprise then to see that a change was made; MiniBoo making way for ComeBack. The former’s rough patch coincided with his side’s downturn in form, while the latter impressed in his long-awaited tier one debut with a short stint with Gentle Mates. As a like-for-like change with the potential to match, and hopefully exceed, MiniBoo’s 2024 peaks, ComeBack is about as good a signing as Heretics could ask for.

With changes happening across the league, it’s unlikely that all of the top contenders from last year will continue to push for titles in 2026, certainly not all at once, opening up the chance for Team Heretics to make their way to the top spot if they can find the magic that brought them so close to winning the biggest championships two years ago.

Will BBL’s bold roster decision pay off? VCT EMEA Kickoff the first look

BBL’s stunning decision to sign the entire BBL PCIFIC lineup was immensely controversial, leading to calls for an investigation into the nature of the affiliation between teams, but in many ways the overall decision from BBL made total sense.

The org’s Stage 2 run saw them just a single series away from making it to VALORANT Champions, despite fielding a roster of “rejects and misfits,” so said then-head coach PAL. To have gotten to that level was a success, though that meant that key members, and PAL himself, were picked off by the financial brutes Vitality during the off season.

So when faced with the prospect of a near-complete rebuild, before which they’d also need a new head coach to lead the project, then the opportunity to grab a complete lineup — one that’s shown it’s at a tier one level with potential to improve further — was hard to turn down.

But for a rookie-filled roster, there’ll be an unusual amount of pressure on this BBL lineup. The community will not have forgotten the nature of BBL’s off season, and there’ll be plenty waiting on their downfall. Though a solid season, especially one with some global events sprinkled in, could end up proving BBL’s bold PCIFIC pickup to have been a masterstroke.