“I wouldn’t change a day”: Jamppi on leadership, dealing with losses, and the grind after Vitality’s Kickoff debut

Following Team Vitality’s loss to BBL Esports at VCT EMEA Kickoff, Hotspawn caught up with Jamppi to talk about leadership, growth as an in-game leader, handling criticism, and what comes next for Vitality.

Hotspawn: I wanted to ask a little bit more about your journey here, because as a player you’ve evolved a lot in the last two years. So first question:

How does it feel to be IGL, especially for a team like Vitality?

Jamppi: “Yeah, I mean, it feels great. It was something new last year when I switched to IGLing. Last year was a big comeback year because I didn’t know what to expect as an IGL, and I think I improved a lot during the year. I think my IGLing compared to now was at a very, very bad level. If you compare when I started with BBL to now, it feels amazing.

“I’m very happy. I’m glad for Vitality, and first BBL, and now Vitality for this opportunity to be IGLing in such a legendary organization, not just in Valorant but in other games too. And yeah, it’s amazing.”

Hotspawn: You’ve been in Valorant for a while now, and your growth as an IGL has been one of your biggest level-ups in the last year. So I wanted to ask you:

How have you evolved your IGLing skill?

Jamppi: “Big props go to PAL, of course. I’ve been working with him for a little bit over a year now, and he had a very clear plan on how to develop me as a leader, especially as an IGL. I think the hardest thing is staying calm when games get stressful. It’s very easy to go into a snowball effect when something isn’t working. Finding adaptations during the game when you have no timeouts left is hard because you can’t ask your coaches what to do. I think I’ve improved the most in officials where there’s high pressure.”

Hotspawn: Talking about this roster, very storied names and multiple trophy winners.

How has it been working with them?

Jamppi: “Compared to last year, the BBL roster was a bit of a leftover roster. It was a bunch of people nobody really wanted, and that was fine. That was the strength of that team. We came in with no expectations and wanted to prove everyone wrong

“This year, of course, we have incredible players like Derke and Chronicle. You know what to expect from them on stage. I never played with Chronicle or Derke before, but I played against them many times and knew how competitive they are. In my opinion, this is a very perfect roster. We got the pieces we wanted.”

New team same stuff, @chronicleEZ gets 5 👏 pic.twitter.com/QjhyibzPX4

— VALORANT Esports EMEA (@vct_emea) January 29, 2026

Hotspawn: “From the beginning, BBL seemed to keep the momentum across both maps today.

What was your biggest takeaway from the series?

Jamppi: “I think pistol rounds. We lost almost all of them. They snowballed really well, especially on Haven. Props to them. They played good pistols.

“I think we actually played really well on Haven and Abyss. They were just the better team today. There were a couple of eco rounds we lost, unfortunately, but I don’t think it was a disaster. BBL is a very good team, especially because they didn’t change their roster. At the start of the year, that’s a huge advantage.”

Hotspawn: PAL mentioned that you’re the sunniest person on the team.

How do you keep that attitude, especially with criticism?

Jamppi: “It’s experience, but also my personality. I’ve always been a happy person. I don’t really care what people say outside. I’ve been criticized a lot since I became a pro, especially in CS and in Valorant. At some point, you just don’t care. I trust myself, I work hard, and I like to have fun. This is my dream job. I wouldn’t change a day. I enjoy being here, competing, and having such great teammates.”

Hotspawn: Who do you think are the standout teams so far in Kickoff?

Jamppi: “Gentle Mates and BBL have been looking strong. PCIFIC has shown really good potential. NAVI as well, even though they lost. So for me, standout teams are NAVI, Gentle Mates, BBL, and PCIFIC.

Hotspawn: Anything you want to say to your fans?

Jamppi: “Thank you for the support. Losses come and go, and you need to learn from them. We’ll come back stronger.”