James ‘Mistic’ Orfila announced on Twitter that he is open to offers from any Riot-partnered Valorant team in EMEA after being benched by Fnatic.
With Valorant Champions in the rearview mirror, Valorant rostermania has officially begun.
And after a disappointing run at the tournament in Istanbul, Fnatic have seemingly decided to move on from longtime member Mistic, who announced on Twitter that he is “exploring other options” leading into 2023.
In the thread, he clarified that there was still potential for him to remain with Fnatic for 2023, and that he was “super proud of what we were able to produce over the past few years”. Fnatic, widely considered to be one of the best Valorant teams in the EMEA region, have appeared in many international LAN events in Valorant but are yet to claim their first title.
He was one of only two of the original Valorant roster to still be actively competing with the organization. His benching means that Jake ‘Boaster’ Howlett is the only remaining component of Fnatic’s original 2021 lineup. The British in-game leader recently committed his future to Fnatic until 2025, while star player Nikita ‘Derke’ Sirmitev penned a new contract until 2026.
Fnatic look to secure partner status
Despite their poor showing in Istanbul, Fnatic are one of the prime organizations tipped to join Riot’s partnership program for 2023 in the EMEA region. Along with KOI, Karmine Corp, and Team Vitality, Fnatic were one of the first organizations tipped to join the partnership program.
They’re one of the oldest and biggest organizations in European esports, with legacy teams in League of Legends, CS:GO, and Rainbow Six Siege, amongst multiple other titles.
With Mistic currently benched from the organization, they’ll be looking to find a fifth to round out their core roster ahead of partnership. According to a report by Dot Esports, partnered teams will have to submit a potential roster outline to Riot in October 2022 for the 2023 season — meaning Fnatic will need to be quick off the mark finding Mistic’s replacement.
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