"We definitely have the players to do some greatness" - Fnatic Boaster on his goal for Kickoff and the rest of the year

Fnatic 's run at Kickoff so far has been bumpy. What initially looked like a dominant start against BBL quickly turned sour in Week 1 when the Turkish side began clicking. In Week 2, Fnatic found themselves against FUT in the Middle Bracket and it was imperative for Fnatic to begin winning if they wished to keep their dreams of Santiago qualification alive. While Fnatic found their first win at VCT EMEA Kickoff, it was a closer affair than they would have liked. 

Following the conclusion of the FUT series, Strafe Esports sat down with Fnatic IGL and captain Jake “Boaster” Howlett to reflect on the close nature of the series, Fnatic’s run at Kickoff thus far, the challenges of the off-season, expectations carried by the roster, and so much more in this exclusive interview.

*The following interview has been lightly edited for readability

“I think off-season is always a struggle of maintaining form.”

Coming off the back of the near successes of 2025, with three international grand finals appearances, Fnatic suffered a massive blow with the departure of veteran Timofey “Chronicle” Khromov. In his stead, Fnatic brought on Sylvain “Veqaj” Pattyn, one of the most anticipated Tier 2 players. 

That’s your speciality though. When backs against the wall, the Fnatic lower bracket run. So, talk to me about the off-season preparations. You’ve lost a key player in Chronicle. You have a new player, Veqaj. What have been the main challenges this off-season?

Boaster: I think off-season is always a struggle of maintaining form. I think it’s no lie that once Champions is over, especially because we went all the way, we wanted a little break. And then after the little break, we had to do trials. And that’s where we came into Veqaj.

However, throughout the off-season, I got ill multiple times. And then those illnesses kind of stretched into a lung infection. And so, I was out of action for like 4 weeks. The boys had to go to Korea without me.

So, it’s just been really difficult with the time that we had to make sure we’re fully prepared because a lot of our time got kind of like… we lost 2 weeks of practice maybe. Which is a lot in terms of preparation. But we’re now on catch-up, but it’s slowly getting there.

So, that was our off-season. It was me in bed mainly. And then preparing via VODs. But the best type of practice is practice.

It’s the second time this Kickoff, where we’ve seen Fnatic in pole position to close out a map. But you guys were not able to. Can you talk to me a little bit on what the main challenges have been from your perspective in those games?

Boaster: So, I think we were… on Corrode, we were really struggling to get out on that B site. It’s been a problem in scrims, and we thought we had the solution. But today, once again, it didn’t really work. And so, when we’re not able to go out on B, it makes life very miserable and hard for us to actually finish. Yeah, and then after that, some of the rounds, we had advantages and stuff, and we could have really just taken it over the line. And some of the ultis [ultimates] just didn’t work.

So, it had to be, not back to the drawing board, but back to… I know how I feel in that game now. And I’m going to use those feelings to perfect the stuff that we have. Because I think we were giving ourselves opportunities. It was just the finishers we were struggling with a bit.

You’re facing Liquid next. That’s another tough opponent to face. What are your initial thoughts? Did you manage to catch their game before you started your own series?

Boaster: Yeah, their game was on the telly in our practice room. I think, obviously Liquid and us have a lot of history. I’d say in comparison to last year, it’s hard to say what level their team is at. 

But I think they are definitely, at this point anyone is a challenge for us. But we just got to make sure that we prep hard, respect them. And then when we get on the server, we just play our game and have fun and stuff. And then hopefully, we’ll get the win. But I believe we can win. 

Has any team at Kickoff surprised you so far? Like maybe exceeded your expectations or performed above the level that you thought they would?

Boaster: No, I wouldn’t say so. Because the teams I was expecting to do well, I thought Gentle Mates had a really nice scrim partner with us. Like when we scrimmed them, I was like, oh, these guys are actually quite good. They have some stuff they’re calling, they’re adapting.

So, I think everyone is fairly what I expected actually. Obviously, we lost to BBL, but I didn’t think the BBL game would have been an easy one to win. And yeah, I think, like I said, we’re scaling. We’re scaling. All right.

Talk to me about Veqaj. Obviously, he’s the new addition to Fnatic. What’s been the one thing that surprised you the most about him since he came into this roster?

Boaster: So Veqaj was signing to replace Chronicle. And so, he had big boots to fill from the fans’ perspective and from his perspective. And I think also his role; he was a Jett main in Tier 2. And then he came to Gentle Mates and did some initiator work. But he never really like had, that was never really his true role. He was playing like Fade and stuff. And for me, I was just kind of like, I can’t really put him on duelist.

I want to put him on an agent where he feels like he can fight. So, like the secondary controller slash KAY/Os are quite good for that. And that seems to be where our comps are lying right now.

But I’ve seen his duelist and it’s quite good, to be fair. So yeah, I’m pretty happy with him. He’s putting up big rounds for us, especially on that Corrode Defense. It’s just a shame we weren’t able to close out on the Attack side.

“The goal is to qualify”

Fnatic are famously slow starters at tournaments. As Boaster likes to say frequently, "we're scaling". That said, after their initial loss to BBL, Fnatic's run through the Middle Bracket is a crucial second life for them. Victories against FUT and Liquid so far have kept them alive but a meeting with NAVI and superteam Vitality appear likely in their future. 

So, heading into the rest of Kickoff. What are your goals for, let’s start with the rest of Kickoff. Are you looking to qualify for Santiago?

Boaster: Yeah, I mean, the goal is to qualify. You know, Fnatic never really qualified from a Kickoff tournament. And so, that would be our goal. It’s going to be a hard one because everyone’s had a lot more kind of preparation practice than us.

Also, in the offseason, people don’t really get to do much. So, while we’re doing all the events and stuff, which is like a blessing, they’re obviously getting themselves hungry. And so, I think that’s always why it’s a bit harder for us too.

But yeah, the goal is to qualify. It’s not a guarantee. Nothing is ever guaranteed. But all you can ask for is that you keep improving each map. And today, we had an Abyss, a Corrode, and a Split, which we have a lot of stuff to learn from, which you don’t get from scrims. So yeah, I’m very happy with today.

Without leaking too much strategically, what’s one takeaway that you would take away from your first 2 games at Kickoff?

Boaster: So, I’d say like, for instance, on Split, how are we dealing with a team that can really oppressively take middle and stop Veqaj from playing into vents. So, that will be something that we’re going to be considering this time.

For Corrode, it’s going to be like, ok, what happened on that Attack side, what are the mid-executes, I’ll call it. When we go A, are we pathing the right way? Which ways do we actually want to go? Etc, etc.

And then for Abyss, it’s like, how can we maintain what happened? Why did it work? And then also, what could enemies be doing to us? So, there’s lots of future planning now and finding solutions to problems and also understanding why stuff worked.

One agent is still missing from the majority of EMEA teams. I don’t recall if any teams have run it in EMEA yet, which is Veto. What are your thoughts on the newest agent?

Boaster: You might see Veto on like an Abyss or Corrode from some teams. But yeah, it seems like Tier 1’s not running it. But I’ve seen like Tier 2 teams definitely testing it out, especially on that Corrode.

What do I think of him? He’s quite annoying to play against. But if you figure out like every… So, the thing with VALORANT nowadays is that you play against so many varieties of comps, a Cypher, a Veto, a Sage, a KAY/O. All of these agents require you to play different styles, different tempos.

And so, Veto is just another style you have to get used to. Are we used to it yet? I’d say not fully. I think it’s quite difficult on some maps, you know, with that baiting, little orb thing.

And then just generally being able to take space safely against him and stuff. So, he is annoying, but he’s definitely not super strong. But I think he has his value sometimes.

Final two questions. The first one is obviously a follow-up from earlier. You’ve mentioned what your goals are for Kickoff. What are your goals for the year?

Boaster: Qualify for Masters events, you know. And I think that’s always going to be my goal. I’d say like, to win Masters events, but can never… I’ve learned in years of playing that you just can’t go for that high of a goal.

You have to kind of steady the pace, go for win by win, and then start believing once you’re in the run. But I think, you know, I think we’re capable of it. We just need a little bit of time, a little bit of cooking, a little bit of fixing.

But generally, I think, regardless of what happens, we’re on a decent path. We definitely have the players to do some greatness.

Final question. Do you have words for the fans heading into the rest of your Kickoff journey?

Boaster: Well, you know, it’s going be a crazy ride. Lots of headaches, lots of migraines, lots of stress factor. So, buckle up. And yes, it wouldn’t be Fnatic if we weren’t making it close. And like painfully, just painful. But hopefully, we’re going to win this year.

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Featured Image Credit: Wojciech Wandzel/Riot Games